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 Friedrich Nietzsche |
Sickan |
Jenny Povey
"Okay, guys. This is a NEW run within the 'SteelWolfe' imprint, and introduces a new character. It is my first venture into the field of comic writing, and is really an 'experiment' on my part. All comments/criticism will be welcomed, but no flames please. All text and characters are Copyright 1996 Jenna Povey."
(Jenny Povey, Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.creative, July 7, 1996)
"This work is © 1996 Jennifer R. Povey. All characters herein are the property of Jennifer Povey. The SteelWolfe setting and back story is the property of SteelWolfe Comics. This may be redistributed in its entirety providing this copyright notice is not altered or omitted, and providing no charge is made for this material."
(Jenny Povey Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.creative, January 23, 1997)
Luta, Blue Aura, soft pastel on illustration board (28" x 29.75"), 2002. © 2005 Lutalu design (http://www.lutalu.com/art/blueaura.html, March 18, 2004)
Gryphon # 1
By Jenny Povey
"No, Michael, I have had enough!" Anna yelled, face flushed with anger. "Get out of my place, and out of my life!"
He blinked, and backpedalled out the door which she had the great satisfaction of slamming in his face. "Oh, and don't ever come crawling back to me again. Go chase after your film stars, Michael, they're fake enough for you!" she shouted at the closed door, and then, firmly, locked it.
She stalked across the apartment. It was a mess, a mess with the debris of alcohol and lovemaking. And she didn't even care any more. "Damn it," she said into empty space. "What am I doing?" A question for which no answer could be expected. She went over to the balcony, and stared out into the night, at a city as messed up, she thought ruefully, as what was left of her life.
The next day.
She woke up with a headache. A headache she dismissed as the result of the beer she had drunk the previous night, so she took an aspirin and headed out, not bothering to tidy up the mess in the apartment. The streets seemed equally grimy, darkened with something more than just dirt. Above her, the carved statue of an angel seemed to weep. Weep for the city. She turned the old Toyota, parking it down a street that was little more than an alleyway, fiddling for her key, she entered the old brick building. A small brass plaque on the door read:
Anna West
Private Investigator
The office was small, but actually less dingy than one might have expected. She slumped into her chair with a sigh, and then glared at the answer machine, which was insistently flashing a red light at her. With a resigned sigh, she reached over and hit 'play'.
"Anna, it's Linda. Guess what, Steven asked me to marry him!"
Irritably, she muttere 'sisters' under her breath, and hit the machine again.
A man's voice. "Ms West. I have some information that might help with the Turbeck case. Meet me in the park at 12 noon."
She frowned. Nothing more than that, no identification, nothing. She flicked through the papers. Turbeck...Turbeck...oh, the missing kid. Missing teenager, in fact. Anna rather suspected an elopement, but to try and tell the parents that...
She flicked on the ancient PC, and checked her appointments, then pulled her coat around her, and left, leaving a 'be back later' sign on the outside of the door. She paid no attention to a grey cat sitting just outside, its tail curled around its paws in typical cat manner.
It started to rain, a dreary, slow drizzle, the sky grey and dull. The Toyota pulled up in another narrow road, and she sat there, watching the wipers go to, fro, to, fro. Where was he? A car pulled up about fifty yards in front, she watched it intently, or as intently she could considering she /still/ had a splitting headache. He stepped out of the car, and for a moment, his outlines seemed to blur. Damned migraine! It was the last thing she needed right now. Yes, it was him. Terrance Whittaker. Mr Cheats-on-his-wife-and-thinks-he-can-get-away- with-it. Now, all she needed was the woman. Catch him on film with the woman, and it would give /Mrs/ Whittaker enough to start divorce proceedings and finally get out of a relationship that no longer did anything for her. However, he seemed more interested in looking for pennies in the gutter than meeting anyone, making her wonder if there /was/ a woman at all.
