The Interview

Hello everyone, guess what, I decieded to stop procrastinating for once and actually did that interview with Dia I've been talking about.  As you probably already know, Dia runs the blog Be Wary of These, and she is a regular commentor on several blogs, including this one from time to time.  After reading all of the interviews she has done I decided it might be intresting to here her side of the story, so I contacted her through her e-mail and we did the interview through G-mail's chat function.  I have to say, I'm glad I decided to do this, I learned a few things, and got a chance to speak with her more freely.  But that's enough prolouge, here's the interview:


Me:  I guess I'll just start then, I apologize if there is too much in here that you have already answered on your blogs, I guess my goal is, as much as anything else to just compile all of the information in one spot, and maybe get you to expand a bit more on those blurry areas.

Me:  First question: When and where did you first discover the mythos?

Dia:  Oh, let's see...
I'd have to say through a friend that had stumbled into a sticky situation with the Wooden girl.
She asked me for help figuring out a series of puzzles that The Wooden Girl's puppet, the Jester, had started putting her through.
I started... I'll say doing research on the people and things that were connected to "Grace Smith" and wound up tripping over face-first into the Fear Mythos.

Me:  So you knew right away that it was all true?

Dia:  People... can't make up the kind of pain that girl and her brother were going through.
Besides, who wouldn't want to know more about the things that make up their nightmares?

Me:  And how is your friend now, if you don't mind my asking?

Dia:  Surprisingly, she's fine. She didn't wind up with the Compulsion like most people do.
Though.. well, she's getting curious.
She's starting to ask the same questions I did when I first got into all of this.

Me:  What will you do if she gets sucked back in?

Dia:  Well... I'll help her. That's what I try to do, though most of it stays behind the scenes. If I said 'everything' I knew publicly, it would no longer be able to help people.

Me:  That's as true a statement as any.

Me:  In one of your posts you said you knew more about “The Bogeymen” than you had any right to, what did you mean by that, was it just a way of saying you looked in to deep or was there something more.

Dia:  Oh lord. Do you want the official PC version, or do you want something a little more truthful?

Me:  I'd prefer the truthful version.

Dia:  Well, for one, I use the term 'Boogeymen' because there are more Fears than we officially recognize. There are plenty, lord knows. The truly strong, the old ones, the ones that have infected enough to no longer be able to contain... they are the ones that deserve the label "Fears."
And well... I'll put it this way, love. The Boogeymen, the Fears, the nightmares... hell, even the proxies don't always kill the people they torment. Sometimes they prefer to leave them alive.

Me:  They are the true definition of "A fate worse than death," aren't they?
So you're saying that you regret finding out just how bad some of these creatures are?

Dia:  Oh yes, you caught that? I continuously leave statements about them in my blogs, but I normally don't say anything too specific.

Dia:  Damn the typos. Anyway. I don't regret finding them whatsoever. My being involved in the Fear Mythos has helped save more than one life. Why on earth would I regret that? Out of some silly wish that I didn't have to deal with pain or discomfort from dealing with them or their victims?
Even when the Fears aren't involved, we have to deal with things that cause us pain or break our lonely hearts. So this, to me, is no different.

Me:  Well it seems to me that most of the fears are higher up on that level of pain.
You surely know that and yet you keep writing to help others.

Dia:  I've been dealing with pain in one form or another all my life. Not all pain is physical, and not all the pain in our lives is caused by the Fears. I have scars from a few months ago to prove that.
We deal with it and try to make our loved ones' lives better, or we roll over and die. Honestly, I don't feel like watching people go through the same shit I have, and much worse, and know that I could help them... and not out of some kind of preservation instinct.

Dia:  That would be cowardly.

Me:  Fair enough, I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be so noble about it myself, but I certainly respect your attitude.


Dia: I'll answer any question I know the answer to. Unless it'll get someone killed. Then you're shit out of luck.

Me:  Let’s talk about your stalker, the one leaving you all these messages, what do you know about this person?

Dia:  My...stalker?
You mean the guy with the envelopes that showed up before the... David incident?
The police caught him shortly after I was released from the hospital.

Me:  You're sure?

Dia:  Of course. I hear from them regularly. They pinned the incident on him, and he left prints on the letter, along with saliva on the envelope itself.
He's going to be gone for a very, very long time.


Me:  Very well, what do you do for a living?

Dia:  I help people.  I wake up, go and help people and watch their pain destroy them from the inside, and try to help them the best I can. I come home, and try to keep people from dying from the supernatural ailments that find them.

Dia:  Someone already found me from being careless about where I lived. If I gave them what i did for a living combined with that knowledge, my life would be fucked.

Me:  Fair enough.

Dia:  I'm not trying to hinder your research, love. I just can't tell you things that would be nailing myself on a cross, that would make my 'real life' a giant target.
Ask the right questions.

Me:  You said your nightmares have been getting better, have they gone away entirely?

Dia:  Oh lord no! I've just gotten used to them. I realized that fighting them was causing me pain. I was waking up to scratch marks on my arms, weapons by my bedside, and some kind of demented version of them written down in pages I would find lying scattered around my house.
So I just... how do I say this? Let  myself dream. I use it as a learning exercise. And so, I never dream the same thing twice.

Me:  What are some of the dreams you've been having then?

Dia:  Not all of them are nightmares, anymore. Sometimes... I dream of love. Sometimes I dream of people I swear I should know.

