Gleb Golubev’s "Lunatics," a summary

Soviet writer Gleb Golubev’s detective novella, written in the science fiction genre, explores the limits of the human psyche and the criminal uses of hypnosis. Written in the mid-20th century, the work raises ethical questions in forensic psychiatry, focusing on the question of whether it is possible to force an honest person to commit a crime against their will by influencing their subconscious.

Mysterious death and impeccable reputation

The story is told from the perspective of Claudine, the wife of psychologist Maurice, who works as a consultant at a court in Zurich. The story begins with the discussion of a tragic incident: experienced nurse Ursula Eggi, known for her perfectionism and impeccable reputation, is accused of murdering a patient. Her charge, the wealthy millionaire Mathilde von Erni-Albach, died from a lethal injection of morphine.

Ursula, who cared for the old woman, doesn’t deny the injection, but she can’t explain how the fatal error occurred. She’s in shock and simply repeats that she doesn’t understand how it happened. Maurice and his friend, Police Commissioner Jean-Paul Greiner, doubt the nurse’s guilt, knowing her exceptional meticulousness and dedication to her work.

Suspicion falls on the deceased’s nephew, Alfred Brombach, the sole heir to a vast fortune. Brombach, a keen race car driver and affluent lifestyle enthusiast, had a motive, but he has an irrefutable alibi: he was vacationing in Nice at the time of his aunt’s death. The investigation reaches a dead end, as no one was in the house.

The court finds Ursula guilty of criminal negligence. Although the charge of premeditated murder was dropped, the verdict is a blow to her. Disbarred from practicing medicine and crushed by guilt, Ursula Jäggi commits suicide a few days after the trial. At the funeral, Commissioner Groener suggests that Brombach was involved, but there is no evidence.

The strange behavior of Engineer Gross

A year and a half later, another mysterious event occurs in Zurich. At the Erlif electrical engineering concern’s plant, engineer Peter Gross is arrested while attempting to steal secret designs and product samples. Gross, who had worked at the company for sixteen years and was considered a model employee, was caught red-handed near a safe.

The guard who detained the engineer describes his state at the time of the crime as "sleepwalking": Gross acted as if in a dream, unaware of what was happening and unable to recognize those around him. Commissioner Groener consults Maurice, suspecting a mental disorder.

During the examination, Maurice uncovers an important detail: Peter Gross was treated for alcoholism by a private psychiatrist, Walter Federspiel, who used hypnosis. Comparing the facts, Maurice recalls that the late Ursula Eggi also suffered from a hidden drug addiction, which developed after a major operation, and likely also consulted this doctor.

The hypothesis of criminal suggestion

Maurice puts forward a bold theory: Federspiel uses hypnosis to force his patients to commit crimes. However, the scientific community holds the opinion that it is impossible to force a person to do something that contradicts their moral principles. Maurice suggests that the hypnotist circumvents this barrier by substituting motivation: convincing the victim that the criminal act is a noble deed.

Groener begins a covert investigation into Federspiel. It turns out that the doctor had indeed been in contact with both Ursula and Gross. To obtain evidence, the commissioner resorts to illegal methods: with the help of private detectives, he installs listening equipment in the psychiatrist’s apartment, one of the microphones disguised as a dead fly.

The recording confirms these suspicions. It captures a hypnosis session during which Federspiel instills in his latest patient — a pharmaceutical chemist — the need to "save" secret blueprints from a fictitious fire. The doctor orders the patient to memorize the diagram, reproduce it from memory at home, and send it to a post office box, supposedly for safekeeping. He is also instructed to forget about the session and is forbidden from being hypnotized by anyone else.

Exposure and interrogation

Armed with circumstantial evidence, Groener takes on Alfred Brombach, who by then had moved to a villa in Vevey. The commissioner bluffs, telling the heir that his accomplice, Federspiel, has already been arrested and testified, and that the late Ursula left a suicide note. Psychological pressure and the exposure of edited recordings of Federspiel’s voice break Brombach.

The heir confesses to having paid a man unknown to him (Federspiel, who always concealed his face under makeup and a mask) one hundred thousand francs to eliminate his aunt. A piece of paper found on Brombach with the numbers of the banknotes he used to pay becomes the decisive evidence. Groener checks Federspiel’s bank accounts and discovers that these very bills were deposited into his account.

Trial and experiment

At the trial, Walter Federspiel is defiant, denying all charges. He claims Brombach repaid him the money as a gambling debt and that the records were fabricated. The defense relies on the authoritative opinion of Professor Reinhardt, Maurice’s teacher, who insists that it is impossible to instill a crime in an honest person.

To resolve the experts’ dispute, the court allows an investigative experiment to be conducted right in the courtroom. A volunteer is invited for this experiment: postmaster Max Besh, a man of exceptional integrity.

Professor Reinhardt, under hypnosis, convinces Besh that his wife, present in the room, is terminally ill and urgently needs medicine. On the table in front of the postmaster are two boxes: a red one and a green one. He is told that the red one contains a life-saving medicine, and the green one contains poison (although in reality, the red one is supposedly poison). He is also told that the green box on the table doesn’t exist at all.

At the command, "Your wife is ill!" the respectable postmaster grabs the red box (containing the supposed poison) and rushes to his wife to administer the "medicine." When stopped and asked to find the green box, he expresses genuine surprise, claiming there’s nothing else on the table.

This experiment clearly demonstrates that hypnotized people can be induced to commit murder by framing the act as a life-saving measure. Seeing his defense fail, Alfred Brombach becomes hysterical.