In the wing mirror, she saw a rather large guy approaching. Short, blonde hair and far too much muscle for comfort. She ignored him, but wound the window up and hit the central locking. She could vaguely hear him yelling at her to get out of the car, so she hit the accelerator. The Toyota streaked away...
She came round with barely any memory of what had occurred.
"Miss West?" a voice was saying.
She groaned. "W-where am I?"
"The hospital. You had a car crash."
Her vision focused. A white coat. A doctor...or at least a male nurse. She tried to sit up.
"No...lie still. You banged your head. Mild concussion."
She lay still. A car crash. She doubted it. The muscle-man had been about to...to do what? Attack her? Question her? Abduct her? Rape her? Kill her? The possibilities floated through her head, each more terrible than the last. Maybe she had been run off the road.
Or maybe she had just had a blow-out or something. An accident. Her vision was still blurred, but she put it down to the concussion. And went back to sleep.
When she woke up again, her vision was still blurred...blurred around the nurse who had come to check on her. Everything else seemed clear. She blinked twice, but was unable to get rid of the rather fuzzy blue halo.
Another migraine sufferer's report"I've always had a type of visual aura... Once I'm in the headache things glow with a blue/purple aura, quite beautiful actually except for the damned pain. I also get the creative stuff before my headaches, but I'm so busy anticipating the onset of pain and trying to get everything done before that I don't have time to pay attention to it.... alas, if only I didn't have the blasted pain, I sometimes think migraines would be almost fun. I remember reading somewhere that great writers/artists and mystics had episodes of migraine -- also that it led to a deeper spiritual trance state, etc." (Natalie McNair-Huff, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, July 18, 1996) |
"The doctor says you're free to go, Ms West."
Free to go? She was still seeing things, dammit! But when she tried to argue, the doctor firmly guided her out, claiming her bed was needed. It probably was. And she would even be /charged/ for their incompetence! She stalked out, wishing her vision would clear.
But it didn't. Not that day, not the next day. Everyone she met still had a coloured fuzz around them, like an after-image. She began to wonder if there was something more to it than a lingering effect of her concussion. Having seen what was left of the Toyota, she knew just how lucky she had been... But something...something was badly wrong. She seemed to be more sensitive to cold than she had been.
Another migraine sufferer's report"One particularly memorable halo I had before a migraine had my vision going incredibly fuzzy around the edges. Grainy like purple nightvision, with bright specks exploding across it. The bright specks were similar to the afterimage you get from staring at the sun. Interestingly I had the same visuals on shrooms. As the halo came on I was talking to my flatmate in the hall and I remember him suddenly seeming distant and muted. At which point I thought dully 'huh, I should take some paracetamol.' It was quite a weird migraine though because I remember being so out of it that I became strangely calm and eventually fell asleep." (Nobody's Girl, BARBELITH Underground, June 12, 2004) |
Migraine Art: Corona phenomenon. © 2004 Migraine Action Association and Boehringer Ingelheim Limited
Corona phenomenon as visual aura symptom in migraineKlee and Willanger (1966) have introduced the term corona phenomenon to account for the visual illusion of an extra edge around an object. The first report of this phenomenon in the migraine literature was that of Ruete (1845) who observed that objects seen in the area of a scintillating scotoma were seen "as if surrounded by a halo". Similarly, Gowers (1888) reported a patient who saw objects surrounded by an iridescent fringe during his migraine attacks. Greenacre (1947), Speed (1964) and Hoffman (1984) contributed further single case studies, but it was not until Klee's (1968) study, which recorded the corona phenomenon in 8 out of 50 hospitalized migraine patients, that the said phenomenon was recognized as a common visual migraine aura symptom. This was confirmed by a study of Queiroz et al. (1997) who encountered the corona phenomenon in 2 of 100 adult migraine patients with visual auras. For further reading see Podoll and Robinson (2001). |
After about a week, Anna realised something was 'wrong'. Her 'symptoms' showed no sign of abating. She looked at herself in the mirror. I even look different, she thought. Thin, almost gaunt, her face stared back at her. Better? Or worse? She couldn't decide. She had deliberately kept her case-load light, now she began to regret that. She needed the distraction. Or, maybe, she needed to see a doctor. That seemed a much more sensible course of action. She stared at her reflection again. See a doctor, she told herself. Why did she suddenly feel that was a bad idea? Could a doctor answer the question of why her vision only blurred when she was looking at /people/? The doorbell chimed. Drat it. Which client had decided to chase her up at her apartment this time?
