Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1735 Cleaning
The cleaning work was not finished until the next day.

Gunfire continued throughout the night because some people who had been clipped through the mold needed immediate attention, and the fastest way to deal with them was to shoot them.

Alexandria sent a "mobile temple," which unfolded on a heavy truck and served as a temporary resurrection point. The Roman soldiers trapped in the walls were resurrected inside the resurrection point, suffering no physical damage.

But compared to physical damage, mental damage is the most terrifying.

Repeated deaths in a short period of time, and accidents such as "molding" of the body, can cause great psychological trauma.

All night long, Shangluo could hear screams of mental breakdown coming from the distant resurrection point.

"Tsk tsk." Shang Luo shook his head. "Forget it, let's put aside the matter of punishing them by making them do silent work for now."

Are you saying that if Heaven punishes you, you won't?

"That won't happen. But in their current state, sentencing them to prison won't do any good; prisoners have to do work. Let's send them for treatment first, and then send them back to serve their sentences after they've recovered."

No one will be left out; Shangluo has arranged everything perfectly.

"But speaking of which, how should this be treated? Should we do psychological counseling?" Shangluo was still assessing how long this treatment would take, since they were short-handed and having more convicts to do the work wouldn't be bad.

In this situation, psychological counseling is probably not very effective.

This isn't just a typical psychological issue; it's the immense trauma of dying multiple times in a short period and merging with other people's bodies. This plot would be considered a gore movie even in a horror film.

Even if they survive such a calamity, the terrifying memories will erode their souls, creating an inescapable black hole.

[Actually, this problem isn't limited to this place. A person's life will encounter all sorts of other things, and not all problems can be solved through talk therapy.]

Now that you mention it, is there some way to solve it?

Yes, it is, but it's better if Victoria tells you. This technology is quite advanced.

“It’s less about being advanced and more about being cruel,” Victoria replied. “But it’s only right to punish traitors like them.”

"Wow, that sounds pretty powerful?"

"Yes. This trauma is too severe. I just spoke with the technicians, and they say shock therapy might be necessary."

"Shock therapy? What's that?"

“Hmm,” Victoria thought for a moment and gave an analogy, “When people experience psychological trauma, they actually activate a protective mechanism: making you actively avoid that trauma. However, this mechanism is not stable, and not everyone can activate it. If something goes wrong, it can lead to amnesia or even mental disorder.”

This mechanism of covering the wound is a natural one. Just like a scab will form on a cut hand.

Time heals all wounds. If you temporarily cover the wound and wait for time to heal, there's a possibility of recovery. However, the prerequisite for healing is that the wound doesn't worsen, because time heals very slowly. Therefore, the most urgent task is to cover the wound. An uncovered wound will continue to cause problems—bleeding, pain, infection, and so on. These wounds not only hinder healing but may also escalate into more serious issues.

This also manifests in mental health issues, and in a more complex way. Because mental health problems don't easily develop from a clear "scab," they can easily continue to worsen until they reach a point where they become life-threatening if left untreated.

This instability is also a manifestation of human evolution. The ability to form scabs on wounds has evolved over countless ages in the animal kingdom, and it is indeed quite stable. The inability to form scabs and heal wounds could be considered a congenital condition in humans.

Some more complex issues go beyond simply allowing the wound to scab over; they require external intervention.

For example, if it is a fracture, the bone needs to be set and then immobilized with external means such as plaster casts to temporarily disable the joints of the broken hand or foot, allowing them to rest slowly.

However, not all animals experience psychological trauma—because to experience psychological trauma, one must be intelligent enough.

A tree's wound can heal, but it's difficult to call it a psychological trauma. Conversely, for animals like dogs, if they are constantly confined to a small cage, they can indeed experience some psychological trauma. Specifically, they might exhibit repetitive behaviors, such as circling in place.

The more intelligent an animal is, the less it can tolerate mental boredom. If an animal were as intelligent as an orca or a higher primate, it might develop a genuine mental illness.

For mental illnesses as severe as a "fracture" or even more serious conditions, it is probably unlikely that the human body can repair itself.

In situations like this, where death evokes scenes from gore and horror movies, even the most mentally strong person would find it difficult to recover.

After all, this function simply doesn't have the opportunity to "evolve"—genetic traits can only be passed on if the person survives. Therefore, it's highly unlikely that a function like "being better at dying" could evolve.

“So here we are, to do something about this issue,” Victoria explained. “First, we need to cover up these traumas of death.”

"So how do you cover up psychological trauma?"

"This is what I call shock therapy—in short, it's interrupting their personality."

"Huh?" Shang Luo could roughly guess the method. "So, we have to erase all his past memories? Isn't that like amputating everything above the neck?"

Victoria nodded: "That's it. By blocking out his past personality, we make him a completely new person. After his new personality rebuilds his memories, we give his past self back to him."

"???" Shang Luo pondered, "Is this a treatment method?"

"That's why I say it's a cruel and extreme treatment."

Personality has many layers. While the subconscious is the most important, the conscious mind is also quite important; both are part of personality.

In other words, while a person's underlying personality traits are important, memories are also a crucial component of their personality.

Even if the underlying subconscious remains unchanged, if the surface memories completely change, then it can be considered a different person because the continuity between the two people is lost.

(End of this chapter)