spoilers for dan simmons’ hyperion ahead

in dan simmons’ hyperion, a priest lands on the titular planet to find a society of humans that have been “overtaken” by a cross-shaped being that binds to their body and creates a web throughout them. as of writing this, i’m only part of the way through the book, so the nature of these beings (and their linkage to the shrike) is unknown to me.

i do know, however, that this is really weird and doesnt happen all that often in real life. the implications of the cruciform, though, are pretty interesting.

death and consciousness

when a being that is “of the cruciform” (meaning they are the host of one of the beings) dies, their body is regenerated completely, or at least the parts that are missing are. in the case of many members of the society in this book, this sometimes means their brain.

so if your brains are completely sucked out, the cruciform regenerates it, but does what is regenerated count as a part of you or as a part of it? functionally, the behaviors of a person seem to remain intact, as shown by the eventual true death of the priest being met with a smile. the priest goes through 7 years of torment whittling away at the tendrils the cruciform has laid across his body. it is implied that the priest remembers the pain that has been inflicted upon him through his smile.

additionally, the members of the three score and ten all seem to be familiar with their way of life upon regeneration. based on the priest’s observations, theres isnt much learning to be done. the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow, etc. are all maintained. moreover, one of the members has a crooked finger that never heals perfectly!

through this interpretation, the cruciform has some level of memory when it comes to the structure of one’s cells. so are you the cruciform? “you” is something that emerges from the interaction between various parts of your flesh. so is “you” actually gone when you die? maybe the “you” that exists in the cruciform is not experienced from the point of view of your self, but exists separately from it entirely. do you have to experience your consciousness from your own point of view to be considered yourself? this is a good book.

that’s pretty much it. i just wanted to write down my thoughts since this book is really getting me going.