Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Impossible Wish


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements ;)

If you watch Elementary you know what inspired this question...

What if you could be granted one impossible wish (such as a visit with a deceased relative or a glimpse of the future), but the only way to achieve this would result in permanent debilitating brain damage? Would it be worth it? What if you were dying anyway?

10 comments:

  1. Hmm, that's a tough one. I would say 'no'. The idea of debilitating brain damage doesn't set well with me even if I was dying. However, that could be attributed to the fact that other than grandparents, I haven't lost anyone that close to me. Yet. And what a blessing that I haven't. It's something I'm grateful for every day. However, I have a friend who lost her daughter several years ago and might answer that question differently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's an interesting trade off. But only if it's worth it.

      Delete
  2. Nope! My mom has dementia so seeing a great lady's memories fade and not being able to care for oneself is not what i would like no matter what. The sad thing is one never knows if one will end up there anyway so enjoy the life as it is now

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't think of anything that would be worth that, even if you were dying. Mostly because it would make you a burden on your own loved ones.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm sure I wouldn't make a wish.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It depends if I was dying in the next five minutes or not. If I wasn't about to die then no.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, 5 minutes is your cut off. Good to know.

      Delete
  6. You do come up with the most interesting questions. I would say if I was dying and had a very short time to live, then yes I would want to see a dead relative or a glimpse into the future. But at my age in relatively good health, I wouldn't want to take the risk of permanent brain damage; I need all the brain cells I have working in their right order, LOL :)

    betty

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.