She went to open the door...and as soon as it opened, she was blinded. As if somebody had shone a light in her eyes. After a moment, her vision cleared...as much as it did these days, and standing in a shimmering white haze...was Tanya DeFoe. DRAT it! Not /her/! The last thing she needed was for that particular hokey-pookey psychic's 'assistance' with her problems. It was all hokey pokey, of course...
Tanya's smile drained from her face. "Hey, hon, you ok?" Tanya called everyone 'hon'.
"I'm fin..." Anna began. "No, I'm not fine. Oh, drat it. Come in."
The black woman nodded, and entered. "I heard about the crash...sorry I couldn't have been here sooner, but I was at the Midwest Convention for Clairvoyance and Telepathy."
Anna groaned.
"Hey! This is serious stuff."
"So you keep saying."
"Anyway." Tanya appropriated a chair. "You say you aren't fine."
Anna rolled her eyes, sighed and sat down. "No. I'm not. I was about to call the doctor."
Tanya leaned forward, looking at her. "I dont't think you should do that."
"Why not? Let me guess, you've seen a dreadful fate for me in your crystal ball if I do?"
"That is part of it."
"I give up! You, are insane."
Tanya just looked at her calmly. "This time, Anna, I am serious. Deadly serious."
"So, why shouldn't I go to the doctor."
"Because there isn't anything wrong with you."
"I can't see straight and there isn't anything wrong with me?" Before she knew it, Anna found herself pouring out the entire story.
Tanya paused. "Have you ever heard of the phenomenon of seeing auras?"
The phenomenon of seeing auras"Some people believe that there is a visible energy field, called an aura, that can be seen or otherwise sensed around living beings - especially around humans. These energy fields are sometimes claimed to be documented by a rare form of photography called Kirlian photography. However, these claims are vigorously denied by skeptics about paranormal activity. James Randi, for example, has for many years (as of 2003) offered one million US dollars to any person capable of repeatedly detecting auras, and no person has ever stepped forward to claim the prize." (From Websters Online Dictionary, July 4, 2004) |
Anna shook her head.
"Strange. You just described it perfectly."
"What the hell are you saying?"
"That the knock on the head you had activated some latent psychic ability or abilities."
"You're crazy. I'm going to see a doctor."
"Who'll find absolutely nothing wrong with you and stick you in the nearest looney-bin."
"Maybe that's where I belong! It's certainly where you do." Anna stalked out, leaving Tanya sitting in her apartment with a resigned look on her face.
Anna did not go to the doctors, however. Instead, she walked the streets...unable to help thinking about what Tanya had said. Okay, woman, there are three possibilities. One, a physical injury is affecting my sight. Two, I'm crazy. Three, Tanya's right.
Visual migraine aura and "paranormal" auraFrom a neurological point of view, a fourth explanation of Anna's recurring experiences of "seeing auras" is in terms of visual migraine aura "symptoms". The so-called phenomenon of "seeing auras", "aura reading" and aura or Kirlian photography have as a major historical origin the late 19th century Theosophical teachings on "the aura" which is assumed to be visible to clairvoyant persons as a luminous cloud surrounding the human body, animals, plants or inanimate objects. A comparison of Theosophists' descriptions of the aura with patients' reports and illustrations of various visual migraine aura phenomena, especially the corona phenomenon, reveals striking similarities which suggest that the supposedly paranormal experience of aura vision may represent, at least in some subjects, a visual aura symptom of migraine. For further reading see Podoll and Robinson, 2001, and Nicola and Podoll, 2003, p. 68-70. |
One seemed extremely unlikely, because her sight was /not/ being affected when she looked at buildings. Three also seemed unlikely...which left her with two. Not a pleasant prospect. Then two other prospects occurred to her...that she was still in a coma and this was all a weird dream...or she was dead. Right now, the 'dream' possibility seemed the most pleasant. Okay, if this is a dream, then how do I wake up? She did try pinching herself, and it felt like it wasn't a dream, but... She did not notice that she was being watched.
