Psychomech
Encyclopedia
Psychomech, ISBN 0-312-85371-8, is a horror novel written by Brian Lumley
and published by Tor Books
in 1984. This book is approximately 334 pages in length and focuses on the events in the life of Richard Garrison, a corporal
in the British Royal Military Police
, after meeting Thomas Schroeder, a rich German
industrialist. The novel focuses heavily on the idea of extra-sensory perception
(ESP).
in the Royal Military Police
who is disturbed by repeated nightmare
s involving a silver car, black dog, two men, a beautiful unseen girl, a Machine
and a man-God and ending in an explosion. Thomas Schroeder, a German
industrialist, along with his trusted companion and employee Willy Koenig, are brought to Ireland on business. Members of the IRA
try to prevent Schroeder from developing in Ireland by kidnapping his wife. While Schroeder and Koenig are able to beat the IRA
at their own game of intimidation, they underestimate them and are left frantically trying to return to their hotel rooms as they learn that a bomb has been planted in the building, again threatening the lives of Schroeder's wife and son. Garrison's and Schroeder's lives cross paths as Garrison is ordered to escort Schroeder to his hotel room in search of his wife and son. Garrison manages to save the lives of Schroeder, his wife and his son just as the bomb
explodes in the room, as predicted in his dream. The explosion leaves Garrison blind
and cripples Schroeder, reducing his life expectancy to a mere two years.
Schroeder brings Garrison to his home in Germany
in an attempt to repay his debt. While there Garrison meets Vicki Maler, the daughter of a friend of Schroeder who is also blind, and the two quickly become involved. Schroeder meanwhile tries to help Garrison in his blindness with gadgets and a highly trained guide dog
. Schroeder also reveals to Garrison his belief in extra-sensory perception
(ESP) and that he has had both his, Garrison's and even Vicki's fortunes read. Schroeder is to die within two years, Vicki is to die within only one year, and Garrison is to meet a "T", a "Machine" and eventually be merged with "TS" - partially agreeing with the events of his former nightmares. Schroeder explains that he believes that after his death he will return and his consciousness
will merge with that of Garrisons. Garrison is skeptical at first, but after Schroeder shows how he is able to test for ESP
ability, revealing Garrison's strong natural ability in the process, Garrison changes his opinion and makes a pact
with Schroeder. Schroeder will give Garrison money and power now in exchange for the rebirth in Garrison that is to come.
Vicki leaves Garrison to travel the world in the year remaining to her. Garrison asks Schroeder to have her body cryogenically frozen after her death in response to another dream where he saw her frozen body. Garrison returns to England
with the new wealth and connections Schroeder has given him. Schroeder eventually dies and Garrison is able to feel it through a telepathic connection. Soon after Koenig comes to Garrison, ordered by Schroeder to keep him safe, and informs him that Schroeder's home in Germany now belongs to him.
For the next few years Garrison learns from Koenig as the two become closer friends. Garrison first overcomes his limitations due to his blindness
, increases his wealth and power as he learns more about business and even increases his supernatural
mental powers. "T" is revealed to him one night in a dream somewhere in Italy with danger surrounding her. Garrison and Koenig travel to Italy to find Terri, rescuing her from trouble just in time. Already knowing it must happen from his dreams, Garrison soon marries Terri and for a few years they live together in relative happiness.
Unbeknown to Garrison, Terri was once intimately acquainted with a psychiatrist
Gareth Wyatt who is harbouring Hans Mass ne Otto Krippner, a Nazi
who once tried to build a machine to create supermen for Hitler
. Wyatt is using Mass to again try to build this machine, Psychomech, for which he will then take the credit and the profit. While Wyatt believes this machine only to be a tool to use to overcome one's fears, Mass' true purpose for this machine is to amply a person's ESP
abilities and thus create a race of supermen. Mass succeeds but Wyatt murders him to prevent being caught for his role in harbouring a Nazi
war criminal.
Wyatt runs into Terri at a party in England and both having learned that she is now married to a rich and powerful man and being in need of money, tries to again seduce her in the hopes of extorting money. Terri arranges for Wyatt to meet Garrison, who quickly agrees to lend financial and technical support to Wyatt when he realizes that Wyatt's Psychomech is the Machine in his dreams.
Terri and Wyatt fall in love and plot to rid themselves of Garrison. After rebuilding and improving Psychomech, Garrison decides to be its trial subject, as he knows he must. Wyatt tries to sabotage Psychomech to kill Garrison but Garrison uses his supernatural abilities to conquer his fears one by one. Schroeder's essence reveals itself to Garrison while he under Psychomech's influence. Garrison tries to deny Schroeder but allows Schroeder to merge with himself as he realizes he can't overcome the final fear, the last obstacle along, Garrison/Schroeder enter the black room which holds Garrison's final fear and finds Terri and Wyatt locked in an embrace. They change revealing all those who have betrayed Garrison. Garrison/Schroeder's supernatural abilities reach their peak. They return sight to Garrison's body then resurrect Vicki, returning her to her original state while curing her eyesight and removing her terminal disease. They punish Terri and Wyatt first with pain and then death. Koenig is rewarded for his loyalty by granting him immortality
by merging his consciousness with their own to form Garrison/Schroeder/Koenig. They erase the existence of Psychomech, Wyatt and his house and then together the Garrison/Schroeder/Koenig entity along with Vicki are left to a world of untold possibilities.
