005. Text // my world is unaffected

[manufactured]

It's been some time since Retrospec has properly dropped some sort of identity crisis on us, though I suppose it's good to know that we're getting a bit more information out of them now than we were in the past; I'm in no way looking down on small favors and silver linings. Just the same, I wonder for the time being where that leaves us - I know I've asked a few of you about this in the past, and I'm sure that a fair amount of you have made your decisions regarding it since.

I suppose what I want to hear is your thoughts on these people you're receiving memories of, whether you consider them "you" or otherwise - do you still think of them as a separate person from yourself or do you consider them to be the same as "you", and why you've come to feel that way. I'm not going to argue for feeling one way or another on the matter, I'm just wondering how you've come to see these people that technically don't exist anymore.

Of course, if you reject this entire matter completely and just consider this to be an example of some corporate entity you hate ruining your life for no apparent reason, that's likewise fair.

I've formed my own views on this fairly recently; I tend to find it calming, having some sort of conclusion that I can accept as reasonably true for the time being. It's not always convenient, but it's calming.

Comments

[manufactured]

It's good to hear from someone who considers all of this a good thing, honestly. Oftentimes these sorts of discussions have a fair few who are having difficulty with the process; it's good to have reminders once in a while that some of us consider it beneficial.

What sort of changes are we talking about, however...?

[thebeastwithout]

oh uh
you know
the usual
fangs and hair and sometimes my arms turn into tentacles now without meaning to so

it's whatevs
i'll probably be fine

or i'm gonna turn into a sewer monster and have to go live in a septic tank one or the other

anyway we're here to talk about the bright side!!!

[manufactured]

...This is just making me question how many of us have experienced or remembered the improbably specific scenario of "I suppose my arms are now tentacles."

[thebeastwithout]

hey
maybe more people than you think
at least two, probably

anyway they're not always tentacles they just sometimes turn into 'em when i'm like, surprised or something

[manufactured]

Well, that's...infinitely better than it could be, really.

You generally like the memories you've been receiving, however? Odd powers and physical changes aside - you like the person you're calling?

[thebeastwithout]

uhhh
yeah i guess so

i don't have anything super specific yet but like

he's me, but cooler, basically

i think we have similar personalities, but he gets to do all of this fun stuff

[manufactured]

What sort of fun stuff? If you don't mind elaborating.

[thebeastwithout]

superhero stuff!!!

he gets to go around fighting bad guys and saving the city! that's why... he has those cool powers i guess

[manufactured]

I can certainly see where that would be fun, yes. I've found that I have powers as well, though mine were never put to a good use like heroism in my past life; they're enjoyable now, however.

[thebeastwithout]

oh yeah? what kinds of stuff can you do? and what did ya do before?

[manufactured]

I did something similar to what I do now, actually - I was a researcher for a large pharmaceutical company.

But in general, I've noticed greatly enhanced speed and strength, as well as a marked inability to die when things kill me. It's useful, if nothing else.

[thebeastwithout]

oooh

healing factor! or like, invulnerability or something. that's pretty high up there on the superpowers scale

though i dunno why you know that you don't die easy

[manufactured]

It's actually some combination of both, as far as I can tell - invulnerability to most things, healing factor to cover the rest.

...I found this out the hard way, though obviously everything worked out well enough.

[thebeastwithout]

huh
well

glad it worked out!!

i don't think i've got that, exactly, but i can kinda just change my limbs to something else and the injuries don't carry over, i guess? it sorta makes sense.

[manufactured]

That sounds...incredibly useful, actually.

[thebeastwithout]

yeah
i'm not gonna like, test it
cause i don't like hurting myself

but it might be pretty cool

i dunno how any of this works, but i guess like, if i'm growing or losing cells to make more body parts, it's kind of the same as... healing myself?

i didn't do super good in biology

[manufactured]

No, that sounds about right. Or, well, approximately as right as an impossibility like that can sound.

Granted, some of these things just warrant the supposition that it's just magic masquerading as science.

[thebeastwithout]

ok yeah sure cool let's go with that then

and... nah i don't think it's magic?

i remember magic - one a' my buddies does magic. it's totally different, she has like, incantations and junk