Previous
Chapter 4
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lathe of Heaven, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Limits of Utilitarianism
Dreams and the Limitations of Knowledge
Cosmic Balance
Power and Selfishness
Summary
Analysis
It’s March 24. William Haber makes his way across the cool, marble floor of the Oregon Oneirological Institute. Penny Crouch greets him as he enters his office. He’s glad he brought Penny with him when he was named Director of the Institute last year. Haber enters his office and gazes out the enormous window at a gorgeous view of the Willamette River, city skyline, and distant mountain peaks.
It appears that Haber has used Orr’s dreams to give himself a retroactive promotion that went into effect last year. Haber’s nice office reflects his elevated status: he now has the nice view he coveted in Chapter 2.
Active
Themes
Haber sits at his desk and gets started on the “hackwork” that comes with the “running of a Government-connected science research institute.” Though Haber doesn’t mind the tedium, he dislikes not having enough time for his research. In fact, his new position has forced him to give up all but one of his patients. Haber’s sole patient, George Orr, has an appointment at 4:00 p.m. today, and a HEW inspector will be there to observe their session with the Augmentor. Haber grumbles about the “Goddamn Government prying,” and the way his many successes have made him the victim of “public curiosity” and “professional envy.” If he was still a private researcher at P.S.U., working out of his office in Willamette East Tower, nobody would have given the Augmentor a second thought.
This scene offers a more detailed picture of all the ways Haber’s life has improved since he began treating Orr, notably that he’s now in charge of an important “Government-connected science research institute.” The fact that Orr is the only patient he’s maintained suggests that Haber has more desires for Orr’s dreams to fulfill. Haber’s complaint about the “Goddamn Government prying” is ironic, given the prying that he engaged in to achieve his current “Government-connected” position. Haber seems to accept a certain degree of Government prying, so long as he’s at the giving rather than receiving end of it.
Active
Themes
The lawyer, Miss Lelache, arrives before Orr. She’s a terse but competent woman. She carries a big purse with a chunky golden clasp holding it closed, and she wears loud, metal jewelry, including a ring that depict[s] “a horribly ugly African mask design.” Haber thinks that Lelache’s display is itself a mask, “a lot of sound and fury signifying timidity.” Lelache asks questions about Orr and records the conversation with a pocket recorder, which annoys Haber. Haber tells Lelache that Orr is “disturbed,” per the Health Office’s definition, though his condition is improving with treatment. Lelache asks Haber to describe this treatment, and Haber describes how the Augmentor produces stimuli encouraging dreaming.
Active
Themes
Lelache asks Haber how he decides which “stimuli” to use on patients, which is a subject Haber has been avoiding. Haber gives an overly detailed, longwinded answer about starting with generalized stimuli and conducting tests on animals. He predicts that it might one day be possible to supply a disturbed mind like Orr’s with brainwave patterns that can “‘teach’ an abnormally functioning brain new habits.” Of course, Haber assures Lelache, he’ll be sure to “reregister with HEW” before undertaking this research (though what he doesn’t tell Lelache is that he’s currently conducting this research in his sessions with Orr).
Active
Themes
Get the entire The Lathe of Heaven LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Lelache presses further, asking Haber what the Augmentor actually does. Lelache’s nosiness annoys Haber, but he tries not to show it. Haber describes the Augmentor as a time-saving device whose primary job is to make Orr enter a dream state more quickly and, in so doing, minimize the time and effort needed for him to overcome his fear of dreams. The Augmentor can also deliver a signal to Orr’s brain to prevent him from having a nightmare, which would be catastrophic to the therapeutic process. Haber downplays the ways the Augmentor coerces Orr’s brain into behaving a certain way, making it out to be a gentler, more natural alternative to something like electrical brain stimulation.
Active
Themes
Haber is grateful when his desk communicator buzzes, alerting him to Orr’s arrival. Orr enters Haber’s office. He and Lelache awkwardly shake hands and pretend not to know each other. The juxtaposition between the “meek” Orr and the “fierce” Lelache amuses Haber. Intent on putting on a “show” for Lelache, Haber places his hand across Orr’s throat to induce hypnosis, though Orr detracts from the performance when Haber’s touch causes him to flinch—a reaction Haber sees as evidence of Orr’s growing resistance to hypnosis.
Active
Themes
Once Orr is in a trance, Haber asks him to name something that worries him. Orr responds, “overpopulation.” Haber begins the process of hypnosuggestion, inviting Orr to think of “overpopulation” as a mere metaphor he uses to express his real anxieties about “unfreedom” and intimacy. Haber prompts Orr to have an effective dream about overpopulation. Inwardly, Haber bemoans the way Lelache’s presence is forcing him to deliver instructions to Orr in such vague, indirect terms. Still, Haber thinks, it’s not as though his hypnosuggestion methods are concrete at this point. In fact, Haber changes his strategy each session to undermine Orr’s annoying habit of interpreting his hypnosuggestion too literally, which Haber sees as Orr’s resistance to being coerced. Haber decides that today’s abstract suggestions might actually “rouse less unconscious resistance in Orr.”