Brian Lumley
Brian Lumley is an English horror fiction writer.Born in County Durham, he joined the British Army's Royal Military Police and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1980 and becoming a professional writer.He added to H. P...
and published by Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
in 1984. This book is approximately 334 pages in length and focuses on the events in the life of Richard Garrison, a corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
in the British Royal Military Police
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
, after meeting Thomas Schroeder, a rich German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
industrialist. The novel focuses heavily on the idea of extra-sensory perception
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
(ESP).
Plot overview
Richard Garrison is a corporalCorporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
in the Royal Military Police
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
who is disturbed by repeated nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
s involving a silver car, black dog, two men, a beautiful unseen girl, a Machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
and a man-God and ending in an explosion. Thomas Schroeder, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
industrialist, along with his trusted companion and employee Willy Koenig, are brought to Ireland on business. Members of the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
try to prevent Schroeder from developing in Ireland by kidnapping his wife. While Schroeder and Koenig are able to beat the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
at their own game of intimidation, they underestimate them and are left frantically trying to return to their hotel rooms as they learn that a bomb has been planted in the building, again threatening the lives of Schroeder's wife and son. Garrison's and Schroeder's lives cross paths as Garrison is ordered to escort Schroeder to his hotel room in search of his wife and son. Garrison manages to save the lives of Schroeder, his wife and his son just as the bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
explodes in the room, as predicted in his dream. The explosion leaves Garrison blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and cripples Schroeder, reducing his life expectancy to a mere two years.
Schroeder brings Garrison to his home in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in an attempt to repay his debt. While there Garrison meets Vicki Maler, the daughter of a friend of Schroeder who is also blind, and the two quickly become involved. Schroeder meanwhile tries to help Garrison in his blindness with gadgets and a highly trained guide dog
Guide dog
Guide dogs are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially color blind and are not capable of interpreting street signs...
. Schroeder also reveals to Garrison his belief in extra-sensory perception
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
(ESP) and that he has had both his, Garrison's and even Vicki's fortunes read. Schroeder is to die within two years, Vicki is to die within only one year, and Garrison is to meet a "T", a "Machine" and eventually be merged with "TS" - partially agreeing with the events of his former nightmares. Schroeder explains that he believes that after his death he will return and his consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
will merge with that of Garrisons. Garrison is skeptical at first, but after Schroeder shows how he is able to test for ESP
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
ability, revealing Garrison's strong natural ability in the process, Garrison changes his opinion and makes a pact
Pact
A pact is a formal agreement.Pact, The Pact or PACT may also refer to:-PACT as an acronym:* Protein ACTivator of the interferon-induced protein kinase, a protein that activates protein kinase R...
with Schroeder. Schroeder will give Garrison money and power now in exchange for the rebirth in Garrison that is to come.
Vicki leaves Garrison to travel the world in the year remaining to her. Garrison asks Schroeder to have her body cryogenically frozen after her death in response to another dream where he saw her frozen body. Garrison returns to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with the new wealth and connections Schroeder has given him. Schroeder eventually dies and Garrison is able to feel it through a telepathic connection. Soon after Koenig comes to Garrison, ordered by Schroeder to keep him safe, and informs him that Schroeder's home in Germany now belongs to him.
For the next few years Garrison learns from Koenig as the two become closer friends. Garrison first overcomes his limitations due to his blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, increases his wealth and power as he learns more about business and even increases his supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
mental powers. "T" is revealed to him one night in a dream somewhere in Italy with danger surrounding her. Garrison and Koenig travel to Italy to find Terri, rescuing her from trouble just in time. Already knowing it must happen from his dreams, Garrison soon marries Terri and for a few years they live together in relative happiness.
Unbeknown to Garrison, Terri was once intimately acquainted with a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Gareth Wyatt who is harbouring Hans Mass ne Otto Krippner, a Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
who once tried to build a machine to create supermen for Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Wyatt is using Mass to again try to build this machine, Psychomech, for which he will then take the credit and the profit. While Wyatt believes this machine only to be a tool to use to overcome one's fears, Mass' true purpose for this machine is to amply a person's ESP
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
abilities and thus create a race of supermen. Mass succeeds but Wyatt murders him to prevent being caught for his role in harbouring a Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
war criminal.
Wyatt runs into Terri at a party in England and both having learned that she is now married to a rich and powerful man and being in need of money, tries to again seduce her in the hopes of extorting money. Terri arranges for Wyatt to meet Garrison, who quickly agrees to lend financial and technical support to Wyatt when he realizes that Wyatt's Psychomech is the Machine in his dreams.
Terri and Wyatt fall in love and plot to rid themselves of Garrison. After rebuilding and improving Psychomech, Garrison decides to be its trial subject, as he knows he must. Wyatt tries to sabotage Psychomech to kill Garrison but Garrison uses his supernatural abilities to conquer his fears one by one. Schroeder's essence reveals itself to Garrison while he under Psychomech's influence. Garrison tries to deny Schroeder but allows Schroeder to merge with himself as he realizes he can't overcome the final fear, the last obstacle along, Garrison/Schroeder enter the black room which holds Garrison's final fear and finds Terri and Wyatt locked in an embrace. They change revealing all those who have betrayed Garrison. Garrison/Schroeder's supernatural abilities reach their peak. They return sight to Garrison's body then resurrect Vicki, returning her to her original state while curing her eyesight and removing her terminal disease. They punish Terri and Wyatt first with pain and then death. Koenig is rewarded for his loyalty by granting him immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
by merging his consciousness with their own to form Garrison/Schroeder/Koenig. They erase the existence of Psychomech, Wyatt and his house and then together the Garrison/Schroeder/Koenig entity along with Vicki are left to a world of untold possibilities.