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| — The Counsellor to Noone. |
Otto, more commonly known as The Counsellor, is the deuteragonist of The Sounds of Nightmares. He is a psychiatrist that works to help a young girl named Noone to overcome her problem with nightmares as well as to uncover her connection to his beloved Cici's mysterious fate.
Personality
Otto was originally a very kind and experienced psychiatrist who was determined to help young children overcome their problems. He is smart and diligent, always making sure to take notes as to help him uncover the roots of his patients problems, as seen with Noone. Despite his vast knowledge of dream-related disorders, he finds himself perplexed with the odd circumstances that befall upon Noone during her nightmares.
While he is kind, he is also determined to unravel the connection between Cici's disappearance and the mysterious figure that Noone sees in her nightmares, a figure who Cici had also encountered. In an effort to obtain more information on the figure, the Counsellor will often conduct practices that impede on Noone's comfort. As the story progresses, his impatience with answers becomes seemingly more apparent, as evidenced when he became short tempered with Noone's lack of answers with The Candleman. Despite his attempts to focus his reasoning on a scientific explanation towards Noone's nightmares, his sense of logic is quickly cast aside the night he saw Noone vanish from her bed.
The Counsellor had formerly delved in metaphysics along with his professor, but had spent years convincing himself that everything he experienced with him was wrong. However, his past professor's words begin to hold truth the more he learns Noone's nightmares tell of an existing dominant world.
The Sounds of Nightmares
The Workers in the Walls
The story begins with Otto discussing how he found Noone's ability to smell in her dreams strange. He would continue to go into detail about his diagnoses for Noone, which he believed to be Nightmare Disorder.
The recording of the first session begins. Otto welcomes Noone into a room where the two will begin their session. Otto encourages Noone to be honest with him and indulges her fascination with a painting on the wall that she could not interpret. After giving her some juice, Otto listens to Noone recite her most recent nightmare.
Throughout the interview, Otto would interrupt Noone so that she could further explain certain details, such as when she was able to feel the surfaces of her surroundings and smelling one of the Prisoners in her dream. As the session reaches its end, the Counsellor reveals that the symptoms she was showing were similar to that of his beloved Cici, whom had gone missing many years ago.
At the end of the interview, Otto reassures her that everything is going to be alright. Noone takes a third guess at what the painting in the room is supposed to be, and Otto confirms that it depicts an astrolabe. After letting her pick out a piece of candy, he sends her off to bed.
A Penance at the Bathhouse
The story begins with Otto being concerned about a mysterious figure known as the Candleman, someone who both Noone and Cici had seen in their dreams but was previously referred to by Cici as the Ferryman.
The beginning of their most recent session goes similarly to their last, except Noone is in better spirits. She immediately begins to describe her latest nightmare, revealing she is able to feel a real presence from everything and everyone she encounters. As she gets to describing an encounter with the Candleman, Otto insists she install a device on her head so that she can better remember his appearance. He also insists that she stare into a spiral pendant in order to activate hypnotherapy. Although this works at first, Noone feels that she has something crawling in her skin, so Otto removes the device and lets her continue without it.
At the end of the story, Otto convinces Noone that he needs to preform some experiments on her, such as nightly tests to investigate her while sleeping, which seemingly makes her uncomfortable but is something she ultimately agrees to as he convinces her it would aim to help her feel better, thus releasing her from the ward as soon as possible. After letting her pick out another piece of candy, he sends her on her way.
The Theater of the Mind
The story begins with Otto describing how he briefly witnessed Noone disappear during her night monitoring. While reviewing the recording of their previous session, he fixates on a riddle Noone said the Candleman had uttered to her, he becomes frustrated over obtaining nothing but riddles and no real answers. Otto recounts his previous findings with Noone and has concluded her dreams go beyond parasomnia. Of all the things he has heard her tell him, he is greatly concerned and interested in learning that Noone has seen the same figure that Cici saw. After shocking himself on an apparatus he was working on, Noone walks in and the recording cuts out as she asks him what he is working on. As the recording restarts, Otto sits her down and encourages her to begin asking herself questions during these sessions in an effort to get a more personal perspective on the perplexities of her recent nightmares. Although he wants her to begin by talking about the Candleman, she insisted on telling her entire dream. After she requests to have a mirror in front of her as a means of talking to her own reflection to set the tone of interviewing herself, she begins.
When the part of her dream involving the Candleman is brought up, Otto immediately requests to know everything she witnessed. After Noone described the riddle that he had spoken to her, Otto begins to berate her for not interacting with the Candleman in order to ask who he was or why he was there. The recording cuts out as Otto exits the room in frustration. The recording starts again and Otto apologizes to her for acting out. Noone continues recounting her dream.