But she did, eventually, realise she was being followed...she did not recognise him as the same man from her accident, but she knew he was following her.
"Who are you?" she challenged, turning around. Then she saw he had a knife. She panicked, and ran.
The sculpted angel, seemed to look down upon her headlong, panicked, flight. She darted into a back alley, hoping to lose her pursuer.
Only to discover that it was a dead-end.
There was nowhere left to go, nowhere left to run to. Yet, it is often out of panic and desperation that one's greatest strength comes. She spotted an escape route. A fire escape. She began to pound up it, but he still followed her. Up, and up. Into the clouds, or so it seemed, but at the top, she realised she had run herself into a worse situation. On the roof, she stood there, trying to find the strength to do...to do something.
He came at her with a knife, and panic was the first thing. Then, something else took over. She wasn't going to go down without a fight!
"Go away!" she yelled, lifting her hand as if to push him away. And flames erupted between them.
And she fell... Her instinctive backward movement had taken her over the edge of the roof. And yet she did not fall. In fact, she found herself ten feet below the roof. Standing on thin air.
Now she knew she was dreaming...or dead. Her reason allowed only that explanation. Fire did not come out of nowhere, and people do not float in mid-air. But if it was a dream...she thought of rising up. Of gliding above the city. And it happened. If this was a dream, it was fun. The fear of a few moments before had already faded. What am I? she thought. Then, she thought that she was going to go home...and maybe try to find out.
© 2004 Jenna Povey (http://groups.google.de/ groups?selm=4rn50b%24r3d%40mapperley.innotts.co.uk&output=gplain, July 5, 2004)
A Usenet Newsgroups discussion on migraine aura and paranormal "aura""I've never heard of auras being experienced with migranes. I assume it is just your basic 'halo' of light around people and objects?" (Lori Alliani, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, May 29, 1997) "I can speak about this from the standpoint of having 'classic' migraines, the ones associated with the 'aura'. ('Common' migraines are the ones without the aura.) It varies from person to person, but it is a visual disturbance that occurs about 45 minutes before the migraine pain starts in the eye on the opposite side of the head from the pain. I'm sure that some folks see it as a 'halo' around things, but I see spinning translucent pinwheel kinds of things and flashes of light. Anyway, it's not necessarily like the paranormal phenomenon we refer to as the 'aura'." (Lynn, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, May 29, 1997) "The 'Migrane' 'aura' is NOTHING like the 'aura' of energy often seen around people's bodies. About once every year or two I will get a Migrane attack − The 'aura' in this case looks 'Very artificial' an area of my vision will be 'filled' with what can best be describes as a 'zig-zag' or 'herringbone' array of 'glass tiles' − like the pattern in a wood parquet floor. Each 'tile' will flash with prismatic colors. − There is NOTHING halo-like or 'energy-like about it. It is 'hard-edged' and 'artificial looking' like a ghost, it has to be experienced to be beleived." (Tom Ray, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, May 29, 1997) "I agree 100% with the distinction Tom is making here. Hmmm. Herringbone array, like a wood parquet floor? Yep, had those auras too. (Awesome description, Tom!) And, yes, the migraine aura has a hard-edgedness about it and is quite unlike energy fields associated with paranormal phenomena." (Lynn, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, June 1, 1997) "Well, the reason I asked, is because I've seen auras before, but am still not sure exactly WHAT I saw. It doesn't happen often, and actually, I only see (what ever it is) around people (I've never thought to look at animals or plants). It seems to be a soft blue hazy 'glow' around a person. I don't notice anything 'in front of' anyone, or anything as if this 'aura' is