S2 Ep2: "Life Imitates Movies"

You're listening to Case 63, a Spotify audio series. Time, 9/55, November 26, 2012. I've authorized a visit from Case 63's husband. Having spoken with him privately, I can now confirm that this is indeed a relapsing mental condition for patient, Emily Sachs, which means we have to proceed with caution. She continues to display signs of confusion and disassociation. She seems unaware of her own life and identity. Almost like this fictitious persona she's created is clinging on to her and keeping her from coming back to reality. You can come in, Mr. Collins. Just a couple minutes. Protocol. Doctor. I'll be right outside. Don't worry. How are you feeling? Who are you? Oliver. I'm Oliver Collins. I'm Poster. You're not my husband. It doesn't really matter who I am. Do you know who you are? Emily Sachs. That's what it says right there on your bracelet. Emily, see? And my medical record. This is not the first time something like this has happened. This is not your first time time traveling. What, what do you. Everything about this alternate version of yourself, it can all be traced to things in your own life. A thousand tiny things that you've seen or experienced exacerbated by this year's end of the world is stereo. I don't understand what you're saying. You became obsessed with viruses and infectious diseases. After your son passed away from pneumonia caused by a virus. My son, I don't know. No, I don't. You have countless files on viruses on your computer. Files about coronaviruses that generate respiratory diseases. And you bought dozens of psychiatric textbooks. And they're still there. One on top of the other in our room and the movies. Yes. We watched them together. And then you'd re-watch them over and over and over again. Oh, and the book. Emily, the book. What book? The book you've read a million times but you seem to always forget. Here. The Eyes of Darkness. The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Coons. I've never seen this book. It's okay. Just read the back. 2020 AD. A lab in Wuhan, China. A deadly virus. First contained, then escaped. Then unstoppable. What is this? Open the book. Flip a few pages. Let me see. The virus is called Wuhan 400 and here you underlined. The pandemic will spread around the world. And will you got it all from right here? On the one hand, the person can become a carrier for the infection only four hours after coming into contact with the virus. I don't understand. This is. This is fiction. It's Nightmare View. This book was written in 1981. Correct. Dr. Knight tried to explain it to you. Emily, you made it all up. That name? That's the young psychiatrist who treated you at the other hospital. You used her name. Dr. Eliza Knight. Eliza be a trick knight. Yes. She said it was common for psychiatric patients to project aspects of their doctors into their own disassociations. As a way of trying to maintain control or avoid treatment in certain cases. No, no, no, no. I'm not projecting anything. Yes, you are. Emily. Sometimes reality isn't so exciting. It's just reality. You have to come back to it. You'll see. When you're home, everything will make sense. Believe in the future. Uh, Mr. Collins, sorry, time is up. You'll be fine. I just know it. I'll leave this with you. It's a notebook with some ideas you wrote down. I found it on your bedside table. Maybe it'll help clear things up a bit. Thank you very much, Dr. [BEEPING] November 26, 2012. Second meeting with Case 63. Her husband's visit has left her visibly shaken. It's curious. There's something familiar about her. I checked my records thinking I had treated her before, but I found nothing. I just know I've seen her somewhere. I thought maybe it mattered while we were both students since she has medical training, but when I asked her husband, he said she'd gone to a different med school. I've decided to increase her dosage. And depending on today's evaluation, it will determine whether she's fit to be discharged or not. [BEEPING] So I heard you've been sleeping. You've seen Comer this afternoon. How are you feeling? Apparently, I'm not well at all. Your husband insists on taking you home. What do you think? I really need some time to process what's happening to me. What do you need to think about? Reality. It's tough. Believe me, I get it. Letting go of our beliefs can be terrifying, like free falling without a safety net. But sometimes you just, you have to jump. I'm trying hard to do that. Just ask me questions. Emily, what year is it? We are in 2012. November 26th. Can you tell me what happened? I undressed in an airport bathroom. Got rid of everything that could give away my identity. I forgot my name and my address. I don't know. Could be drugs, brain tumor, a chemical imbalance, stress. It could always be stress. Your husband told me you studied medicine at Columbia. I did, yes. Okay, going. Well, I'm almost bald, which indicates I went through some sort of electro-convulsive therapy. And that explains a lot. Memory loss, the