[NR] Calcification And Memories - Chapter 514

Courtney, “While I will admit that some of the elders are... hmm, less than stable. Work has been done to assist. Why would cultivation fix this specific problem? There doesn’t seem to be anything directly modifying the mind. Which admittedly, if there had been, we wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

Jason, “There are two major trouble areas with exceeding your natural lifespan. That is, after you remove the more obvious ones brought in by medical problems which can be fixed through easier methods. We have the calcification of self and the weight of memories.”

Rosha, “If I’m understanding it right, aren’t the two basically part of the same thing and something? You learn more things, but after a certain point those new things aren’t as effective at changing your mind and so you get stuck in your ways?”

Jason shrugs, “Eh, a little of column A, a little of column B. They can happen together or separately and so tend to be defined as two. What you just said is one path towards calcification, but isn’t the only one.

“The old saying about how people get more conservative as they age is an offshoot of calcification. It isn’t that they are reverting to an older belief system, but that the paradigm they’ve developed under is now the new old. To those who once thought a woman showing off her ankles is too much, would see those only against visible knees as progressive.

“However, calcification also refers to a lessening of a person’s learning ability. Just look at how a young child can pick up languages while an adult struggles. And so on and so forth. This is about how the brain slows down how much it is changing.

“You can’t simply heal this away because it isn’t actually damage. The brain stops growing like it is designed to, though the various bits can happen at different rates for different people. Cultivation doesn’t fix this either.”

Courtney raises an eyebrow, “Well, if it doesn’t fix it, why did you make it sound like it did?”

Jason waves off her comment. “I wasn’t done. It isn’t that it fixes, rather cultivation delays it. Extending your lifespan is all about slowing the transition between life stages.

“So yes, if you stop advancing your cultivation, eventually you would start suffering from it. However, until then, you are basically just growing ever slower towards being middle-aged. The reason medical science will have a hard time fixing this, if it ever is possible, is cancer.

“After all? What is unlimited growth if not exactly that? There is only so much medicine can do when your brain moves ever closer to turning into a cancerous mass.”

Rosha, “Okay, that makes some sense. Now how about that whole ‘weight of memories’ thing? I assume that just refers to remembering too much? Because if so, I feel cultivation should do the opposite of helping as it seems to improve your memory.”

Jason, “Part of the continued growth involves more efficient connections and the ability to organize things. Though I should really actually explain what the weight of memories actually means.”

Rosha, “So it isn’t just having a hard time remembering everything?”

Jason laughs, “If only it was that easy! There are actually two halves to this problem. The replacement of self and the destruction of self.

“The first is easy enough and there is a nice analogy, the ship of Theseus. Are you still the same person if over time the new memories have replaced the old? Except unlike a ship, we have a definitive answer when it comes to the mind. No.

“Technically, everyone is the reincarnation of someone unless they have a new soul. The chances of such a thing being so low that I might as well have not mentioned it. Except you aren’t the person you were in your last life.

“Unlike a ship where any one plank isn’t all that important and fine to replace with another. Each memory, no matter how well you remember it, is a unique experience for which there is no replacement. If you lose a few, you aren’t a ship, so don’t have to worry about sinking. However, if you try to replace them, you actually do more damage than leaving a blank spot.”

Courtney, “So what is your opinion on the military’s attempts at implanting memories to quickly train soldiers?”

Jason shrugs, “That’s more like grafting a new branch onto a fully grown tree. Now, if you try to add too much or do it awkwardly, that would likely cause more than a few problems. Also, just like a graft, there is likely a chance of rejection.

“But I should really talk about the other side of the coin, because the two are very much opposites. The destruction of self is what happens when instead of replacing memories, you hold on to them all.”

Rosha, “I know the brain can hold a lot, but it isn’t infinite, so I assume that is where the problem is at?”

Jason nods, “The ever-growing mountain of memories will eventually break a person in so many horrible ways. Whether it is the depression from the weight of loss, the shattering of one thing too far, or the slow suffocation under repeating cycles.”

Courtney, “So people going crazy over losing people, one big disaster, or seeing the sun rise one too many times? I think those would be a worry for any sane person?”

Jason, “Except cultivation helps with processing and storage. I’ve heard this aspect referred to as ‘The timeless mind’ or similar. Done right, the upsides include being able to enjoy a well-cooked meal as if it was the first time, despite having had that meal every morning for the last century.

“The downsides generally advance calcification. You’ve eaten that meal every day for centuries and so, while you enjoy it just as much as yesterday, you don’t strive to make it better tomorrow. This side of it can be seen in a lot of deity based myths. The gods don’t change quickly, if at all. Rather, as soon as they are competent enough, that’s the end of their climb.

“Part of being mortal is the struggle to advance with what little time we are given. Yesterday’s meal was great, but today will be better. However, mortals are not meant to watch generation after generation of their descendants to the point that it is hard to tell they are your descendants.

“Cultivation expands your mind into your cultivation and soul. This provides the space to remember while allowing you freedom from your body to process what has happened. I’m going to be honest, part of why low-level cultivators end up as the mainstays of armies in my previous life is because they don’t mentally break as easily.”

Courtney rolls her eyes, “The military will love to learn that.”