encasing someone, just around their edges, and it only seems to extend maybe two inches from the person. I don't notice any difference individuals' 'auras', leading me to believe this is a vision problem. I have also had what my mother tells me are 'blind headaches', where if I am looking directly at something, I cannot see it, but I can see immediately to either side of it (very frustrating when you are trying to read). I was told these were a type of migraine, although I have never experienced any pain with either occurance, and I've never had a headache I would classify as 'migraine' intensity. I suppose this is a bit off topic, and I apologize, but I wonder if the two symptoms are related, and would be very interested in hearing anyone's input." (Lori Alliani, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, May 30, 1997) "Lori, this is a totally different phenomenon from the migraine aura and *is*, IMHO, paranormal. This sounds like what is often referred to as the 'health aura'. [...] This isn't a vision problem, but is an ability that has been referred to as etheric vision. [...] One important thing about migraine 'auras' (totally unrelated to paranormal auras) is that they don't look exactly the same to everyone. It may be Tom's herringbone/parquet-floor pattern, it may be my translucent pinwheels, it could be darkness or light flashes. To be on the safe side, you may want to discuss all of these visual phenomena with your doctor (who may be totally baffled by the blue outline, unlike your friends here on afgs, but not the blind spots). . [...] I hope this helps separate out the different types of things that you may be experiencing. Of course, I'm not saying that anything *has* to be a particular phenomenon -- I'm just throwing out a few things that you may want to consider. And I don't think it's off-topic for us to try to separate physical plane phenomena from the paranormal." (Lynn, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, June 1, 1997) "I called my sister yesterday, to try to explain to someone in my family that I'm 'seeing things' (I still don't know what, yet, so yes, I'm still skeptical), and she's the only one who will tell me I'm crazy if she thinks so, instead of just calling the little men in the white coats. While trying to explain the blue 'outline' I sometimes see, she said 'that's exactly what I see, only mine are yellowish-white'. This surprised me as someone else posted that these 'auras' are usually blue or yellow-white. She doesn't have internet access so she definitely hasn't read this newsgroup, and she also attributed what she was seeing to vision problems, although the definition of what she sees matches up to what some think may be auras." (Lori Alliani, Newsgroups:alt.folklore.ghost-stories, June 6, 1997) |
References
Gowers WR. A manual of diseases of the nervous system. Vol. 2. "Diseases of the brain and cranial nerves. General and functional diseases of the nervous system." Churchill, London 1888.
Greenacre P. Vision, headache and the halo. Reactions to stress in the course of superego formation. Psychoanal Quart 1947; 16: 177-194.
Hoffman JA. LSD flashbacks. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1984; 41: 631-632.
Klee A, Willanger R. Disturbances of visual perception in migraine. Acta Neurol Scand 1966; 42: 400-414.
Klee A. A clinical study of migraine with particular reference to the most severe cases. Munksgaard, Copenhagen 1968.
Nicola U, Podoll K. L'aura di Giorgio de Chirico. Arte emicranica e pittura metafisica. Mimesis, Milano 2003.
Podoll K, Robinson D. Corona phenomenon as visual aura symptom in migraine. Cephalalgia 2001; 21: 712-717.
Queiroz LP, Rapoport AM, Weeks RE, Sheftell FD, Siegel SE, Baskin SM. Characteristics of migraine visual aura. Headache 1997; 37: 137-141.
Ruete CGT. Lehrbuch der Ophthalmologie für Aerzte und Studirende. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1845.
Speed WG. A few interesting neurologic manifestations of migraine. Headache 1964; 3: 128-133.
Author: Klaus Podoll
Last modification of this page: Wed. July 14, 2004
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