Would you merge even if there is a chance of being deleted?

[NotaNuffian]

Hey. It's me.

So back to the clone thing.

Picture yourself this, you have the ability to clone yourself. Your clone share everything about you, memories etc, except until the moment you choose to clone it.

The two of you do not share perspectives and cheat, meaning you basically have someone who is identical to you except that he cannot clone himself.

And you have no idea what he is thinking other than the fact that you know that he knows he's a clone. As to what he will feel about it, that depends.

Then comes a point as you clone your ninth body. The cheat awakened.

You are now granted the ability to merge yours and all nine clones' minds together.

This is not like how there would be a main computer that would link itself to nine other computers and task them master-slave style, but rather, all the ten minds blended together into a unified, SINGULAR consciousness with ten physical bodies waddling in the physical realm. The single mind is the one that is alive while the flesh is clothes.

All ten of you cannot be certain who will be at the helm, or even if any of the original ten will exist as a completely new consciousness might pop into existence. The only thing that is certain is that these bodies of yours will be the new type of unkillable monstrosity.

Would you or would you not go for the merge?

 

[Deleted member 206441]

Yes would merge.
Every time.

 

[SternenklarenRitter]

I don't understand why someone might hesitate. I remember Monday and I remember Teusday, and I am just as much me Wednesday. Monday me and Tuesday already merged into Wednesday me, and there is no reason to think that it would be any different if Monday talked to Tuesday before Wednesday.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I don't understand why someone might hesitate. I remember Monday and I remember Teusday, and I am just as much me Wednesday. Monday me and Tuesday already merged into Wednesday me, and there is no reason to think that it would be any different if Monday talked to Tuesday before Wednesday.

Once again the Soma incident.

Also, I have no idea how consciousness works.

And teleporters scare me thanks to CGPGrey.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

No no no

 

[GlassRose]

Mmmmmm. As SternenklarenRiter said, I wouldn't be worried about identity stuff. Every single moment, the past you 'dies', and you are a new version of you, slightly different. But you are still you, and you haven't really died. Because you've had a continuous stream of consciousness. The merging of consciousnesses shouldn't be much different. If the stream of consciousness is maintained, then it's not death, even if you go from two people to being one. Not truly dead, just changed, in a manner functionally similar to the natural progression of life.

If there has been significant divergence between the selves being merged, it might take time to get completely sorted out in the head, cognitive dissonance could be an issue, but I don't believe it would be too bad, and having multiple different interpretations of something and then sorting between them to find the most useful one isn't particularly new to me, especially since I'm plural. I can imagine it's also highly likely that after a merge between disparate selves, I would experience an increase in dissociation between different thought patterns and sense of identity, which has it's merits and demerits. I'd bet a previously non-plural individual would develop plurality in this situation as well.

As for the practical applications, assuming we can choose who gets merged and who doesn't, merge any number together, and retain the clone power afterward, I can see this being INCREDIBLY useful. It takes the, mediocre power of clones, and makes it a true cheat. First, we have the Naruto shadow-clone training technique. Each clone trains in something different, and then we merge back together and make massive progress for a single person. With the mercenary band idea from the previous thread, it means that rather than being a jack of all trades master of none that can poof out assistants to every profession, the one with the clone power would be able to create an instant army of individuals as skilled as a specialist would be, in every single task.

And then for some of the crazier applications! One of the clones is on the verge of death? Merge back into the original, and they haven't truly died! Spit back out another clone and they can take that individuals place, mostly the same, just with some extra memories from a different branch point from their life. If the merge works from a distance, rather than requiring touch, then that means advanced recon! Send some bodies out, they scout out information from a distance, and then get instantly recalled at a prearranged time and suddenly you have all the info they gathered! If the clone power worked at a distance too, then you could kinda teleport! You'd still be stuck where you were, but you'd also be elsewhere, and could do stuff from there, and then remerge.

 

[Placeholder]

We're not considering the humanitarian approach: just eat them.

 

[BigBadBoi]

 

[DaelyxLenAuphydas]

Why the heck would I want to merge and lose all my new siblings? I'm quite happy with my extended family of self clones, thank-you very much.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Mmmmmm. As SternenklarenRiter said, I wouldn't be worried about identity stuff. Every single moment, the past you 'dies', and you are a new version of you, slightly different. But you are still you, and you haven't really died. Because you've had a continuous stream of consciousness. The merging of consciousnesses shouldn't be much different. If the stream of consciousness is maintained, then it's not death, even if you go from two people to being one. Not truly dead, just changed, in a manner functionally similar to the natural progression of life.

Well, that is assume the stream of consciousness remains and not a black screen.

But we never know that.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Easy yes, unless one of us has a reason to disagree.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

There con only be one representer of wrath! Death to all clones!!!