65. Dissonance Therapy

One of the most carefully handled aspects of psychosurgery is the potential to edit an egos beliefs. Psychosurgery techniques that edit an ego's values rarely make it past ethical review boards or public opinion. One of the few to achieve a degree of acceptance is dissonance therapy.

Dissonance therapy is ultimately quite simple. The effected ego is induced into a series of belief systems, chosen to span the as much of the spectrum of transhuman culture as possible. The ego might spend one day with the values of a jovian catholic, another as a barsoomian anarchist, another as an ultimate, and so on. Over the long term, those who have undergone the procedure typically moderate their views, display a more intuitive understanding of the views of others, and a greater ability to draw similarities between systems of belief.

On a few autonomist habs, undergoing dissonance therapy is mandatory for all immigrants and those entering adulthood; it is seen as a way of promoting empathy, and moderating extremism. The stresses of the procedure can be significant, however, causing crises of faith, temporary failures of identity, and general confusion. For this reason, and because mandatory psychosurgery is opposed by many on general principle, the procedure is still primarily undergone voluntarily, by philosophers and psychonauts.

Mechanics

Dissonance therapy is a psychosurgical procedure.

The effects of dissonance therapy are largely reflected by roleplaying, but dissonance therapy is good basis for changing motivations, at the GM's discretion.

Timeframe: 1 week
PM: 0
SV: 1d10