After hearing that the Shopping Mall from Noone's dream was a living being warped by pain, Otto asks her if she too feels this way, but her attention is focused on a sore she feels behind her ear. However, he tries to explain to her that there is no sore and the spot is red because of her picking at it. As Noone attempts to figure out why she is having strange dreams, Otto denies any answer she gives herself as it is illogical through his own understandings. As Noone begins to panic over her life falling into turmoil, Otto comforts her by pulling her into a hug. While hugging her, his mind wanders, envisioning Noone as Cici and how he will protect her this time. As Otto's hug tightens, Noone drops the mirror she had been holding. Otto quickly cleans up the pieces of the broken mirror, and admits no one knows why she is having such dreams. He begins to explain to her his old professor's idea of why people like her dream. Otto informs Noone that she is a unique case, and so as much as he would like to release her from the facility, he can't, not until after she's better. After promising to stop by her room later for the night monitoring, he lets her pick a piece of candy and sends her off to bed.
Otto locates the old papers his professor had written, both hoping and dreading there was actual truth to his words. As he reads the paper aloud to himself, he considers the possibility that there is no real rational explanation to Noone's nightmares and may be proof of a superior world his professor believed existed, but was ridiculed for.
Two of a Kind
The story begins with Otto talking to himself about the internal struggles that Noone faces as she is torn between two worlds as well as his willingness to believe in The Nowhere.
The recording of the recent session begins with Otto taking Noone to visit the reunion room. Soon after fetching her some cake, he informs her that she had disappeared while she was sleeping the night prior. Noone is distressed at this revelation and begins to hyperventilate, prompting Otto to guide her to slow her breaths and calm down. After he calms her down, he convinces her that her best chance at one day joining the other children in the reunion room is to trust his process, no matter how difficult it may be for her to grasp. Once the two arrive in the session room, he attaches electrodes for an EEG to her head, wanting to compare results to when she was sleeping versus when she was awake amidst her retelling.
During her retelling, Noone reveals the nature of the Nowhere. Otto is desperate to know more about the Nowhere and the conversation inevitably frustrates the two of them as it is beyond both of their understandings. Knowing the trust Noone has in him is decreasing the more he refuses to answer her question, Otto reveals to her that his interest in the Nowhere is important to him as he believed that someone dear to him, Cici, may be trapped in this other world. Noone is once again distressed by this, believing that she is being used as a tool to find Cici, and Otto calms her down again. As Noone's retelling comes to an end, she begins to panic again. Otto tries to bombard Noone with questions pertaining to the fate of the boy from her story, deepening her distress. Otto then attempts to calm her down, however, she passes out.
The scene transitions to Otto continuing to recount the events of the session on his own. Understanding now that Noone has lost trust in him. He continues to talk to himself about his theories pertaining to the Nowhere, as well as his believed connection to it , to the Ferryman and his own world. Before the chapter ends, Otto swears to himself that he will find a way to cross into this world.
A Deluge of the Inevitable
The chapter begins with Otto explaining how the Ferryman has appeared in numerous cultural writings, often being referred to as "The Guardian at the Threshold." Otto is determined to cross over into the Nowhere no matter how hard he believes the Ferryman is trying to keep him out.
The recording of the recent session begins. Otto is working on the apparatus that he had been working on in the previous chapters. He confirms that Noone's suspicions of something being inside of her head were true as a scan from radiology revealed a pea-sized tumor in her brain. Although the tumor might hold a rational explanation to her extreme nightmares, he dismisses this due to the evidence pointing to the contrary. He decides to not tell her of the tumor so as to not upset her and send her into an emotional spiral that could jeopardize a revelation that will lead him to Cici. He again reiterates that his findings confirm that Noone has a likely connection to some otherworldly plain of existence, one that is accessible and that she alone holds the means to enter it. He again reads his professor's papers, still struggling to completely understand what he was talking about as he describes the two requirements to enter the other world, the gateways hidden throughout their world and the keys carved from fear to open these doors. Otto mentions his lack of sleep, which would make it impossible for him to dream, thus making it impossible for him to cross into the Nowhere.
After Noone arrives for the session, the conversation quickly spirals into an argument, as Noone wants to talk about her parents, but Otto wants to keep talking about the Nowhere. Noone eventually agrees to do as he asks, on the conditions that he doesn't hook her up to any machines that night, to which Otto promises. Soon after this, the recording cuts out as they move form the session room to Otto's room.
