Page 18 - DeepRestFlipFinal

NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
EEG readings showed distinct phases of sleep: REM,
NREM stages 1-4. These diagrams depicted
something else entirely. A state of deep neurological
quietude, yes, but with an underlying, rhythmic
oscillation that suggested not inactivity, but a kind of
reset. A deep, resonant hum.
Evelyn, the scientist, scoffed. It was absurd.
Pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo. A relic from an era
when medicine was more alchemy than anatomy. Yet,
the images held a strange, compelling beauty. And the
hope that had sparked in Mallory’s room wouldn’t go
away.
She pulled out her laptop and typed in keywords:
"Somnus Profundus," "ancient sleep states,"
"neurological reset," "forgotten therapies for
depression." The search results were a predictable
wilderness of New Age mysticism, fringe theories,
and historical curiosities. Nothing concrete. Nothing
that aligned with the factual science she lived by.
Then, buried deep in a digitized archive of
obscure medical papers from the early 20th century, a
single hit. A paper, barely two pages long, published
in an obscure European journal in 1908. Its title:
"Preliminary Observations on Induced States of
Profound Rest and Their Therapeutic Potential."
The author was a Dr. Alistair Finch. A name she
had never heard of. The paper was dense, written in a
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