mental link, day...36? sure.

[headinjuries]

[ Technically, it came up a few days ago, but Sam's been letting something bounce around in his head to see if the possibility gets less troublesome after he sleeps on it. And sleeps on it a couple more times.

or he's just saying it late so the newbies can hear it too, w/e

It's not getting any less freaky. So, out of left field: ]

( So if aliens can hack our emotions, do we...actually know they can't mess with everything else? Memories? Are we actually who we think we are?

What if there is no spoon? )

Comments

[cur]

( In some cases. )

[ If the caster doesn't know the spell or their own limits, or simply does too much. As for the question, there's a short hesitation. ]

( Not that I'm aware of, but I do have experience with memory charms. )

[headinjuries]

( Memory charms? )

[cur]

( Spells capable of altering a person's memory. It's most often used to remove them. When a Muggle witnesses magic, for instance. )

[ Muggle isn't a word he'd let slip in normal conversation. This is... not that. ]

( But replacing an individual's entire identity would be another thing altogether — visible symptoms would be unavoidable. )

[headinjuries]

( You guys just brainfry people whenever they saw the wrong thing? )

[cur]

( I would argue that their brains are relatively fried to begin with. Forgetting is the healthier option. )

[ A little self-serving, maybe, but secrets come naturally at this point. ]

( And we don't always brainfry them, as you put it. So long as they're introduced to magic in a way that's no threat to their sanity or the sanity of Muggle society at large, they might very well keep their memories. My mother had no magic, though I suppose she was more open to the idea of it than most. )

[headinjuries]

( That's still...kinda creepy, dude. )

[ He's had his hands full hiding the superhero thing from his friends, but he doesn't think he could actually mess with anyone's memories over it. ]

[cur]

[ Well, this definitely isn't what he was expecting to be judged for, but it isn't impossible to sympathize. ]

( But no less necessary. A single Muggle ranting about dragons isn't looked upon kindly by his peers. He'll become a pariah or lose his mind, or both. I can't say I find that to be the more humane option. )

[headinjuries]

( Does it have to be a secret from everybody? )

[cur]

( Not everyone. The Prime Minister works quite closely with the Minister of Magic, actually. )

[ "Works closely" here meaning "helps them keep their wizard secrets", but you know. Slightly biased perspective. ]

[headinjuries]

( Enough people that it might as well be, then. )

[cur]

[ There's a very faint flicker of annoyance, though he still sounds patient. ]

( It's understandable that you'd have a different perspective on it. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that the place I'm from wouldn't take the revelation of the wizarding world particularly well. Yours may be more adaptable. )

[headinjuries]

( Maybe.

SHIELD was doing the memory-wipey stuff, and it exploded in everybody's faces, so...it kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth. )

[ Pleasant Hill was not pleasant for anybody. ]

[cur]

[ So it's personal. He's curious about how things backfired, of course, but he caps that in favor of the most objective angle he can think of. ]

( Is SHIELD your government? )

[headinjuries]

( Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Sometimes they do good world-saving stuff? And sometimes they're just total douchebags. )

[greentech]

[ Yo, hold up. ]

( You just erase someone's memory when they see magic? )

[ She's not going to say 'magic isn't real' because as far as she's concerned magic is just another form of technology. She lives in a flying space castle, after all. ]

[cur]

[ Starting to think he's made a tactical error, here. ]

( Not always, but usually. It's for their protection as much as ours. )

[greentech]

( That just sounds like you're trying to justify it to yourself. Besides, you can't keep people ignorant forever! )

[ That hits a bit closer to home than she thought it would. She'd had to fight to try and find information about her missing family, so the idea of someone's questions being able to be whisked away is a bit disturbing. ]

[cur]

( No, I suppose we can't. )

[ It isn't a new concept. There's a tiredness about it that makes it clear he's mulled it over before, thoughts of robed, floating figures. The threat's spreading beyond the Ministry's walls. ]

( But I'm afraid I've given you the wrong impression of things. Not all Muggles are made to forget. )

[greentech]

( Why make any of them forget at all? )

[ She doesn't like it. No, sir. ]

[cur]

( Because they deserve to live a normal life. )

[ True. Only half the truth, though, and after a short pause: ]

( And because the last time wizards and witches lived out in the open, they were driven out and killed for it. )

[ Said without any real offense; it's just history, not personal. Or he's just had plenty of practice at being used to it. ]

[greentech]

( Define "normal". )

[ She doesn't know what his world is like or how witches and wizards are involved, but she just doesn't like the idea of messing with peoples' memories. ]

( Maybe things have changed. People can learn. )

[cur]

( True. I'd argue that they still have much to learn. )

[ As for normal — he has no idea. He has a vague concept of it, working a normal job and having a family and having friends, which is all very Hallmark but also very worthwhile. ]

( And normal is whatever life they've chosen for themselves. Forgetting allows them to keep it. )

[greentech]

( It also means they can't make a choice. You're taking that away from them - the ability to learn for themselves. )

[ Pidge "sounds" like she disapproves. She's never really been in a normal family (her father and brother both went to space), but the pursuit of knowledge and the expansion of human endeavor is almost a family tradition. ]

( How are people supposed to learn if you never let them? )

[cur]

[ All good points, and all met with empathy and an edge of curiosity. ]

( That's what you'd prefer? To have a difficult choice instead of none, even if it meant your life would never be the same. )

[greentech]

[ There's a lot of determination coming off of Pidge, along with a bit of empathy and a thirst for learning. ]

( I sort of made that choice. I mean, it wasn't the same situation, but I could've just accepted what I was told and believed my father and brother were dead. But I didn't. And now I'm part of something - I was part of something way bigger and fighting an evil galactic empire. )