tattoo in my back. Big wings, it makes sense. What makes sense? The belief that I'm going to save the world. That I'm unique, that I'm special. All signs of someone with a paranoid delusion. In my particular delusion, well, well, my mind invented disconnected memories, allegedly from the future. I was a psychiatrist in a large hospital. I felt sad and lost. Had a falling out with my sister. A global pandemic came. Everyone ended up locked in their homes. Streets of Rome, New York, everywhere, all empty. And then, in 2022, I met a patient. A very special patient. The way he spoke his voice, it was. His voice was very similar to yours, doctor. Just a bit of projecting. I imagine. Transference. He claimed to be a time traveler. And that he had to prevent an altered strain of a virus called Pegasus. That would bring about the end of the world as we know it. A slow and gradual but definite end. That's what he said. According to him. Do you understand that all of that every part of this story is an invention of your mind? I'm trying. Have you read the book The Eyes of Darkness? No. Well, I have. Apparently, that's where I got the idea of a virus born in a Chinese city that spreads around the world. I got that idea from a book. Where did I get the rest? It's funny. I don't remember my real name, but I remember movies. It isn't unheard of. There are Alzheimer's patients who can remember songs when almost every other part of their brain has gone dark. You already told me that, didn't you? No. Huh. Hmm. I built my story by taking bits and pieces from movies in my life, the one I've forgotten. I think I'm a fan of science, fiction, books, and movies. You know, there are some studies that show that sci-fi fans are prone to psychotic episodes. There's a notebook that Aller gave me. Here's a list of movies and notes I took. A phone traveler and a virus with animals wandering deserted city streets. That's a version of 12-month cases, isn't it? Cities under lockdown. A virus born in China. Transpited to humans from animals. Everyone cut off from the ones they love. I got all of that from one called contagion, apparently. And, uh, oh, oh, look. There's a movie called Code 46 where people have to live confined to cities and a researcher who works with bats gets infected by a virus. My whole view of the universe just goes on. Most of my patients' narratives are taken from literature or films. It's not very surprising. No, that's comforting. to know I came up with all this crap just based on what I was watching in the movies. So everything I know about the 2020 pandemic, the lockdown, the vaccines, everything, it's all just something my mind made up. I know this is difficult Emily, but it's necessary. But then we move past that and arrive at a second layer of false memories. The ones relayed by my Peter Reuter character, my non-existent patient who came from the future and who talked about mutating viruses and cities on Mars and social networks taking control of the justice system and turning themselves into fascist digital, talitarian entities. You know, when I say it, I would like that. It does sound like something out of science fiction novel. Well, I am very surprised by that analysis, Emily. Not a lot of patients can see things that clearly. Why do you think it happened again? I understand my first episode was due to my son's death, but why now? Maybe the collective delusion that the world's gonna end next month. The 5,000 year long mind calendar ends on December 21st and some people are terrified. Certain dates, cut off dates, anything that seems like a point of no return, everybody just panics and the panic quietly spreads. Remember, why 2K? Millions of otherwise rational people ended up totally divorced from reality. You thought our microwaves and alarm clocks were gonna kill us? Just because it was the turn of the millennia. Big numbers. We tend to panic together in clusters, in communities of panic. It's strange times we're living through, but don't worry. The world is not coming to an end. Not this December and not afterwards either. Do you believe in the future, doctor? I'm quite optimistic about the future. I don't know. I think the future will be bright. But back to you, you're looking better, more centered. I want my mind back. Dr. Caldwell, I want my life back. And I'm gonna start by drawing a dividing line between the lies my mind tells me and what's real. I'm glad. Do you know what finally convinced me? What? Let me read you what I wrote in my notebook. When my son died, I asked the doctor how he got the virus. And he told me it was because of a toy. I contaminated a toy. Guess what the toy was, doctor? Told me. A horse with wings. Pegasus. Case 63, created and written by Julio Rojas, adapted by Maravela Smolendes, directed by Mimio Donald, starring Julian Moore, Oscar Isaac, and Aryan Moya. Executive produced by Julian Moore, Oscar Isaac and Mimio Donald, produced by Alexandra K. Brown and Katie Pestoar, Sound Supervision by Jonathan Roberts, score by Moat.