Temporary Absence

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 5:34 pm

I'm sure some of you are wondering why I've hardly posted at all in the past few days...

...no? None of you?

Well, bleh to you, too. =P

Anywho, I just finally got some peace of mind in the form of a new car. My Neon died, stranding me by the roadside some three blocks from work, yesterday. I was watching it deteriorate for the past week or so, but didn't know what was wrong, or how to fix it. By the time I had it figured out, it was too late and too expensive. So I took the day off from work (to the eternal joy and happiness of my supervisors, of course[/sarcasm]), and Lex and I went out today and got me a new Mazda6. Nice little 5-speeder. I've yet to get it into 4th gear, and that was taking it out on a highway.

I see myself being a baaaaaad boy in it. *Mweeeheheheheheeee!*

Anywho, yeah, Hannah's sudden surprise disappearance left me a bit shaken that night. I'm glad that Ron's okay, though... She seems capable of taking care of herself plenty well. I don't think she really needs my care and attention. By the by, Ron, where should I send all her books? If you don't have room for them all, or don't want/can't afford to send them all at once, I'll understand. She seemed most interested in the novels I'd gotten her, my mythology book (which she can have), and the history book, but I made sure she was at least versed in the first four forms of basic arithmetic and basic algebra. She's also got basic language CD's and books for Japanese, Spanish, and German sitting here.

Alright, so now that the pleasant stuff is outta the way...

My memory loss is getting worse, and it's not because of Gabriel. More precisely, it's caused by some form of...for lack of a better term for it, a "computer virus" that was uploaded directly into my mind. It's systematically cutting connections which, in turn, is leading to my memory loss. It's going at it slowly, but when Gabriel tried to approach it, it started speeding up.

Good news: Gabe can deal with it, and stop my memory loss.

Better news: Gabe can reverse the process.

Bad news: He's not sure if he can do it before this thing turns me into a drooling vegetable, and he's not sure if the thing can start making any of this permanent, and is leery of pushing it far enough to try.

Worse news: If he reverses the process, I'm going to need a few days just to sort through all the information I've forgotten.

So, question to everyone, do we attempt it, or do I just live with this while we try to figure out an alternate solution?

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:26 pm

Hi Josh,

Sorry again for vanishing on you. I talked to Pa and he said . . . well actually he wrote it on a little whiteboard I got him with the money Bert left me to take care of things until Pa gets out of the hospital . . . anyway, he said that I should pick some of the stuff for now and we'll get the rest as soon as we move.

I want the language CDs and the mythology book and a couple of the novels.

Pa thinks we will probably be moving straight from the hospital into the new house. He closed the deal on it earlier but wanted to stay in the hotel suite so that any baddies were drawn there. No offense to anyone, but the exact location of the house is gonna hafta be Pa and Me's little secret for now.

Anyway, KT, I don't think it is our opinion that matters, this is your brain. Only you (and Lexi) have the final say. I would say that if there was something eating my brain, I'd like to get rid of it as soon as possible . . . but I wouldn' want ta be a vegetable, unless I knew it was for a really short duration.

If it works, perhaps there is something Gabe can do for Ben.

Hannah

PS: Did you tell the dolls I was okay?

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:07 pm

Josh . . . why did you have your head stuck in a computer?

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:28 am

Uhm... Gabe had some theories...but I don't quite understand. When was the evil version of you in my head...?

And Hannah, thanks for the address PM. I'll send those out right away.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:25 am

Hi KT,

Well, my nightmare came from my head - I really wish he'd stayed there - and I don't know anything about computers, so I don't know how he could have made a computer virus.

Hannah

PS: If he was the cause, I'm sorry.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 12:27 am

We're calling it a computer virus for lack of anything better to call it, and because it's emulating one in my head... It's systematically "deleting" memories from my mind, and as any computer tech can tell you, it is possible to recover deleted files... It isn't biological in nature, we're not sure what it is, or where it came from.

Gabe thinks it's from some nightmare guy...

...Dammit, did I say that already...? *checks...* "Evil version"...of Ron...?

