originallutece | (no subject)

I assume you've made at least a cursory study of these "hallucinomemories" that the users of this app have been experiencing? I'm not looking for an in-depth accounting, but I presume you've been taking notes in some capacity, yes?

Naturally. My most in-depth notes are obviously of my own, but I've made note of a few others here and there.

And have you noticed any trends in the type of stimulus that tends to trigger a hallucinomemory?

To elaborate on what I'm getting at, it's occurred to me that at present, I'm something of a useful scientific commodity — aware of the possibility of receiving one of these hallucinomemories but a tabula rasa when it comes to having experienced them. That's unique potential that I don't think should be squandered — and it presents opportunities that quite frankly, we're only going to get one shot at taking advantage of.

[oh sweet jesus christ thank god this is happening on the third instead of, say, the second, because Ros would have been torn apart from two very real and very separate desires

AS IT STANDS this works out very nicely for her, because it means she has an excuse to throw herself wholeheartedly into this utterly fantastic project.]

Agreed.

As it stands, memories seem to be triggered by similar situations: I was at an arcade and I remembered a boardwalk; I was thinking about the possibility of my work being stolen and I remembered something along those lines, so on and so forth. So while it's impossible to say what might trigger you (given we don't yet know what your 'other life' was just yet), we can subject you to a number of stimuli and see what sets you off. We can even monitor your vitals; I'm dying to see what these hallucinomemories do to one's brain activity.

My thoughts exactly — pun intended. But it also seems to me that there may be some pattern that can be tracked about the types of triggers that TEND to set people off — much in the same way that certain dreams are common among humans from all experiences and cultures, simply because they arise out of collective similarities in the HUMAN experience.

The classic "falling dream", for example. Perhaps there's a hallucinomemory trigger that's similar — a universal trigger that most anyone would be set off by.

[Oh. Jung.

Eugh.]

Perhaps. Certainly it's a possibility, though off-hand I can't think of any one similarity between triggers I've heard of and my own. Still, I wonder if common themes from the human experience might indeed work in our favor. If we do something that would automatically provoke strong emotions-- something that would appeal to primal senses. You won't find many people who wouldn't react to blood or violence, say, or something sexual.

I hope you're not asking me, in my capacity as a test subject, if all of those options are on the table.

For one thing, I usually insist on dinner and dancing first.

I more meant you could watch a Tarantino film.

I'm not sure watching a film would be enough of a stimulus to provoke anything.

Now, if I tried reenacting a Tarantino film, maybe.

You know, you're the second woman this week asking me to implicitly endorse acts of violence.

Truly, though: while a more personal touch might be stronger, films have been shown to trigger those same chemicals in our minds. It's worth a shot, if we want to try that first.

Oh, no, that wasn't an endorsement of violence in the slightest. But it's possible, for better or for worse, that as a subject I may have a higher tolerance for bearing witness to acts of violence than the average person.

[And then there's a pause, which isn't conspicuous at all.]

Primal senses. Anything that set off a rush of adrenaline should satisfy that, shouldn't it?

[Nor was that a loaded statement in the slightest. Good lord, Carmen . . .]

Yes, I suppose so. Why? What do you have in mind?

Well. I happen to have a very fast car and very good reflexes.

While that certainly would get your adrenaline up, these memories are very distracting, Carmen, and I'd rather not see you die in a fiery crash.

...

[Well, would you look at that, she's gone silent again.]

Which movie did you want to try?

How high a tolerance for violence do you have?

...Well.

I've been shot.

[Well.

All right, then. Rosalind blinks down at her phone for a moment or two, and then, finally:]

So a movie really isn't going to cut it, then.

[To say the least. Christ.]

What about something like-- I don't know-- jumping out of an airplane, that kind of thrill? It theoretically risks your life, and you get a rush of adrenaline, but there's no real danger.

Edited 2017-07-03 21:28 (UTC)

It's not exactly something I publicize, for obvious reasons. And if you never would've guessed, then I've been succeeding in my attempts at keeping it under wraps.

Skydiving would be doable — in that I'm not opposed to it, I mean. Rappelling might be another viable option. But something more...tangible than a movie, I think, whatever it is we choose.

Rappelling would be better, I think. I could observe you more closely, and if you had a memory, it would be easy for me to reach you and help you through it.

[Which she means scientifically, not sentimentally. 'Help you through it', here defined as 'ask you a lot of pointed questions in the hopes of getting the most out of the experience', which Carmen likely realizes.]

Do you have that equipment available? Or rather: do you have any idea on how to use it?

The answer is yes, to both. My guardian would howl if he knew I'd brought it with me to this city, but...well, old habits die hard, and he's not actually the boss of me any longer.

Then how about we test it tonight? Unless you've other plans.

I think I can be prepared for that by tonight.

Just to be clear, we're going to attempt to deliberately trigger a hallucinomemory out of me with this. Correct? So you'll want to have a video camera on hand, microphones, your own personal recording apparatus...

Naturally. I think it would be best to set you up with a recording device as well, actually, just so we can be certain to record anything you might say. Beyond that, I'll set up two cameras: one on the roof, watching you go down, and one on the ground, observing you from below. I'll be waiting on the ground as well, and we'll have a two-way link going, so I can speak to you when and if such a memory returns to you.

Like I always say, it's talent and preparation that make things happen.

Let me take care of the preparation. I know I can count on you for the talent.