Old short story about a man who intentionally forgot all his words?
April 24, 2018 12:36 PM Subscribe
I’m pretty sure I once read a short story — pulp maybe — about a man who gets it into his head that it would be good to wipe language from his mind. I can’t remember the premise beyond that, but he gets so efficient at wiping out his vocabulary that, eventually, he is able to recite a word a single time to scrub it entirely.
Eventually this runaway situation causes consternation, such that, as the story reaches its conclusion, our hero is trying his best not to think of his final word. Which is, of course, “Help.” Sweet!
But I can’t remember where I read/saw this. And any of the actual details are suspect. Was the protagonist a man or a woman? Did he really run to his phone at the end and shout “Help!” or is that something my mind has conjured? Was his final word entirely different? I’m pretty sure I didn’t dream this, but all my Googling has yielded nothing.
Any direction is appreciated.
Eventually this runaway situation causes consternation, such that, as the story reaches its conclusion, our hero is trying his best not to think of his final word. Which is, of course, “Help.” Sweet!
But I can’t remember where I read/saw this. And any of the actual details are suspect. Was the protagonist a man or a woman? Did he really run to his phone at the end and shout “Help!” or is that something my mind has conjured? Was his final word entirely different? I’m pretty sure I didn’t dream this, but all my Googling has yielded nothing.
Any direction is appreciated.
It's similar to a JG Ballard story where the main character erases concepts from his mind, from The Terminal Beach.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:49 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Sebmojo at 2:49 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by flipmodemedian at 1:17 PM on April 24, 2018 [2 favorites]