Would you augment your mind if....

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:08 pm

So there was this book I read recently in which a character is attacked by a parasite. It is a creature that attaches to your face and attempts to take you over... but if your will is strong enough you can take it over, and you become a symbiotic pair which much higher mental, physical, and healing abilities.

Once this creature hits your skin it travels to your face. First it drills into your eyes to access your brain, and there's no going back, and after a few days of battle, if you dominate it, you retain control of yourself, but how could you know?

The pros are that the facemask has eidetic memory, misses nothing, boosts your senses, gives you its own vision which is much more detailed, acts as a computer and will perform complex calculations that you need to know and feeds you the answer, etc etc.

Cons: You're ugly and what if you are no longer you?

Would you take a facemask?

Edited By GORDON on 1435093736

Post by **Vince** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:17 pm

I think people that even use Botox need a good slap in the face, so no.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:25 pm

Take over my mind? Hah. Motherfucker would be begging to get out in three days. Need pics and the list of other side effects. I lean towards, "yes," though.

Edited By Malcolm on 1435094806

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:26 pm

Malcolm wrote:Need pics and the list of other side effects. I lean towards, "yes," though.

Basically you'll look like a burn victim, but the parasite WILL grow you some eyes to help you look normal, and they might even be in the correct spots.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:27 pm

GORDON wrote:
Malcolm wrote:Need pics and the list of other side effects. I lean towards, "yes," though.
Basically you'll look like a burn victim, but the parasite WILL grow you some eyes to help you look normal, and they might even be in the correct spots.

That sounds like the sort of thing that leaves one prone to infection. Your skin is an organ and needs integrity for a reason.

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:28 pm

Malcolm wrote:
GORDON wrote:
Malcolm wrote:Need pics and the list of other side effects. I lean towards, "yes," though.

Basically you'll look like a burn victim, but the parasite WILL grow you some eyes to help you look normal, and they might even be in the correct spots.

That sounds like the sort of thing that leaves one prone to infection. Your skin is an organ and needs integrity for a reason.

Nope, this thing boosts your healing to the extent old scars will fade, old, permanent injuries (like a vasectomy) heal, etc.

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Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:30 pm

Seriously, the only real downside is you may never know if this thing just approximates your personality as a defense mechanism. Maybe you are you, maybe it is pretending to be you.

Plus you're ugly.

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Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:32 pm

GORDON wrote:Seriously, the only real downside is you may never know if this thing just approximates your personality as a defense mechanism. Maybe you are you, maybe it is pretending to be you. Do the burn victim-like facial scars heal?

Plus you're ugly.

Whoa, so it's got a tweeked immune system to boot? What other benefits aren't you telling me about? If I lop off an arm, does it grow back?

Maybe you are you, maybe it is pretending to be you.

Something approximating you that well (not like the simulant in that Black Mirror ep) ... fuck, if it can fool you, it may as well be you. I still think I'd have that fucker tamed pretty quick.

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Post by **Vince** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:52 pm

What book was this? The premise is sounding oddly familiar.

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:56 pm

Vince wrote:What book was this? The premise is sounding oddly familiar.

http://www.dtman.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=7;t=15971

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:01 pm

Can I do it when I'm in my 70s or 80s?

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:12 pm

Malcolm wrote:Can I do it when I'm in my 70s or 80s?

Don't see why not. You take a gamble on not living that long.

Post by **Troy** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:35 pm

After the initial struggle, would i have to worry about it taking hold again?

Like, meditate for a month, clear my brain and focus on my willpower to ensure success ... and then a few months later I get piss drunk at a bar and WHAM, not me anymore?

E: already voted no

Edited By Troy on 1435109982

Post by **TheCatt** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:45 pm

Apparently I'm the only one who would.

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:46 pm

I null voted.

Once you take control, you suppress its identity forever. If it wins, it suppresses your identity forever.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:58 pm

GORDON wrote:
Malcolm wrote:Can I do it when I'm in my 70s or 80s?
Don't see why not. You take a gamble on not living that long.

Wait a minute. I've still got my normal, crappy lifespan? No extra decades or centuries?

Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:03 pm

The mask will rejuvenate you, but it doesn't help if an elephant steps on you when you are 62, before you got the mask.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:08 pm

GORDON wrote:The mask will rejuvenate you, but it doesn't help if an elephant steps on you when you are 62, before you got the mask.

But I'm free to use this thing provided I'm alive if I'm in my latter years or have some terminal illness, and I'll get how much bonus time? We talking centuries?

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Post by **GORDON** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:03 pm

Unknown, but it has been observed to make older people appear to be back in their prime.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:09 pm

GORDON wrote:Unknown, but it has been observed to make older people appear to be back in their prime.

Fuck yeah, I'm on board at that point. Old + shriveled vs. burn victim + uber. I'll take that trade. My brain would be so thoroughly embittered by then as to make my psyche unassailable.