CHAPTER XXII Real Phantoms
“So these are our suspects?” Judy looked about at the array of machineryin the area just in front of the studio floor. It was the next day. Shehad come with Irene to rehearsal. To all appearances she was simply aninterested friend, but Mr. Lenz knew, the moment he saw her, that shehad come for another purpose.
“I’ve seen the papers,” he said to Irene. “I know your friend ismissing, and I can tell you something about what happened backstage lastSaturday. I was standing at the door to the film storage room and saw itall. She came back here during intermission. Your guest star hadn’tarrived, and everybody was all excited. When they saw this girl you callClarissa Valentine they jumped to the conclusion that she was FrancineDow and brought out the wig and costume.”
“I see.” It was clear to Judy what had happened. “Clarissa said she cameto New York hoping to get a little part on TV. That was the way she putit. The part she got wasn’t so little.”
“She was there when she was needed,” Irene put in, “but how did shehappen to go backstage in the first place?”
“I think I can answer that question,” Judy said. “She went back forthose two bottles of shampoo she left in the dressing room, and when shesaw Francine Dow wasn’t there, she stepped into the part because shedidn’t want the show spoiled and because—well, it does happen thatsometimes one person’s failure is another’s opportunity.”
“I guess that’s the way of it,” agreed Mr. Lenz. “That girl can reallyact. With all the publicity she’ll get when she is located, she’s sureto be in demand, and I don’t mean just for spot advertising.”
“Speaking of advertising,” Judy began as if it had just come up casuallyin the conversation, “there was a commercial on this channel lastSaturday—”
“If you mean the golden hair wash commercial, it won’t be shown again. Ican promise you that,” the projectionist went on, becoming excited. “Iknow why you’ve come. I could see you were curious. Well, that young adman had talked somebody here into showing that film, phantoms and all—”
“Phantoms?” The word burst from Judy’s lips. “What phantoms, Mr. Lenz?”
“That,” said Mr. Lenz, perching on his counter like an angry bird, “willtake a little explaining.” He waved his hand toward the pigeonholesbehind him, where rows upon rows of film were stored for future use onthe program. “It’s my job to bring the contents of those cans to life.There’s everything there—spot commercials, feature films, half-hourshows—everything. People who watch these films know what they’rewatching. If they don’t like the program they can turn it off. If thecommercial displeases them they can always walk out of the room untilit’s over.
“But here,” he went on, “is something being fed into your mind withoutyour knowledge and without your consent. You can’t turn it off becauseyou don’t know you’re watching it until, suddenly, you feel compelled tobuy some product or, worse yet, you’re plagued with guilt because youdidn’t buy it. This is called subliminal advertising, and it’sforbidden—just as it should be. Only once has it been used on thischannel—”
“Was that last Saturday, Mr. Lenz? Was it shown on Teen Time Party?”
“Yes. Superimposed on the picture of the golden-haired girl you saw wasanother picture—a shadowy, faceless figure which the advertiser wishedyou to imagine was yourself. This phantom was flashed on the screen toofast for your conscious mind to be aware of it. But your subconsciousmind recorded it. And a desire was planted. You began to want to be likethe beautiful golden-haired girl rather than the faceless shadow.”
“I dreamed of faceless people,” cried Judy. “They had golden hair, andthey were all alike. They frightened me, Mr. Lenz. I couldn’t get themout of my mind.”
“Did you associate them with such words as _drab_ and _dull_?” he asked.
“That’s what Clarissa kept saying about her hair. I thought—we allthought she’d hypnotized us in some way. Why? Were those words flashedon television, too? Were all those queer feelings we couldn’t explainthe result of that program we watched?”
“I’m afraid they were, my dear. But the film will not be shown again. Ican promise you that. Erase it from your memory, if you can. Butremember! Those faceless phantoms could be real if we once lost ourfreedom to think!”
He stopped, as if spent by his outburst, and Irene said, “We’llremember, won’t we, Judy? This has certainly been a lesson for me.”
“What do you mean, Irene?” asked Judy.
“Because I’d just about decided to do the golden hair wash commercial.That is, I thought if Clarissa used the stuff, she could do thecommercial for me. And with all the publicity she’ll be getting, peoplewill be eager to see her. But now that I know that sponsor usessubliminal advertising, I wouldn’t think of working for those people,”Irene exclaimed.
“What’s more, Mrs. Meredith,” Mr. Lenz observed, “if the golden hairwash people don’t give up the use of subliminal advertising, no majornetwork will have anything to do with them.”
“That’s right,” Irene sighed. “And I did so want to be on one of the bignetworks. It isn’t just the extra money. It’s being able to entertain somany more people—especially you,” she confided with a fond look at Judy.“You won’t see me on your TV at home until I do.”
“It’s a shame,” Judy sympathized. “But you’ll get there sooner or later.And when you do, I hope you’ll repeat _Sleeping Beauty_.”
“I’d like to,” Irene said, “but how can I unless we find Clarissa?”
Judy shook her head. “We haven’t anything, not even a picture of her forthe papers, and so far they haven’t been able to locate any ministernamed Valentine in West Virginia. Peter says it’s probably not her realname.”
“You’ll find her,” Mr. Lenz said. “But if she goes on the air for goldenhair wash, she’ll be giving up more than she can possibly gain.”
“Peter said there were thieves of the mind,” Judy said, “and I’mbeginning to understand what he meant. You wouldn’t know it if theyflashed those faceless phantoms on a film you had made. It would betheir film, wouldn’t it? They could do that—”
“Not without warning the viewers,” Mr. Lenz interrupted. “The publicdoes have that much protection. The technique has been used in horrorfilms, but the viewers have been warned.”
“Warned of what?” asked Judy. “Were they told that the film would givethem nightmares?”
“Yes. As I told that young ad man, it’s still in the experimental stage.It’s dangerous—”
“As dangerous as an atom bomb. That’s what you said,” Judy reminded him.
“And that,” declared the projectionist, “is exactly what I meant. Theday a man’s thinking can be controlled without his knowledge will be theday that marks the end of freedom.”
“No!” cried Judy. “We won’t let that happen!”
Mr. Lenz gave Judy’s hand such a grip that she winced, but afterwards itwas good to remember. And there were no more nightmares, for Judy atleast. After she had talked it over with Peter she knew exactly what hadhappened and what they had yet to do.