Video - Eliminate Nightmares With This One Weird Trick!

[fractaljesus]

Greetings, Lunatia. I am Yaha-kui zaShunina.

I understand that the Lunatian government has advised you to refrain from sleep for as long as possible. I also understand that for biological entities, doing so is difficult and results in both physical and mental strain that is detrimental to the health of the organism as a whole.

Thus, I present a solution.

[Rising into view of the feed is an oblong object, floating innocuously in front of zaShunina's chest.]

This is called "Sansa." It is a device from my world that, when activated, has various effects upon the brain of those who view it, but the most relevant among these is the ability to no longer require sleep, though they may choose to do so if they desire. This effect also works when viewed over video transmission.

I will make this voluntary. If you wish to view the activated Sansa and receive its effects, continue watching this feed. If you do not, please close the video now.


[zaShunina gives about ten seconds of silence to allow any who want to leave do so. After that, the object suddenly begins to move without another word from him. It splits into cross-sections and rotates in the air, and any still watching the video will experience some very unsettling sensations.

Nausea, mostly, but also an overwhelming sense of awareness such that they've likely never experienced before. Awareness of higher dimensions, and sudden awareness of more of themselves stretching off into these higher dimensions. The effect only lasts for a few seconds, and everything suddenly comes crashing back to the present time and place as the Sansa returns to its inert state.]

For those who have remained to view the Sansa, I will gladly answer your questions.

(OOC Note: How much the Sansa affects your character (if at all) is entirely up to you.)

Comments

[fractaljesus]

[zaShunina smiles to reassure her, shaking his head.]

No damage should have incurred. [And she doesn't appear to be suffering any unusual aftereffects. Apart from the expected ones, at least.]

What you perceive in your current state to be the entirety of yourself is only a small fragment of you; the majority of you extends into higher dimensions of which you are normally unaware. The Sansa is nothing more than a window--viewing it allows one to look through these higher dimensions and become aware of the other "yous" that extend to these higher dimensions.

It does not truly eliminate the need to sleep, but rather, the awareness it grants allows you to utilize these other "selves" to meet this need. While one sleeps, the others also gain the benefits of it without needing to sleep themselves.

Do you understand?

[goingsoft]

You used the phrase 'higher dimensions' like. Three times. So no, not really. I mean- I'm grateful. And I'm sure that'd be a great explanation for someone who'd had maybe three years of studying philosophy. It's just that it just looks like a giant demon walnut got chopped up and danced around to me.

[ But she does, at least, attempt to think it over. ]

What I'm getting is that there's some other me, presumably in a place with less sleep-murder. And I make her do all my sleeping for me for now. Then if I feel like it I can take a nap or two to pay her back once it's safe to? Is that about right?

[fractaljesus]

[Whether or not she completely understands how it works, the important takeaway is that sleep isn't necessary for her right now.]

That is not quite correct, and I will attempt to explain it more clearly should you wish me to.

But essentially, yes. That is the gist of it; the Sansa allows you to work-share yourself.

[goingsoft]

I mean- if it's not wrong in a dangerous way, then it's probably fine. And you said it hadn't done any damage, so-

[ She shrugs like someone who has seen enough weird shit to just accept this at long as it isn't going to actually make her head explode. And as long as the nausea isn't permanent because holy shit does she need some peppermint tea right now. ]

So- is it rude to ask what the fuck it is? You said it was a device from your world but is it- I don't know. It's not made of people or anything, right?

[fractaljesus]

[The nausea should pass soon, no worries there.]

I described the Sansa as "a device from my world" but that was simply for the sake of expedience. It isn't wholly inaccurate, but neither is it entirely correct. I do not possess a "world" of origin in the same sense as the universe in which this planet exists. Rather, my origin is Novo--anisotropic space. It is a "state" of existence that lies adjacent to and intersects every point within this and every universe and possesses higher dimensions, but it is not a world in itself.

The Sansa is an anisotropic device. It is composed of macromolecules whose most comparable equivalent within this universe is synthetic polymers. However, the composition is irrelevant to the function, as it is in viewing the shape of the device that imparts the effect upon the brain.

[goingsoft]

So like. 'Demon walnut' is super inaccurate but also, way shorter. [ She huffs. She feels so out of her depth right now but fuck it, she's going to do her best. ] Hang on. You deserve- you did a nice thing for everyone, I should at least try to take this seriously. Give me a second.

[ 'Trying to figure it out' looks, from the outside, a lot like talking to herself and counting on her fingers. She's trying, honest. ]

Is it a real place, where you're from? Wait, no- I mean- obviously it's real, if you're from it. But like does it have a ground and a sky and and- I don't know. Rocks and shit? I don't know what it means for a place to exist and not be a world.

[fractaljesus]

No, it does not possess these things. The anisotropic exists outside of space, and possesses nothing that may be comparably classified as "matter."

[He pauses, looking thoughtful for a moment before continuing.]

Length, height, and depth make up the three spacial dimensions with which you are familiar and are configured to perceive the world around you. The Anisotropic possesses a greater number of these spacial dimensions and exists outside of and intersects them at every point. That is what I was referring to by "higher dimensions".

[goingsoft]

Oh, I think I know this one!

[ She perks up at that, genuinely excited to maybe almost be close to understanding even part of this. It takes a lot to get her genuinely excited. ]

‘Time’ is one of the extra dimensions, right? And it’d intersect all the normal three dimensions at every point, because time is happening at all those different points?

Are the higher dimensions like that? Not exactly like that, but- something that’s happening in every possible place, all at once?

[fractaljesus]

[He nods, smiling at her response because, yes, she does seem to be beginning to grasp at least a little of it.]

Yes, that is correct. However, while time may be considered a dimension and is useful for illustrating this property, it is not a spacial dimension.