Once the recording restarts in Otto's room, Otto explains that the session will focus on a sort-of role reversal and asks her to tell of her latest visit to the Nowhere and attempt to project her dream into his mind. Before they do, Noone finds a picture of Cici, and it is revealed that Cici is Otto's sister. As he finally settles himself, he asks her to begin. Various times during the session, Otto struggles to transition to the hypnagogic state he wanted. Near the end of her retelling, Noone brings up another encounter with the Candleman. Otto is again frustrated that the man talked in riddles, but Noone claims she has solved this one, suggesting that he is saying she would be better off in the Nowhere, to which Otto protests. Frustrated, Noone suggests that Cici must have felt relieved to get away from Otto after choosing to escape to the Nowhere. Otto is horrified by the statement and storms out of the room, revealing that he was only a boy when Cici disappeared. Otto returns later, still furious. He tells Noone to leave immediately, only to find she had rummaged through his papers and discovered her test results in his desk. He reveals to her that she has a tumor growing in her brain. The two end the session on a bitter note.
As the recording of the session ends, Otto is heard once again recounting the events. He relents that it may have been cruel to tell Noone of her tumor. He also concludes that his professor was partially right about his theory, that fear was the key to unlock the door to the Nowhere, but concludes that the gateway is not in their world, but in their minds, and Noone's tumor could be the gateway he needs to enter the Nowhere, calling it an 'organ of transcendence'. Otto decides to use the apparatus he had been working on, though it is unfinished, on Noone so he may find a way to cross into the Nowhere, believing he has nothing left to lose by attempting to use it now that he knows there is a chance that Noone may not return to the ward after she crosses over to the Nowhere that night. Otto makes his way to Noone's room and hooks her up to the machine. Noone wakes up during this process and the recording briefly cuts out. It restarts sometime past midnight, as Noone had 'finally succumbed' to a deep sleep.
As the apparatus begins to function, Otto looks on, waiting for Noone to reveal the Nowhere. An image appears on the screen, but all he sees is a 'kaleidoscope of black' in an unnatural abyss. Suddenly, a shape appears on the screen, though it is difficult to see, as if he is looking at it through a mist. Otto is shocked to see a silhouette suddenly appear. He notes the silhouette is ovular and splitting across the center. The ovular shape opens, releasing an intense light through the screen. As Otto struggles to see the silhouette through the intense light, he notices a pupil made of light and realizes the silhouette is an eye. As Otto continues to struggle to look on, he notes that the eye is watching him. The apparatus then malfunctions, and Otto falls backward. Otto is heard calling out to Noone before the chapter officially ends.
The Lonely Way
The recording starts with a short clip of Otto breathing heavily, seemingly in distress. He replays the recording of his final session, a clip of his own voice wishing aloud that he could sink into the Nowhere.
The story begins with Otto repairing his apparatus. Despite the damage, he is able to repair it enough to have it functioning as well as incorporate a new enhancement to aid in its use, hoping it is enough to withstand the presence of the horror, the eye, he saw. Despite having repaired the apparatus, the most important piece in its use is still Noone, and despite fearing she had disappeared for good, she reappeared in the ward's south-wing courtyard. However, she has become uncooperative and has since been under constant watch since her sudden reappearance. Although he believes Noone's sudden return is a sign that the Ferryman is toying with him, he remains determined to cross into the Nowhere. He breaks off into a short tangent about the Zahir's Gaze. He says that Noone will act as his astrolabe to guide him across the Threshold, to Nowhere, planning to have Noone bring the Ferryman to him, as he has been unsuccessful in his own search.
After Otto arrives to Noone’s room, he attempts to say whatever he can in order to have Noone be cooperative and agree to using the apparatus. Noone expresses that she has become fed up with him and all the things she has undergone because of him. Otto explains that the apparatus will allow them to have a mutual dream so they can face her monsters together. Though she is angered over everything that’s happened to her and knows that Otto’s intention is still to find Cici, she reluctantly agrees, knowing that she will get to sleep if she does. In a menacing tone, Otto promises she will sleep deeper than ever before. After arriving at the session room, Otto explains the apparatus’s equipment and how it will help them connect their brains to begin a mutual dream. Despite Noone’s attempts to withdraw from the procedure, Otto does not permit her to leave. Otto reaches into the jar of candy and tells Noone to eat three of the candies to put herself at ease. Despite her unwillingness to eat the candies, Otto raises his tone of voice to deny her decision. With the two of them now linked to the apparatus through the web like caps on their heads, he asks Noone to begin recounting her recent visit to the Nowhere.
Throughout Noone’s retelling, Otto watches on as Noone quickly falls to sleep, and once she does, he begins the preparations to link their minds and begin mutual dreaming. As he continues to type on the apparatus’s keyboard, he hears Noone suddenly speak out and tell him she is now in a dark place. She feels as if she is both asleep and awake at the same time. Though he is shocked to learn this, he is thrilled nonetheless as it means she has entered the Threshold, what she calls the halfway place, which is the space between their world and the Nowhere, but has not yet crossed over, giving him the chance to meet her in the Threshold.