...I hate this. It's getting worse, I know it is... I don't even know how I know, it's just something I can feel. I don't know what I'm forgetting, how much I'm forgetting, but this has got to stop...

Wish us luck. We're going in.

Koralth · Post by **Koralth** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 1:12 am

Maybe see a therapist? There's meds out there for forgetfulness and stuff. You should seek out help immediately

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 1:15 am

Unfortunately, this is the kind of problem that therapy and medicine won't fix. It's like a part of his mind has turned on itself, on a subconscious level...

Koralth · Post by **Koralth** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:47 am

Are you absolutely sure about that? I love it when confrontations with doctors can be avoided, but psychiatric help is one thing I don't mess around with. They've helped me out quite a bit in recent past, I still think Josh should see someone. I guess I really don't know the situation, but it's the most reasonable solution I can think of. Don't play around when it comes to your mind. If you really know what you can do to cure it, that's great... But if it's a witch-doctor theory, I advise against it.

AdamaGeist · Post by **AdamaGeist** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:28 pm

From the sounds of a wound like this, the 'virus' is probably cutting the connections between sections of the brain.

To put it simply, as you learn somthing, the pattern of mental activity that came from learning it is ingraned into your mind. Often, learning requires that new connections be formed between segments of the brain. The more connections you have, the faster you process information through, thus, the smarter you are.

But breaking those connections slows the brain down and makes information unrecoverable. That's usualy what happens in injury based amnesia cases, and why people usualy end up recovering from it. The broken connections get re-attached as you re-learn the actions you had made that had formed the connections in the first place, and thus the inacessable memory gets restored.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:55 pm

Eggheads . . . so, how do we reverse this?

AdamaGeist · Post by **AdamaGeist** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:38 pm

Well, I suspect that Gabe will probably fix the problem by feeding Josh his own memories telepathicaly. The reintroduction of information will cause his brain to reform the connections, and he'll return to normal.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:24 am

The good news is, Josh is on the mend, and still has faculties enough to get to work, complete a day successfully, come home, and remember he has a wife and child to come home to.

The bad news is, it'll be about another day before his synapses all recover enough for him to start remembering everything.

I had to go back into his subconscious again and take out the creature that had taken up residence inside his mind... Instead of defending itself, it simply started attacking its surroundings. Fortunately, I was able to kill it quickly and efficiently, and the damage it did was limited and temporary.

Unfortunately, as the damage has been healed, he hasn't been recovering his memory. I know he'll get them back; it may be a subconscious desire not to remember for a while... Within the next day or so, he will be fully healed, and his memories will start coming back. Whether they trickle back or flood his mind all at once, I'm not certain. If it's the latter, he may need a little while longer to sort through his own thoughts.

He will owe me for this.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:55 am

Gabe, you gotta get over this owe shit. That isn't any way to be a good guy and reclaim anything.

Kolya · Post by **Kolya** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:02 pm

And it is a little creepy.

Greydawn · Post by **Greydawn** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:54 pm

KonThaak wrote:He will owe me for this.

The way I see it you owe him for your very existence.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:41 pm

Hi Gabe,

What was the little thing? How did it get in there?

Hannah

PS: I think you and Josh owe each other enough that you shouldn't worry about debts.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:32 pm

We're still not sure what was in my head...

As for debts...I think we'll just be keeping that stuff personal from now on. He has saved my life numerous times, and all he has from me, aside from his creation, is years of getting screwed over...

Anywho, like I said, though, we're working it out.

My memories are coming back.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:24 pm

You people make me sick sometimes. I don't know why Josh bothers with the likes of most of you. He's in trouble, and the ONLY ones who can show any concern are the two Lazlo members I hold the greatest respect for! Only when I say something halfway controversial does everyone again come out of the woodworks, and with the exception of one of the two people who deserve the most respect, NOBODY ELSE EXPRESSES CONCERN FOR JOSH'S CONDITION!

