CAS01 (May 1, 2023)
Summary of Receipt
Pathologist brings up the Soul Magic idea again, remarking that what Mercutio fears - him breaking Rune's soul, excising the problems, and gluing it back together - is highly impractical. He instead suggests restoring Rune's old ambitions and sense of self, in effect curing the aberration of a soul she has every since she's been made a Zombie. Lastly, he recommends Shaka - that is, Capgras - use his ability to be in multiple places at once, and visit Vile City instead.
Transcript
Receipt: CAS01
Author: Pathologist
Status: Open
Subject: Kings Cult
Now, now, Mercutio, my friend, do not be so hasty. Yes, I suppose in some respects, the work Silenziosa has proposed is… taboo. But I fear we are on different wavelengths. What you think we might do is far, far from what we actually need to do. I understand the hesitancy, I do, but a soul is not such a fragile thing. No, it is rather elastic, especially if it has already seen as much abuse as our poor Rune has. To put it this way, I believe you are worried we will… in some way, break things, remove the problems, and glue it back together, yes?
Utterly crude, impractical, and quite possibly unethical. I propose a simpler solution. Instead of smashing and trying to rebuild, what if we… rewrote things instead? Clear the slate, wash away what is there, and implant a new, better set of ambitions? Now, I know that this sounds… drastic. And quite possibly… well, deeply immoral. If done without care, it could render Rune a shambling husk of herself without any personality or ambitions, a Zombie, in other words.
Though… is she not already a Zombie for the sake of argument? We can’t possibly undo the damage done years back. What we see now is… an aberration of what should be. Of course, I am not callously suggesting we should just wipe the slate clean and move on (though that would solve the problem). I believe we can at least attempt to retrieve and reinstate Rune’s original ambitions and sense of self. A few years ago, I would never have thought this would be possible, but there has been a lot of recent research in this field. Of course, the foremost expert on the topic is currently an entire Cycle away…
Though… one of the most well-known miracles performed by Shaka was his ability to be in many places at once. While our current Shaka does have this ability—I feel like being two separate people misses the point. Perhaps now would be a good time to stretch your legs, Capgras, and see an old friend for me?