Active
Themes
Haber instructs Orr to dream of an “uncrowded” world, motioning for Lelache to watch the EEG screen as he does so. Then he commands Orr to sleep and turns on the Augmentor, which makes Orr descend into the d-state of sleep. Haber explains to Lelache that Orr’s brain activity is normal now, though it does exhibit the “occasional high peaking” that’s reminiscent of the electroencephalograms Haber has observed of men at work on intense, creative pursuits, such as painting or writing poetry. Once more, Haber assures Lelache that it’s Orr himself and not the Augmentor that’s creating these peaks. Inwardly, Haber recalls an attempt he made to stimulate Orr’s brain with a recording of a peak trace in an earlier session, but the resultant dream was “incoherent.” He doesn’t mention this experiment to Lelache.
Active
Themes
Haber turns off the Augmentor once Orr is deep inside his dream. He and Lelache watch the EEG screen, waiting for the peak trace to appear. When the peak occurs, the vibe inside the room suddenly changes. Haber can feel “the shift,” and as Lelache looks out the window at the vanished towers, a terrified expression on her face, Haber knows she can feel it, too. Haber hadn’t thought Lelache would recognize the change, but he should have expected it, as she was there when Haber gave Orr the instructions to imagine an “uncrowded” world. Haber joins Lelache in looking out the window. As they stand there silently, Haber thinks about Portland, its decimated suburbs, and the hundreds of thousands of people who perished during the Plague Years. These days, during the Recovery, Portland’s current population hovers around 100,000.
Active
Themes
Suddenly, it occurs to Haber that he assumed Lelache wouldn’t see Orr’s dream become reality because he himself had failed to understand Orr’s power the first time he was exposed to it. Haber hadn’t paused to acknowledge the fact that he couldn’t have been the Director of the Oregon Oneirological Institute until last week because, prior to last week, the Institute hadn’t existed. Yet despite knowing this, Haber also knew the Institute had also existed for the last 18 months, and that he had been its founder. Until this moment, Haber realizes, he’s suppressed his double memory and Orr’s effective dream that willed it into existence. Haber wonders how Lelache will respond to her double memory and vows to destroy her if she makes any attempts to interfere with his research. For a moment, he feels capable of killing her right there in his office.
Active
Themes
Lelache is still staring at the diminished skyline. Haber senses that she doesn’t quite believe what she’s seeing, which puts him at ease. Haber babbles on about his childhood in New Jersey and the restructuring that occurred in the aftermath of “the Crash.” In comparison to the East Coast, he tells Lelache, Oregon’s overpopulation wasn’t much of a problem. Haber knows it’s risky to discuss the “critical subject” of overpopulation so early in the reality shift, but he’s determined to act normally to make Lelache forget that she saw whatever it is she thinks she saw.
Active
Themes
Though Haber tries to act casually, he’s having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he has two memories of Earth: one in which the global population is almost seven billion (and which is no longer true) and the other in which the population is (and is currently) a manageable one billion. Haber thinks about the six billion people who no longer exist and wonders, “what has Orr done?”
Active
Themes
When Haber tires of small talk, he calls Orr’s name three times. Orr wakes up, looks out the window, and asks where everything went. Haber sees Lelache react to Orr’s question and quickly tries to redirect the conversation, telling Orr that he only had a “nightmare.” Orr says he dreamed about “the Plague” and asks Haber, a hint of “sarcasm” in his voice, if he remembers “the Plague Years.” Haber confirms that he does: he was 22 when he first heard about the atmosphere’s pollutions morphing into “virulent carcinogens.” Everyone Haber knew died during those years. Orr makes a wry observation that the Plague really “took care of the overpopulation problem,” and Haber can’t miss the “edge” in his voice. Haber reminds Orr that there’s no longer famine in South America, Africa, and Asia, thanks to the Plague.
Active
Themes
Though Haber sees tears in Orr’s eyes, he continues to discuss Orr’s nightmare about the Plague exclusively in metaphorical or psychological terms, refusing to acknowledge the unspoken truth that they both know: that Orr’s dream wasn’t a nightmare about the Plague—it was the effective dream that willed the Plague into existence. Haber tries to drive Orr to an emotional breaking point, reasoning that Lelache will be less likely to believe anything Orr says if he’s visibly unstable.
Active
Themes
Orr stares silently and incredulously at Haber before divulging the rest of his dream. He describes working for the Interment Corps, digging ditches and burying the endless piles of naked, starved dead. Orr looked for Haber in his dream, but Haber wasn’t there. Haber suggests that Orr’s real experiences must have factored into the Plague dream, but Orr is adamant that he couldn’t have buried anyone, since nobody died, since there wasn’t a Plague—not until he dreamed of it. Orr tries to force Haber and Lelache to acknowledge their double memories, too, but Haber stands up and puts an end to Orr’s noncompliance before Lelache can answer. Haber makes up a quick excuse that outsider interference will destroy the integrity of Orr’s therapy and blames today’s unpleasant hypnosis experience on Lelache’s presence in the room.
Active
Themes
After Orr leaves, Haber apologizes for the “crisis session” Lelache had to witness and rags on Orr for being stubborn and delusional. To Haber’s relief, Lelache doesn’t challenge him anymore and leaves shortly after Orr.
Active
Themes
