explosivecombat: (And what have we here?)
Solf J Kimblee ([personal profile] explosivecombat) wrote2014-10-20 03:32 pm

037. [Text]

I come seeking discussion again today, which to most of you should probably be nothing new; if anything, I ought to apologize for it, but I suspect that will ring about as true as my usual apologies for the subject matter. For what it's worth, the subject is better than it usually is; take that as you will.

I'd like to discuss dreams today; I'm sure those that were here about a year ago know exactly why, but in the end that is neither here nor there, and you don't have to have experienced it to discuss this with me.

I'm sure we're all no strangers to very vivid dreams...? The sort that immerse you so entirely that they almost seem real...surely there are a few qualities here and there that mark them as dreams, but they're disregarded in favor of whatever is actually happening right in front of you. Dreams like that can hardly be said to be different from reality, can they? They invoke feelings within you; they encourage you to continue thinking about them long after you've awakened. You could even say that dreams like that have given you experiences that you might never have had, were you awake – you've gone on adventures and met people and done things that affected you, all while physically being asleep.

Say that there was a way to live like that forever.

Suppose that there's a machine that will put you under, rendering you solidly asleep and allowing you to experience whatever you want. The machine can simulate any pleasurable experience that you choose, instilling all the thoughts and feelings that would come with actually going out and doing those things for yourself in your waking life. There would be no pain or suffering; it would be an experience in pure bliss for as long as you were plugged into the machine.

Again, you could stay that way forever, if you so chose, living out the rest of your life in dreams, and it would be a pleasant experience that's custom-tailored to you. The only tradeoff is that you would be unconscious the entire time; the experience would be entirely in your mind, rather than anything you actually did.

Would you choose to go under and live the rest of your life happy but effectively comatose, or would you prefer to experience life for yourself, entirely awake, with all the imperfections and strife that may come with it?

You can answer me anonymously if you wish, because as usual, your identity doesn't interest me as much as your response does; if you really want to impress me, you'll tell me why you would answer as you did.
evilfrenzy: (♟ thought you'd seen the last of me)

[text]

[personal profile] evilfrenzy 2014-10-23 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
You understood for the most part, but don't get me wrong, it's hardly about the other people in the grand scheme of things. Certainly I want to be able to influence them so I need them to be present, but in the end I'm simply looking to benefit from their experiences.

[At least he admits he's totally self-serving...?]

Did they recall the circumstances of their arrival back home? Could they receive confirmation that they were unconscious for a moment, or was it as though time had literally stopped in the midst of a conversation or some other activity? It's just very interesting that years can be spent here, forgotten in a flash, then picked back up again if one ends up returning.
lieutenantantichrist: (how my hair look)

[personal profile] lieutenantantichrist 2014-10-23 06:17 am (UTC)(link)
[Not like he's jumping to conclusions or anything.]

Anything that makes somebody "dream forever" is going have side effects and it's going to have to get made illegal for everybody's own good.

It's fucking quitting life. How much different is that from offing yourself?
lieutenantantichrist: (all these mopes in bracelets)

[personal profile] lieutenantantichrist 2014-10-23 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
If lying around hallucinating is life experience, then beating off is the same as fucking a porn star.

What about everybody who knows you, huh? Do they never see you again and think you dropped dead, or do they pay your bills and change your feeding tube?
silentscales: (casual)

Text;

[personal profile] silentscales 2014-10-23 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[It reminded Snake of a rather fascinating poem on the subject, so he types it out;]
"A Dream Within a Dream"
-by Edgar Allen Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow —
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand —
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa: (AND THEN THE WORLD WILL BELONG TO COBRA)

[text - locked]

[personal profile] cobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 2014-10-23 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[Cobra almost wants to ask what happened, but at the same time, he figures it's best not to.]

You're speaking with the wrong person in regards to that. After all, I believe that you can have everything so long as you remove anything and everything that stands in your way.
tearsofademon: (the poor and downtrod)

[personal profile] tearsofademon 2014-10-24 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
I guess. Though honestly I'd always seen it as for everybody else's sake...
evilfrenzy: (♟ being passive aggressive)

[text]

[personal profile] evilfrenzy 2014-10-24 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
Glad to know we're on the same page, then.

[He's pleasantly surprised. It's nice to not have to deal with a protagonist type for once.]

Interesting. It makes our presence here all the more mysterious, doesn't it? Imagining it as a dream is simply too easy, it seems.
lieutenantantichrist: (you give yourself too much credit)

[personal profile] lieutenantantichrist 2014-10-24 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
High tech or magic or not, your thing is just daydreaming. That's no kind of experience, not even technical.

The point is, somebody always comes looking. You can't just dump your responsibilities and run off without somebody having to deal with the shit you left behind.

Oh yeah? Even you're not buying, when it was your own damn idea?
cawsforalarm: (What? ✧ What is clear outside the noise)

[personal profile] cawsforalarm 2014-10-24 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know the answer to that one. I guess I wasn't really raised in a normal society, either, so I don't know how they think.

[Most of the time, Henry doesn't even know how he thinks.]
tearsofademon: (when our tale was begun)

[personal profile] tearsofademon 2014-10-25 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
Let's just say I'm kind of a dangerous person to be around, back where I'm from.
tearsofademon: (but you never can run)

[personal profile] tearsofademon 2014-10-25 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
Depends who you ask, or how you look at it.

[sorry, even anon he's vague about it]
tearsofademon: (the world is cruel)

[personal profile] tearsofademon 2014-10-25 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
[It's a minute or so before this response comes in.]

It's not like I ever wanted to kill anyone. But it's on my hands.
islandshore: (RIKU used LEER!)

[personal profile] islandshore 2014-10-25 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
Because it's real. Because it's unpredictable. If I have complete control over a dream, then there aren't any surprises. Reality can be rough, but it's not all storm clouds and disasters.

And sometimes you need pain to become stronger.

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