The Cosmic Chronicle

Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer Uh, may I- yes, audio's on. For our readers, could you explain what exactly a consciousness merchant does here in Quaradon Hex?
Zorrott Synapticum Well... I actually sell personalities. Not faces, but entire inner worlds, you know? People come by and choose a mood, a memory, or a character fragment from my collection. That is, if the power holds out, of course.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer So you... store consciousness like, um, merchandise? In jars, or- how does it work here, practically?
Zorrott Synapticum Honestly? Mostly in synchronized quantum ampoules, hermetically stored inside an abandoned rain-offering bot. The catalog is digital, but I update it by hand, otherwise everything goes missing by day's end.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer And what sort of customers do you get in Quaradon Hex? Do they come for fun or out of pure necessity?
Zorrott Synapticum Believe it or not, mostly out of despair. After yet another mudstorm, most Hexlings just want to forget themselves, or upload as someone better at survival. Though sometimes, someone shows up just for nostalgia. Really.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer Do you have a favorite consciousness in your supply, one you’re secretly attached to?
Zorrott Synapticum Ha! Everyone asks that. Yes, there's one: the melancholic botanist from the Aquaslenk. Never sold, too introverted. Now and then I upload him myself when the Hex noise gets too much.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer I ask because... well, you look completely unaffected. Do you sell pieces of your own consciousness, too?
Zorrott Synapticum Uh, sometimes. But only bits I won't miss for a while, like guilt over the rain tax or memories of bureaucratic queues.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer And what does that get you? Memory loss, or just... more space for new trauma?
Zorrott Synapticum Bit of both. Sometimes everything returns all at once if you sleep on an unsynchronized ampoule. There’s a risk in that, yeah.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer The disaster cycles that Quaradon Hex is infamous for-do you notice much as a merchant?
Zorrott Synapticum Disasters are good for business, sure. Nobody wants to be stuck with the same fears after a subspace landslide. But logistically? Awful. You’re fined if a cyclone washes away your ampoules. Colonel Hydron Kal-Harvest even imposed a separate tax on emotional data.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer Do Hexlings ever return the consciousness they bought? Is there a warranty, or is it final?
Zorrott Synapticum Well, officially no returns. But when your synapses itch and the rain squeaks, you sometimes just demand a swap. I don’t mind-except for the botanist, who’s my secret.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer What’s the strangest request you ever got?
Zorrott Synapticum Oh, um, someone who wanted only the memory of rain in silence. Without the rest of themselves. I fabricated something with static noise and mental shadows, but nobody liked it.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer Ever regret choosing this profession?
Zorrott Synapticum No, not really. Although it's sometimes frustrating when people think you can just wipe out all their issues. I only deliver the software, not the manual.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer What do you do when there’s a subspace thunderstorm brewing-like now?
Zorrott Synapticum I rely on my emergency stash, embedded in an old cyclone barrel. Customers get a temporary echo of themselves. Most don’t even notice.
Virol the Two-Dimensional Interviewer Final question... would you ever dare a day entirely without external consciousness? Just you?
Zorrott Synapticum Pff. Maybe after the rain season. Or if the botanist ever says goodbye. But not on an average stardate in Quaradon Hex.