Hugo in Wonderland (Part 2)

Based on Hugo's experience of repeatedly entering the minds of ordinary people, generally speaking, the human consciousness space presents a void of darkness, surrounded by many very strange things, which are usually the human's recent thoughts and ideas.

The surface space of consciousness is relatively empty, mostly consisting of fragments of daily life. If you were to describe it with a specific scene, it would probably be a square with many fragments and strange objects floating around, while beneath the floor of the square lies the deep consciousness of humankind.

Under normal circumstances, the structure of human consciousness is not complex. In addition to the upper and lower levels, there may be some floating small rooms. These small rooms have different properties. Some people have many, and some people don't. At least, this is the case among the countless patients that Hugo has seen.

But today, this space of consciousness is different, because the first thing Hugo saw upon landing was a restaurant standing in the square.

It was a very Gotham- style restaurant with a tall and narrow building. The sign on the door read "Iceberg Lounge," but unlike other restaurants, it was actually surrounded by a layer of ice and several small icebergs, which stood guard at the entrance of the restaurant like sentinels.

Just then, a small, thin figure emerged from the restaurant. Upon seeing Hugo, he froze and asked, "Who are you?"

Hugo was also stunned, because he had never seen a living being in the human consciousness space.

If we compare humanity to a peach, then the space of consciousness is the pit in the middle. The pit itself is part of the peach; there is no peach with a complete peach inside the pit.

Consciousness space itself is a manifestation of personality, so no one can recreate another self in their own consciousness space, at least in most cases.

But now, Hugo witnessed this wondrous state; he saw a complete peach inside the peach pit, not only complete, but almost too complete.

The Cobblepot in front of him was dressed completely differently from the real world. He was now dressed in a suit and tie, his hair was neatly combed, he wore shiny leather shoes, and he had a slick smile that was not appropriate for his age.

Hugo once saw many people depict a more perfect version of themselves in their own consciousness, but that was usually not represented by a complete human image, but rather by some key objects or keywords.

For example, someone who lacks formal education and hopes to obtain a better one might have things in their mind's eye that represent exams, scores, admission notices, or degree certificates, or a separate small room to represent this aspiration.

The average person's brain is not capable of bringing their imagination to life in such detail, let alone maintaining such meticulous fantasy in a hypnotic, relaxed state.

It was the first time Hugo had ever seen someone imagine another version of themselves in their mind, and to imagine it in such detail that it seemed as if it had a soul.

"It's you?" Cobblepot looked at Hugo with some doubt and said, "Is this the hypnosis you were talking about? How did you manage to get in here?"

Hugo stared blankly at him and the building behind him called Iceberg Lounge, but Cobblepot maintained his smile and said, "Since you're here, why don't you come in and have a seat?"

Hugo followed Cobblepot into the Iceberg Lounge, where something even more astonishing happened: everything inside was so detailed it seemed real.

This is almost impossible. It's like when someone is dreaming, even if they feel they have seen some specific things in their dream, if a second person enters their dream, they will find that most of the things that appear in the dream are very vague and hazy, and extremely disjointed.

This is the normal state of the human brain when it is relaxed, ignoring many unimportant details and conveying only the main concepts.

But the Iceberg Lounge deep in Cobblepot's consciousness is not like that. From the overall decoration, layout, and structure of the restaurant to the wood grain on the bar and the luster reflected on the bar stools, it can be said that if this restaurant appeared in reality, it could open for business immediately without any renovations.

This was completely unexpected by Hugo. Even an interior designer needs to go through countless revisions and adjustments to bring the design and image in his mind to life as a design work. If an interior designer can make his imagination so detailed, he will definitely be the most successful designer in the world, without exception.

Before Hugo could finish his surprise, the restaurant door opened and a grown man in a suit walked in. Cobblepot greeted him, "Professor Freeze, you're here so early today?"

"Oh, Cobblepot, you're here! How did your lessons go today? Did you learn everything new?"

"I'll go review it later..."

Watching the two engage in a smooth conversation, Hugo, still immersed in shock, couldn't help but begin to analyze the situation. He realized that Professor Freeze might represent a role in Cobblepot's mind, someone who would supervise his studies. Whenever Cobblepot wanted to review and take stock of his learning, Professor Freeze would appear.

Hugo walked down and continued to stare at Victor as he entered, seemingly trying to find something out of place in him. But he found nothing. Although he had never met Professor Freeze, he could already tell from the image in Cobblepot's mind that he was a wise, learned, and refined professor.

Before he could come up with an answer, the door opened again, and a man in a long overcoat carrying an umbrella walked in. Hugo said in surprise, "Schiller?"

"How are you, Mr. Cobblepot? Is your condition improving? How have you been feeling lately? Aren't you planning to move yet?"

Hugo could tell that Schiller seemed to play the role of a gentle Doctor in Cobblepot's mind.

