the adjustment bureau (13. 116)

Far from the Hollywood image of sleek undercover agents keeping the general public in the dark about extraterrestrial congress, the circumstances that informed the movie version of the men in black, whilst sharing some elements, is a complete apotheosis of the film franchise with all the existential terror of having one’s memories wiped and sense of place in the Cosmos inverted from one moment to the next. Herbert Hopkins, a doctor and hypnotherapist working in Maine was approached by a representative of the New Jersey chapter of the UFO Research Organisation one evening in September of 1976 to act as a consultant on an alleged case of serial abductions. As soon as he accepted the commission, however, a figure appeared at Hopkins’ doorstep. A finely appointed man in a black suit, though seeming less elegant and more like an undertaker, doffed his hat to reveal a colourless pate and began discussing the case—Hopkins inviting the stranger inside, reasoning in his shocked state that this was the same individual from the institute several states away that he had been talking to over the phone a few moments beforehand. Addressing the reports of abduction, lost time and teleportation, the figure retrieve a pair of coins from his pocket and placed one in Hopkins’ hand, instructing him to focus on it. It flickered in and out of existence and gradually disappeared. The strange visitor then told him, “Neither you nor anyone else on this planet will see that coin again. Shaken by this encounter, Hopkins immediately declined the request for help and destroyed what evidence and personal research he had thus far collected. A spate of similar threats on witnesses and investigators reportedly occurred throughout the year. More from Dangerous Minds at the link up top.