Otto is shocked to learn she has already found the door to the Nowhere and instructs her to not enter the door until he has joined her. With his preparations now complete, Otto prepares to sleep. Amidst the silence, Otto suddenly hears knocking and asks Noone if someone is at the door. Upon hearing Noone say, “There you are”, he asks if she can see him in the Threshold. However, he is horrified to learn that she was referring to the Ferryman who is standing on the other side of the now open door. As Otto listens, he realizes he can almost hear the Ferryman’s presence.
Otto attempts to ask the Ferryman as many questions as he can but is unable to receive a proper answer, being answered with only more riddles. Noone realizes that the Ferryman has been speaking to Otto the entire time. Otto attempts to reason with the Ferryman about how he has earned the right to receive passage into the Nowhere. The Ferryman laughs, completely aware of everything Otto has been saying and responds with another riddle, implying that Otto is too old to be let into the Nowhere. Upon realizing that Noone is crossing over without him, he begs the Ferryman to tell him another way to cross. Despite the Ferryman's answer that a quarter will be granted after a toll 'set in torment' is paid, Otto still does not fully understand.
After Noone disappears from the session room, he begs Noone not to leave without him and continues to beg for Noone to be given back to him as the Ferryman takes her away. Otto lashes out, destroying numerous things in the room. He falls into a moment of emotional turmoil, questioning whether Cici meant to leave him behind all those years ago. The recording cuts off as he tries to reassure himself that she wouldn't abandon him.
The recording restarts after Otto has recollected himself and cleans the room while thinking about everything that has happened and all the things he has heard. Knowing now that there is another way for him to cross over into the Nowhere, Otto is determined to continue his attempts and research every piece of information he has collected thus, knowing the answers he needs are hidden in everything he has documented. Swearing to not only find the other path into the Threshold, but to also ensure the path is paved with bricks of fear. Knowing now that his apparatus worked, he thinks about how he too was nearly swept away into the Threshold, had Noone not disappeared. As he continues to contemplate everything, another patient at the institute, Ethan, steps into the room, sleepwalking. Ethan notices the mess in the room, to which Otto explains that he is searching for something he lost. He has a sudden revelation, telling the boy he has found what he lost. Otto provides the boy candy from the jar and begins to repeat the same words the Ferryman once spoke.
Theories
- The candy (or "sweets") that the Counsellor offered Noone and Ethan are heavily implied to be drugged. The Counsellor, who specializes in treating children who struggle sleeping as a result of their disorders, will often offer them the sweets before they go to bed. In Chapter 6, before he and Noone arrive at the session room, he tells her she will sleep deeper than ever before, then later instructs her in a stricter tone to eat three pieces of candy. As Noone eats the candies through out her retelling, she feels more at ease, until finally falling asleep not long after eating the third candy. The Counsellor would later on offer the candy to a sleepwalking Ethan, before sending him back to bed.
- It is speculated Otto developed an interest in the field of parapsychology and metaphysics as a result of Cici's mysterious disappearance and her encounters with the Ferryman, a being whom parapsychologists have obsessed over for centuries. Due to his desperation to find and see Cici, it's implied Otto was willing to do anything and follow any field if it meant he could find answers in regards to Cici. It is currently unknown what led Otto to abandon the former field and find solace in being a psychologist at the Counties Psychiatric Institute, but it is speculated Otto had come to terms with his loss over Cici sometime in the past and had made attempts to live a normal balanced life, up until Noone's experiences in the Nowhere and with the Ferryman revealed the possibility of finding Cici once again.
Trivia
- In the Italian language, Otto means Eight.
- Noone was the first child that Otto did not assign a number to as an alias.
- The Sounds of Nightmares series appeared to be mostly told through tape recordings made by Otto. This is evidenced by the personal introduction that he gives at the beginning of each episode.
- Otto owns a pendant with a spiral that once belonged to someone very important. According to Otto himself, he would stare at the spiral to bring himself relief and has used it to help his patients obtain similar relief through hypnosis therapy.
- He considers referring to children by numbers something only the heartless doctors from the upper floors of the ward would do.
- Otto was once greatly involved in Metaphysics as a result of the things Cici told him before she disappeared. Having formerly studied under a professor who became deeply involved in the ideas of another world existing, and eventually developed a circle of colleagues who published journals in the field of parapsychology. Although Otto no longer keeps in touch with any of them, he kept his professor's research paper as well as the journals of his outer circle of colleagues.
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