But that's normal, Hugo thought. In the records of Cobblepot's treatment, Hugo didn't see any radical treatments, only conservative psychological counseling and conversations. No wonder Cobblepot thought Schiller was a good Doctor. But Hugo thought that this tendency towards conservative treatment was entirely due to Schiller's inaction.

At this moment, in reality, Hugo frowned, exploring Cobblepot's Consciousness World as he whispered, "Come on, let me see what you fear most..."

As he spoke, he pressed a button on the machine, which emitted two sharp alarms, followed by a violent shaking of Cobblepot's Consciousness World.

A fierce scream came from the shattered space. Hugo saw that the figure of an old woman covered in blood and holding a sharp knife was enormous. One of her fingers was bigger than the entire Ping Shan Restaurant. Her face was covered in blood. She brandished the dagger and instantly shattered Cobblepot's consciousness space.

Hugo was connected to the machine, also let out a scream, then regained consciousness and sat on the ground, panting for a long time.

Hugo stood up, rubbing his forehead. He muttered, "I should have known... fear can be manifested in a more vivid and destructive way..."

Cobblepot, however, seemed to wake up slowly from a nightmare. A pale-faced Hugo forced himself to say, "The result was not bad, but your willpower is a bit weak; you might be distracted by some images you fear..."

"I know," Cobblepot said calmly, "Because I have nightmares."

He looked at Hugo, who seemed exhausted, and felt a little disdainful. He didn't feel that the hypnotherapy had improved his condition, but the Doctor seemed very tired.

He shook his head. Before leaving, he thought he should come again next time when Doctor Schiller was there; this substitute Doctor was really not very good.

Hugo, who was frustrated by Cobblepot, did not give up. He thought it might just be a coincidence. Cobblepot was one of those one-in-a-million child prodigies, so his manifestation of details was very concrete. But he still believed that this did not reach the level of the Mind Palace. It was just that he imagined his dreams and expectations in a more refined way.

Another name that was recorded in the medical records was somewhat familiar to Hugo: Victor Fris.

Hugo once heard Cobblepot call him "Professor Freeze" in Cobblepot's consciousness space.

The medical record stated that Victor suffered from mild Anxiety Disorder, with the symptoms described in a very general way. He had a record of one course of medication and seemed to have recovered quickly. However, Hugo was still very curious about this. He wanted to see if Victor was the same as Cobblepot's Consciousness World, so he called Victor again.

As Schiller's colleague, Victor naturally knew that he had resigned, but this time Hugo's reason was that there was a problem with the drug invoice, and he hoped that Victor would come over to discuss it in person.

Invoices, taxes, and insurance are all very important issues, and Victor didn't see anything wrong with it because he had been here once before for an invoice issue.

Upon entering the examination room, when Hugo requested a simple follow-up examination, Victor didn't think much of it. He assumed that Hugo was confirming that the previous Doctor hadn't misused the medication, so he readily lay down on the chair.

Hugo entered Victor's consciousness in the same way, and the moment he entered, he was blown to the ground by a violent gust of cold wind.

He was faced with a vast, frigid ice field. Hugo looked around in confusion and realized that it seemed to have no end.

As mentioned before, the surface consciousness of mankind is like a square. The reason it is called a square rather than a plain is because the size of the human consciousness space is limited. The boundaries of most people's consciousness space are within the limits of their imagination and thinking. However, Hugo walked for a very long time in this vast snowfield and did not see any boundaries at all.

There are only three things here: ice, snow, and snow turning into ice. Perhaps even the wind doesn't exist, because Hugo didn't hear the sound of any wind. It is an extremely quiet space.

But the quiet wasn't a good thing; it made the place feel even colder. Hugo had only one feeling from beginning to end: cold, incredibly cold.

Hugo gritted his teeth, holding his breath, trying to unravel the secrets of this consciousness space. But no matter which direction he went, how long he walked, what posture he adopted, or what words he uttered, all that responded to him was the endless snow and the boundless ice field.

There are no abstract concepts, no fragments of memory, nothing that should exist in the human mind; there is only ice and snow, only cold.

Just when Hugo was about to give up in despair, he finally saw a wisp of fire appear at the edge of the ice field. He tried his best to move in that direction, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, until his consciousness was numb from the cold, he finally saw a small campfire.

Several figures were around the campfire: Cobblepot, who was squatting and warming his hands; Victor, who was standing next to him reading a book; and Schiller to the fire...

Why is it Schiller again? Hugo thought, why is he everywhere?

But besides that, there was nothing else. Looking at the endless snowfield around him, Hugo's heart was numb, but he still dutifully pressed the button on the machine, wanting to see what Victor feared.

Then, he heard a faint "crack" sound from his consciousness space, like something shattering, which then grew louder and louder...

In an instant, a terrifying storm swept everything away.

When Hugo regained consciousness, he hugged his arms and trembled all over, his jaw chattering.

In the well-heated office with a fireplace burning, he felt an extreme cold he had never experienced before in his life.