>> Oh yeah, this is full of "fun" situations ("I believe this is a definition of the word 'fun' with which I was previously unfamiliar..") <<
Heh, yeah.
>> I can't blame Haboob for screaming. Being confronted with just how *wrong* you are has gotta hurt. And the crying after the second miracle is equally understandable. <<
Yeah, it's kind of like having a badly dislocated joint pulled back into place, only in his soul.
>> As for the "dubious consent", I'm of the opinion that if you claim to be a follower of a deity, that gives said deity every right to "have words" with you regarding how poorly you are following the tenets of the faith. <<
I concur. A tenet of Islam is that Allah may do whatever He wishes with His followers, therefore, Haboob and Buraq also agree. The other two dudes are queasier about the details, but at least not interfering.
However, Haboob didn't consent to get benevolently kidnapped and manhandled by a punch team, and he wasn't exactly in a sober state of mind to give informed consent for what Patches did. Brain healing has its own risks, chiefly that when you regrow tissue, you lose whatever remaining memories were stored in the old damaged cells. :/ Haboob would not have been up for that detailed a discussion, so Patches just simplified to a general offer. It's better than pinning him down and doing whatever they wanted, and hell, he wasn't in his right mind when they started either, and somebody had to do something. Thus, not an ideal situation, but a sound case can made for doing it -- particularly since it worked.
>> Since we don't *know* exactly what the miracles did, we can't say for certain if they were "over the top". Then again, anything that would fix the problem, but leave the person alive would have to be pretty extreme. <<
Insofar as I can tell, the first one made him stop being a supervillain and reset him close enough to sanity that he could interact with other people. Patches managed to undo at least a significant amount of the mechanical brain damage. The second miracle put Haboob's mind back together enough for him to realize what he had been doing and that it was wrong. Hence the crying.
>> Is there "death of personality" involved? Possibly. On the other hand if he's no longer the same person he can't actually repent or atone, can he. <<
I'm not sure I'm really equipped to answer that one. I think it would be better asked of someone with experience of traumatic brain injury. My best guess is that he is the same soul, but not necessarily the same mind. This is naturally a disconcerting experience.
>> So part of the miracles may be that he can simultaneously see how (and why) he used think and act the way he did *and* see things without the brain damage or whatever. <<
Yes. That's part of it.
>> I suspect that'd normally drive someone thoroughly *nuts*, <<
It can, but it's also fairly similar to what happens when someone comes out of a serious addiction. If that happened this suddenly, the results would probably be even closer. The crushing guilt is pretty much the same in any case.
>> but by the grace of Allah, he is able to handle it. Doesn't mean it's pleasant, but he'd be able to understand in a way a normal person couldn't and be able to endure the knowledge.<<
If by handle you mean not trying to kill himself or anyone else, then yes. But he's still crying in the carpet and not really able to look after himself, so that only gets him so far.
>> *shiver* <<
Yep.
>> Hopefully, he'll find a way to at least *try* to atone. <<
Well, he's just given up everything except his religion itself and the clothes on his back. That's quite a sacrifice.
Traditionally, a penitent man makes up for past wrongs through prayer for the benefit of others and contemplation for his own growth. It may take a while for Abdul to get even that far. He has to deal with the first flush of grief and guilt first. Beyond that, I don't know if he can think of anything else to help.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
Thoughts
Date: 2017-06-26 07:39 am (UTC)Heh, yeah.
>> I can't blame Haboob for screaming. Being confronted with just how *wrong* you are has gotta hurt. And the crying after the second miracle is equally understandable. <<
Yeah, it's kind of like having a badly dislocated joint pulled back into place, only in his soul.
>> As for the "dubious consent", I'm of the opinion that if you claim to be a follower of a deity, that gives said deity every right to "have words" with you regarding how poorly you are following the tenets of the faith. <<
I concur. A tenet of Islam is that Allah may do whatever He wishes with His followers, therefore, Haboob and Buraq also agree. The other two dudes are queasier about the details, but at least not interfering.
However, Haboob didn't consent to get benevolently kidnapped and manhandled by a punch team, and he wasn't exactly in a sober state of mind to give informed consent for what Patches did. Brain healing has its own risks, chiefly that when you regrow tissue, you lose whatever remaining memories were stored in the old damaged cells. :/ Haboob would not have been up for that detailed a discussion, so Patches just simplified to a general offer. It's better than pinning him down and doing whatever they wanted, and hell, he wasn't in his right mind when they started either, and somebody had to do something. Thus, not an ideal situation, but a sound case can made for doing it -- particularly since it worked.
>> Since we don't *know* exactly what the miracles did, we can't say for certain if they were "over the top". Then again, anything that would fix the problem, but leave the person alive would have to be pretty extreme. <<
Insofar as I can tell, the first one made him stop being a supervillain and reset him close enough to sanity that he could interact with other people. Patches managed to undo at least a significant amount of the mechanical brain damage. The second miracle put Haboob's mind back together enough for him to realize what he had been doing and that it was wrong. Hence the crying.
>> Is there "death of personality" involved? Possibly. On the other hand if he's no longer the same person he can't actually repent or atone, can he. <<
I'm not sure I'm really equipped to answer that one. I think it would be better asked of someone with experience of traumatic brain injury. My best guess is that he is the same soul, but not necessarily the same mind. This is naturally a disconcerting experience.
>> So part of the miracles may be that he can simultaneously see how (and why) he used think and act the way he did *and* see things without the brain damage or whatever. <<
Yes. That's part of it.
>> I suspect that'd normally drive someone thoroughly *nuts*, <<
It can, but it's also fairly similar to what happens when someone comes out of a serious addiction. If that happened this suddenly, the results would probably be even closer. The crushing guilt is pretty much the same in any case.
>> but by the grace of Allah, he is able to handle it. Doesn't mean it's pleasant, but he'd be able to understand in a way a normal person couldn't and be able to endure the knowledge.<<
If by handle you mean not trying to kill himself or anyone else, then yes. But he's still crying in the carpet and not really able to look after himself, so that only gets him so far.
>> *shiver* <<
Yep.
>> Hopefully, he'll find a way to at least *try* to atone. <<
Well, he's just given up everything except his religion itself and the clothes on his back. That's quite a sacrifice.
Traditionally, a penitent man makes up for past wrongs through prayer for the benefit of others and contemplation for his own growth. It may take a while for Abdul to get even that far. He has to deal with the first flush of grief and guilt first. Beyond that, I don't know if he can think of anything else to help.