Stealing time

Stealing time describes one personality taking control during periods of confusion without the others’ knowledge. In the account of William Stanley Milligan’s inner group, it is both a suspected breach of internal boundaries and a way to explain why people inside the group discover evidence of actions they cannot readily account for.

Meaning and Signs

The concept becomes concrete through Ragen’s attempts to reach Arthur. Either Arthur was refusing contact or the group was in a period of confusion, leaving Ragen unsure why he could not get through. At the same time, Ragen found open containers of barbiturates and amphetamines in the apartment, and one of his guns left on a dresser. These discoveries led him to believe that Philip and Kevin were stealing time. The drugs and exposed weapon mattered not simply as clues to hidden activity: Ragen feared that carelessness could endanger the children.

Ragen’s suspicions also shaped what he was prepared to do. He resolved to remain alert the next time one of the undesirables took control and to bump the intruder into a wall as a lesson. His account distinguishes hard drugs, which he opposed, from vodka and marijuana, which he considered acceptable in moderation. He also suspected that Philip or Kevin might have experimented with LSD, but the text presents this as suspicion rather than confirmation.

Accusation and Denial

Arthur later challenged Ragen over unauthorized activity, accusing him of taking advantage of periods of confusion to pursue antisocial conduct. Ragen acknowledged that he would still have wanted to be present even though he was not allowed on the spot, then denied that he had been stealing time. Arthur countered that Ragen had been out and described him as a drug addict who was abusing his body and mind. The exchange makes the term an accusation with consequences: it concerns not only who has control, but whether that control is being used in violation of the group’s rules.

The Inquiry and Its Limits

Arthur’s later inquiry gathered accounts from several personalities and began to reconstruct conduct that had remained concealed or disputed. Tommy reported Marlene’s suspicion that he had been involved in the Gray Drug Store robbery and recalled seeing a drug shipment. Walter denied touching Ragen’s guns since being banished from the spot for shooting a crow, but remembered hearing a Brooklyn-accented voice discuss a perfect crime at a roadside rest. These recollections broadened the inquiry while leaving identities and responsibility unsettled.

Philip eventually admitted to the roadside-rest assaults but denied involvement in the Gray Drug Store robbery. Kevin then said that he had planned the robbery, arranged it, and later robbed two men, while maintaining that he had not been present and could not be linked to the store robbery. The testimony distinguishes planning, presence, and participation rather than collapsing them into a single account. Stealing time thus names the hidden interval in which actions can occur beyond the group’s shared awareness; the subsequent inquiry can collect clues and competing admissions, but it does not automatically settle who was responsible for each act.