I should NOT be the one to point out that you people are hypocrites for that! I don't give a shit about being a good person! my anger and rage is all I have left; damned near every beneficial act I've performed has been all but altruism! But because I keep track of debts, including my own, I'm "creepy", and "not a good guy".

Sod you all. I don't give a shit. My tracking debts notwithstanding, you people are still dicks for behaving that way. You did it to Bloodbane, too. Nobody paid him much attention until after he was dead; only then was it "oh the dramas and tragedies" and all that BS.

With the exceptions of Ron and Hannah, you people have your priorities all fucked to hell.

I don't fucking need your brand of morality telling me how horrible a person I am. Next time you people feel the need to judge someone, take a look in the fucking mirror.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:36 pm

Now listen here you amoralistic phantom, I can't do anything about the non-physical. I asked several times whether or not I could actually do something constructive.

Now I don't keep track of my debt or debtors. I don't do what I do so it is repaid. I helped you and KT out before because it is my nature to do so. The same with rescuing Holister or anyone else. So if I balk at your debt collecting and it offends you, kiss my ass. I don't operate that way and I've made my opinion known and that's the end of what you'll hear from me.

A. Pendragon · Post by **A. Pendragon** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:02 pm

KT, let me know if you need anything. You know I am very nearby. Same goes for you Gabe. You watched my metaphysical backside when I was dealing with Fate and Loki, I appreciate that.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:06 am

It wasn't like I did anything spectacular to keep you safe, Pendragon. The most I did was go off after some of those cultists that thought they'd have themselves an escape.

I don't consider us as having debt between us, though your offer is appreciated.

Likewise, though I watched over Hannah for much of the time she was here, I didn't really do anything to help her, nor did she do much for me. We talked. That was the extent of it.

Ron... He sent his daughter somewhere he thought would be safe from supernatural creatures, and one showed up and made himself at home. I'm fortunate that he reacted as calmly as he did. I do feel I owe him for that. Even if he disagrees, I do wish to resolve that debt at a time of his choosing.

And as Josh said, our debts shall be kept between ourselves. If any of you are curious, you can ask him what we've worked out. I don't care to relate it.

As far as Bert is concerned, our debts to each other are cleared.

As for Ben, I did save his life on two separate occasions... However, the two amulets in my possession easily repays that debt. He owes me nothing.

As far as your feelings of my estimations of debt, it is how I handle my issues concerning morality. Because I cannot feel what is right the way Josh can, I use the only thing I have to measure what I should do... My honor demands nothing less.

It is not amorality. It is the state of being without appropriate emotions to make a reasonable moral decision.

It's all I have left. And that's why it pisses the fuck out of me when you people feel you have the right to judge me on the one thing I have left to myself.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:14 am

~.~; I'm just keeping out of this one...

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:14 am

Good reply.

Kei Nakamura · Post by **Kei Nakamura** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:39 am

A split personality? Possesing entity? Maybe you are the one Mr. Li said I should look for?

And sorry if i seem like a "self absorbed little twit", a label given to me when I started setting up measuring devices when I accompanied Mr. Li to an exorcism. But I suppose since my desire to know how and why things work comes first the shoe fits.

Kolya · Post by **Kolya** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:22 am

Nothing self-absorbing about that..

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:50 pm

Gabe, I still don't understand, or totally like, what you are. My own expeirnece with things that came out of people's heads just reinforces that.

So far, though agrivating, you have been on the side of the angels . . but you know and I know what I'll be doing if you step outta line . . . especially if what you do hurts Josh in any way. So stay a part of the solution.

Holister · Post by **Holister** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 5:35 am

Josh, you I like. You have done alot for the society and sacraficed your own health {both physical and spiritual}
to do so. I respect you, and wish you and your family well.

However Gabe is an arrogant, self righteous prick who is no better than Jeremiah and I hope that he finally chokes on those f**king amulets I gave him when they finally burn his ass out.

Kolya · Post by **Kolya** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:35 am

Everyone and their alter ids.

Ron Caliburn · Post by **Ron Caliburn** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:20 am

Regretably we seem to collect them around here.