Kaiba

In a setting where memories are stored inside a chip people can switch bodies and continue to live on indefinitely. As well as replace memories with new ones that were purchased from other people. Few can take advantage of this because the technology is only accessible to the wealthy.  Sometimes the poor have to sell their memories and even their very own bodies in order make ends meet and hope that one day their family can afford to place their memory chip inside a new body. A girl named Chroniko sells off her body to help her aunt who adopted her after her own mother died. Unfortunately the operation was carried out by a corrupt doctor who decided not to send her chip home to her family (most likely so he could sell her memories). After a turn of events her body becomes inhabited by the protagonist who inserted his memory chip into her "empty" head

In this pivotal scene Chroniko's adoptive mother plays a musical number and remembers all of the times she had together with her family. The performance comes to an abrupt halt as the guilt becomes too much to bear and the realization of what has been taken from her hits her with uncompromising finality. A truly heart wrenching scene made all the more so by the stark contrast of the happy little clavier. I don’t know if I should consider myself fortunate for being able to steel myself against such a scene by donning the armor of an unfeeling brute. In spite of all that this scene has left an everlasting impression on me. 

Because real art should bring people to their knees. 

The Hikokkomori of the Opera

The first day of freedom that I have earned by successfully completing a semester of school is spent by submerging myself in the abjectly alleviating isolation which has never failed to mend my bones.

In the small confines of my room I feel most at peace. This self imposed incarceration is anything but when my tea is complemented with everything the Internet has to offer. Books from my Nook, the science articles I read from, meditation, my varied taste in music, and Japanese anime can keep me embroiled for hours. Before I know it the day has slipped from my fingers.

The only worry I have is that my time spent in isolation might leave me regretting that I never truly lived my life. Then again, what does it truly mean to live a life and why should we do so according to some romanticized ideal that is propagated by the unquestioning likes of us? Whether we feel fulfilled scaling mount everest or binging on an anime marathon, all that matters is that it fulfilled the same need.

Our incessant need to validate the small part we play in this indifferently chaotic world never fails to make us regret the road we did not travel.

Listening to Elfen Lied's Lilium is what prompted me to write another one of the chilling reflective pieces that you are all so fond of reading. I know it has been quite some time since I last blogged. I could blame school but that would not be sufficient. I could just as easily have set aside some time to continue writing but it would seem that I value meandering the vast expanse of cyberspace more than being consistent with my blog.

For the sake of my mortal soul I must devote myself to my blog because writing soothes my spirit in ways that my hermetic indulgences cannot. Like a coquettish courtesan who is as dexterous with applying Tiger Balm as she is with applying the rest of her charms. No, the solace I take from writing has a quiet and gentle dignity that cannot be compared to something so vulgar. I will let you know when an apt metaphor comes to me.