explosivecombat | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...Cobra, you usually don't indulge him by answering these sorts of questions very often. Are you sick, or...]

May I ask why? For all intents and purposes, you would still be having the experience in several ways; what devalues it, in your opinion?

[No, he's not sick, just bored with Pokemon training.

Oh wait, he's also sick of the earthquakes, but that probably doesn't count.]

The fact that if I chose to subject myself to this machine that I would always know in the back of my mind that no matter how real it may seem, that it's not.

Even if I were to become emperor of the universe in this world, the fact that I would know I wasn't truly such a thing is what renders it completely meaningless. And I have no use for such escapist fantasy.

That's fair, yes.

So it's not enough to have the experience of becoming such; you need to actually go out and obtain the experience for yourself. Is that it?

Yes, that's exactly it.

...You know, I can't say that I'm surprised that you would feel that way about it, actually.

I would be surprised if you were. I'm not against taking shortcuts to accomplish my goals, but something like that machine you speak of wouldn't be one of them. Though I imagine some people would jump at the offer.

[Because he just has to find a way to insult random other people apparently.]

I imagine some would, yes. However, as you've said already, it's not so much that it's a shortcut to getting what you want as it is an escapist fantasy; I have to agree with that sentiment myself, though for different reasons, I believe.

And what reasons are those?

Ah, it's a bit personal, I'm afraid.

[...Aaaaand under a lock this goes, because wow, no one needs to see the fucking florist talking like this.]

To put it bluntly, war is what pleases me; it's what makes me feel alive, as both a soldier and a weapon.

There's no sense in war if you're not putting your soul on the line - why bother to fight to the death for a cause you're not willing to stake your essence on? That machine would remove the human element of it, and it would remove the challenge. It would make it too clean, too easy.

It wouldn't be war, basically, it would be a poor imitation with nothing at stake.

[In Cobra's opinion, a flower shop that employed a florist like that would be one worth visiting, but nobody asked for his opinion there.]

That's more or less the answer I expected.

So then, what was the point of this philosophical exercise?

[Because he doesn't mind going on about his views on things, he's just curious as to why this happened in the first place.]

[...he can also send war declarations via Victorian flower language, because that's going to be a useful skill one day.]

I like to see how people think; it's always been an interest of mine, after all.

[Knowing some of the people in Team Rocket, it might actually be of use someday.]

Getting to know the enemy, then?

[This is sort of the one thing about Kimblee he doesn't get. Cobra has a whole host of strange people in its ranks, but he doesn't have anything like...some sort of perpetual warfare loving philosopher guy. There's the perpetual warfare loving poetry guy...but the less said about Major Bludd's poems, the better for everyone involved.]

[...actually, that's a valid point...]

Yes and no. I won't deny that's part of it, simply because knowing one's enemy is probably one of the stronger tactical advantages one can have, but at the same time there's just always been something that interests me in working out how humans are put together, mentally. Most people are predictable, nine times out of ten. I like seeing their patterns and the way that their thoughts fall together.

I've also faced some potential difficulties back home, in that I would be considered a heretic by most; the way that I think would have been enough to get me barred from the military if I had expressed myself in the way that I usually do. In that sort of circumstance, knowing how people work is an asset; it becomes less a matter of being able to pass psychological exams on my own merit and more a matter of knowing how to tell them what they want to hear.

So it's both an attempt to gather intelligence and a learning experience? And a successful one at that if I had to guess.

Rather successful, actually. I was trusted with several high-profile assignments when I still served the military, actually.

Of course, that was a while ago; they didn't terribly like the way I handed in my resignation, unfortunately. But there's no having everything, is there?

[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.

As inspiring as ever, I see; I'll be sure to keep those words in mind.

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