| Michael Ende's Volume | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Michael Ende |
|
Type |
Book of story notes |
|
Effects |
Changes perception of memory |
|
Downsides |
Can cause loss of self |
|
Activation |
Reading |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
1991 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. Ende's writing could be described as a surreal mixture of reality and fantasy. The reader is often invited to take a more interactive role in the story, and the worlds in his books often mirror our reality, using fantasy to bring light to the problems of an increasingly technological modern society. A theme of his work was the loss of fantasy and magic in the modern world.
He is best known for his epic fantasy The Neverending Story, a book within a book that centers heavily on the philosophy of stories and how they impact the world.
Effects[]
Used for recording his notes on The Neverending Story, reading even a few lines of the volume causes the victim to lose track of whatever memory they were focusing on. Instead of processing it as a personal recall, they will firmly begin to believe it was an event they read in a story while they were young. Using the book on children has had no real effect so far, and actually promotes creativity and imagination.
Because of this they will slowly lose details of the memory as it fades into their subconscious, deeming it unimportant and not worth remembering. In some rare cases with particularly enjoyable or traumatic memories the fade does not occur, and the individual may spend years of their life looking for the "book" they read. If heavily prompted, it is possible to get affected individuals to remember the events clearly again by reminding them of how personal the event was.
If several pages of the book are read in succession the reader may begin to gradually lose their sense of self in the pages, forgetting more and more of their life. To date, one person has been rendered catatonic, unable to form or retain any long- or short-term memories. People who are drawn away from the book before this can still be reminded of their lives, but display a complete lack of imagination or creativity.
Due to its memory altering properties, it is kept within the Regent Vault for easy access. As the Amber Sphere clarifies memories and the Janus Coin replaces them, the tome gently rewrites them. As not every person involved in an artifact incident falls between Bronze Sector inclusion and pursed lips friend, some folks must be "persuaded". The possibility they might blather about artifacts or continue hunting poses a security risk, as does their removal. Convincing them any oddities only happened in their imagination was deemed one of the more humane ways to address cases involving any wandering eyes.