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So – something stuck in my head recently has been the idea of “The Helmet,” rewritten personalities, and the recent quote on Facebook “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”
Let’s go back to Tension – based on the OOA’s timeline, the helmet existed prior to Sabrina, then known as Addison Barrow, coming into contact with The OOA, as written in her journal.
At the OOA’s Donut Mixer, some had “the helmet” placed on them, to no effect. We were lead to believe that it was being used on many key members of the OOA – at that point, the reason for use was unknown. It was thought to be some religious tool.
Later, during Ascension, it became clear that it was a method of brainwashing, with Sabrina’s case, completely overwriting a personality. Russell was made to watch as Sabrina had the helmet used on her, and she writhed in pain.
BUT. Then The End happened. For those not there, or for those that have forgotten.. at one point during the proceedings, we were shown the man we knew as Tom Barrow putting Sabrina through intense physical conditioning, no helmet involved. It begins below at around 29:20 –
If the helmet was real, and the helmet could and can actually change someone’s personality, why wasn’t it being used here?
Which takes us back to the quote.
The concept of a helmet that can rewrite someone is fucking absurd. But when people believe it can happen, that threat exists as though it’s real. “Do this thing, commit this atrocity, or you’ll be overwritten.” Earnestly believing the helmet works, even if it doesn’t, is just as effective as if the helmet existed. Perception is always reality.
It brings to mind the parable of the elephant and the rope.
I know this doesn’t have much to do with what’s happening right this moment, but as those go into the unknown tonight, it might be something worth keeping in mind.
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My initial thinking was maybe the helmet didn’t work on her, so they went “back to the basics” to get the desired effects. But yeah, you may be right about the Tension helmet.
BUT, doesn’t mean they could have figured out the tech between then and now. They potentially could’ve used the fake helmet narrative to find people who would be potential subjects to try an actual helmet prototype on. Use a fake one to find those who’d be open to actually trying it.
That would also be the flip side of the committing atrocities quote. If you get people believing everything that’s happening to them is just theater, then they may commit actual atrocities when you think everything’s just make believe.
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I agree 100%. Ive actually been thinking about this a lot because everything we’ve “truly” learned, points at the helmet never existing. Of course there’s always the possibility that since then they have legit created a helmet, something that can short cut their usual way of manipulation through trauma. I’ve been thinking the retreat is where the trauma mind control takes place, but over and over we hear about a real helmet. It also really makes you think what is “narrative” and what is real. At registration, investors would ask about “storylines” and “characters” like Noah… but then Noah is real man and son of an OSDM highup. So that begs the question, is the helmet real in our world? Or is just real in the narrative that’s been created for us? The number of hours I’ve rattled my brain about this idea is ridiculous TBH.
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@addisonborn , I’m working on a theory, involves a little bit of theatre and a little bit of something else. Tension helmet being an act seems right to me.
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I don’t think the helmet’s real, either, because helmets that alter people’s personalities aren’t a thing. If Mason is going to insist this isn’t a game, and if they’re going to keep blurring the lines between fiction and reality, then I’m not going to pretend that something like the helmet could be real. If they want this to be “real,” then let’s be real. The helmet is bullshit.
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@remrelganaps – YES. Alternatively, convince me it’s a real threat.
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@remrelganaps that’s basically how I feel, but I didn’t know I was allowed to be that cynical :p the helmet never “felt” real to me. I definitely never assumed it really existed in our world. When we assumed that Mason was “real” (and not just written into the storyline), the theory, which seemed to be convincing enough, that the box at his doorstep could have been a helmet…I was like…well, I guess it’s “real” then? But felt so in a kinda I’m-dragging-my-feet-way. (of course now some people are back to thinking Mason might just be a character. In which case it would be fine if he was interacting with the narrative-only fictionalized Helmet).
God, it is getting harder and harder to write about this Stuff. I feel like I have to have so many clauses within my sentences, commas on top of commas on top of commas, because I’m always like “if this is real, though it might not be real, but assuming that this element is real, and this element is not real…”, back and forth between levels of reality. Sheesh. Headache.
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@kasch also agree
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For context, it’s interesting to look back on what Tom Barrow said about the Helmet at the iConfidant Meet and Greet:
“We became quite used to our old hippies publicly displaying their watered down version of the New Dawn, the Next Testament, searching for Oracles – that the greedy among us decided to publicly outsource, to get more power. …The problem with that, though – you start giving people the ability to talk to Anoch, and listen to Him, and they start hearing what they want to hear. They start doing what they want to do. Now I’m a scientist, and I thought I could fix that. And I did. What’s a headache every now and then when you can create and control the voice of salvation? We call that an acceptable adverse affect. And it worked, sorta. Controlling people against their will, that’s hard. But influencing them…influencing them is much, much easier. That’s what I do. And just like you and your sick curiosity…if you want to influence, you don’t start from scratch, you find a motivation and you exploit it.
It sounded a bit like Tom had given up on the Helmet, because, although scientifically viable, it was easier to manipulate people by emotionally motivating them – by their curiosity, desire to play savior, loneliness, etc.
Maybe the Helmet was real when Mason used it, but isn’t really in play anymore.
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@daela – I completely forgot that Tom brought the helmet up.. and that he’s a “scientist” – which is interesting to think about when Briarberg is supposedly based in science.
And that whole thing makes this topic more or less moot..
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Was thinking more about this after the reveal of the Briarberg event. So Mason, the helmet. I keep thinking back to speaking in tongues. Some super religious people TRULY believe they can speak in tongues. That it’s the “holy spirit” taking them over and making them speak truths in long lost languages.
Even if the “helmet tech” isn’t real (which it still might be IMO), believers, people like Mason who grew up in that belief system, accept it as truth. They believe it’s real. In their mind, it IS real.
So for someone like Mason, whether or not the science behind the helmet is real, he could be a case where believing it’s real, and putting it on, fucked up his head because he truly believed he was being brainwashed. When our minds accept a truth, it can very easily latch onto it whether or not it has any basis in fact. OSDM doesn’t need to perfect the tech. All they need is people to believe it’s real, and the effects can be nightmarish.
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