Neuralyzer

Men in Black use a fluorescent pen light to erase people’s memories of an alien incident and to give them a few seconds to suggest a safe alternate version of the event. The effect is reversible, so we should say that the memories are bypassed rather than erased. In my experience, weird events provide their own neuralyzers. In shock, the unconscious tries to restore normalcy by constructing a safe version of reality that fits a your preconceptions.