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The Heretic, p. 2 (Patreon)

Published:
2026-03-08 17:53:09
Imported:
2026-06
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Corvid_Arcanum

Having a symbiotic being inside yourself, at least to me, seems worth it despite the pain. I recognize this as a byproduct of loneliness, but it is such a fascinating thing to imagine. I do feel for the young luxas, but I imagine a good majority of them must be less lonely. Or at least, have a false happiness from the fungus, which is in functionality the same. I’m curious to know the history about the fungus. What introduced it to these luxa, why did they integrate this into their culture?

Loviare

To be honest, I'd probably be willing to implant such a fungus in my brain as well (depending on the full and detailed list of drawbacks, of course). Though I'm a bit surprised that a Genta as advanced and scientifically driven as the Luxa did not find / are not using some sort of effective painkiller for those poor newborn Luxa...

Kahnopris

Hmm… that’s quite intriguing. But can it truly be considered a complete mind of an independent organism? It makes me wonder whether the species itself is being dominated instead. And if such beings were more aggressive, that would make them even more dangerous... Having someone inside your mind could be very useful, but it could also make you rely on it too much. I think a person grows and matures more when they face and overcome life on their own. :)

Yuka

While the other two (at the time I'm writing this) comments seem to favor the idea of a symbiotic mind fungus, I personally am terrified of the idea of never being alone in my own mind. Even if that other being loves and enhanches me. Though maybe that's just because I grew up in an enviroment where my thoughts were the only place I could safely be myself without judgement. Nevertheless, the aili is a highly interesting concept! Seems like the one being with our professor here thinks a little differently about their situation.

Dreaming Door Studios
>>205358420

The Luxa weren't the Luxa until they encountered the fungus; they would emphatically tell you that it has always been a part of them and defines them. Before they encountered the fungus, they were [redacted - praise the Impresario!]. Gah. I'm sorry; the Raconteur seems to be rather adamant about this not getting out. It's actually at the request of the Reform Luxa citizens of the Empire. They consider the thing that they were before the aili to be obscene, for complex reasons, and the story of how they first encountered the aili and what happened really might give a reasonable being nightmares. You'll have to wait until someone outside of the Empire's influence decides to tell you the story.

Dreaming Door Studios
>>205377426

Painkillers act on the nervous system. Anything interfering with the nervous system being administered during the integration process can have horrifying results. They tried such things early on in their history and learned very quickly not to interfere with the integration process in any way, shape or form. It's just a few weeks of screaming agony. Post-event, they're fine with it, though honestly, if you opened one of the prison bassinets and saw what that baby Luxa was going through, you might have nightmares about it for the rest of your life. The screaming until the larynx bleeds, the desperate look of suicidal agony in the eyes, begging you to kill it... it goes on. That scene in the Green Mile where they turn on the electric chair without dampening the sponge pales in comparison. But it's all worth it many times over, or so every Luxa I know would say. I can only sleep at night believing that the cordyceps isn't making them say that, but for what it's worth, I do believe that.

Dreaming Door Studios
>>205381239

Yes, it is useful, and they rely on it in the sense that it provides the eidetic memory which makes them the smartest gentas on the planet, at least by several measures. But what's the problem with relying on something that is literally a part of yourself? Saying that they rely on it too much is like saying you rely on your arm too much and would be stronger without it. It's a fully-integrated part of themselves, and which defines their entire existence. I don't think you can call that reliance on an outside force. It's just using the body and mind they have, and are guaranteed to always have. The Luxa and its aili grow and mature together, always, the same way you and your arms and legs and brain do. It's just that they have a part of themselves which can talk back.

Dreaming Door Studios
>>205382153

Though you are, of course, always entitled to your own preferences and perceptions, Luxa would firmly disagree with your perception; in their estimation, you're only saying that because you don't know what it's like to have someone you love living inside you forever. The benefits of that outweigh a nebulous occasional wanting to be alone vastly. I asked one, and it said that it, too, often wants to be apart from other Luxa and seeks solitude. But imagine if, in those times when you retreated into your mind because of what was happening in the outside world, there was actually someone there to welcome you, and comfort you, and take your side when others wouldn't, and be your confidant and help you through things instead of your spinning around the same feelings again and again all alone or making up fictions to hide in. Something real to welcome you home. That's what the aili is, they say. And if you don't want its advice, you can say so, and it will shut up, in all likelihood, just like a caring partner, and give you space. It's a whole other part of you which makes withdrawing from the physical world better and more productive and the list goes on. But maybe the aili is just making them say that. It's impossible to know where the aili begins and ends in a Luxa mind.