Me:  What do you mean "should know," do you recognize them?

Dia:  Never seen them before in my life. But... it's like deja vu, and most of the time it's happy when that happens. People that...
How do I say this? Have you ever met someone and known if they were to hold you, you wouldn't scream? Something like that.

Me:  Not quite, but I see where you're going... you feel comfortable around them.

Dia:  Ha. You must have had a very different kind of life than mine.
Yes. Then again, I feel comfortable around baby killers and rapists.
So that statement doesn't mean much in context.

Me:  Heh, well I rarely feel comfortable around people I genuinely enjoy, so I can imagine the other extreme.
Does that mean your dreams include those you interact with through the blogs?

Dia:  I've never thought of it that way. I've technically 'met'
two of the people I know through the blogs, and only one of those was a 'happy' encounter.
Though, I can hardly say the KK interview was a happy experience. *laughs*

Me:  Well if it wasn't happy than at least it wasn't as miserable.

Dia:  The bitch brought a government issue weapon to the table, and only told me afterwards! Jeezus.
I was at least lucky enough to meet her before she became Blight.

Me:  Small victories are to be praised, I suppose.

Me:  I'm sorry if this is a sour subject, but how do you feel about the David incident, now that some time has passed?

Dia:  I leave the radio on constantly to help deal with the...after-effects.
I do dream of him sometimes, though the dreams are different. I remember things I wish I didn't. And sometimes, well, I remember David in a positive way. It's an odd experience.

Me:  How is it positive, is that just a feeling or is there something specific?

Dia:  He taught me a few things. He was very cruel, but very kind. He spoke like a lover, acted like a lover, and well... you can imagine the rest.

Dia:  He knows how to fuck with people's minds, and he is very much an expert at it.

Me:  I see.

Dia:  Mostly, he taught me to stop trusting anyone besides myself. And to stop being so soft.
He was a very good teacher in that way.

Me:  So you believe he helped you better yourself, and you feel grateful.
I can understand that.

Dia:  You could say that. That's a very nice way of saying that he taught me I was going to die if I didn't stop being so fucking stupid. Torture is a very good motivator at times.

Me:  How has your memory been?
(There's a pause)

Dia:  It's been...about the same level of oddity as my dreams.
You have to understand.
I sleep at most 3 hours a night, and I should probably be sick by now.
I half believe this is a dream. So half of what I DO remember, I chalk up to another dream or a foolish fantasy.

Me:  That's interesting, are you losing time at all with this, or are you just unsure of your reality?

Dia:  That brings to mind a certain quote.

Me:  I love a good quote.

Dia:  "Of course this has all happened in your mind. That doesn't mean it isn't real."
Forgive me for the loose translation, it's from my memory.

Me:  That's o.k., it carries quite well.
But you still didn't answer my question about losing time.

Dia:  Losing time? I feel every moment.
Do I understand them? No. Do they mesh with what I've apparently been doing? No.
I've "woken up" to some extremely odd situations in the last few months.

Me:  That would be...disconcerting.
Any examples you care to share?

Dia:  Oh sure. I've woken up to acting like it was a zombie apocalypse, boarding up walls and windows and having a full fucking arsenal beside my bed.
How I acquired these weapons, I have no freaking clue.
I've woken up naked standing in front of a mirror, with what looked like a nightmare standing behind my shoulder.
Nothing was there when I turned around.
Let's see.... I've also had some of the silly ones. The remote in the icebox, the mail in the garden, blood on the front step. You know. The normal.

Me:  And you remembered events up to those moments, but they don't match with what actually happened?

Dia:  Not whatsoever! But I don't really care. I've never hurt another soul during my wanderings, and anything to myself has been easily covered.
I'm generally pretty nonchalant when it comes to my own self-destruction, dear. You aren't going to find any fear or regrets with this line of questions. I'm sorry if you were expecting some.

Me:  I don't mind terribly, I'm not here just to feed off of your fear.
I just wanted to know more about you, and now I do.

Dia:  Was that really all you had to ask?

Me:  For the sake of this interview, yes, I think its quite long enough to torture my readers.

Dia:  If you say so, love.

Me:  Anything else you want to say for the record?

Dia:  That you should be extremely careful what you label the truth.
I've always told the truth, but you would be surprised what people can omit when they have the ability.
I see a bit of that from you, in fact.

Me:  My tide, that warning is in the second post on my blog.
And it's not just a warning about me.
(These next two were posted very close together, so my next comment is more of a continuation of this statement than a reply.)
Dia:  *laughs* Making sure you remembered, is all.

Me:  It's a reminder.

Dia:  Yes.
Also, if within reason you need help or want to trade some day... let me know.
You aren't a fool.

Me:  I will, thank you.

We talked for that a bit afterwords as well, but it was "off the record," and no matter how dubious I might be about telling the truth, I do not renegade on my word.  If you want to know anything else about Dia, she always encourages asking questions, so ask her yourself.  Anyway, that's all I have for you this time, but if anyone else wants an interview let me know and I'd be glad to do this kind of thing again.

See you around

FreedomCaged

A day of mild disapointment

Well, I guess its time to call it, 11/11/11 was a bust.  I suppose it wasn't a complete disappointment, after all, Elaine, Shaun, and Konaa pulled of a daring rescue, A harassed someone, and the good Doctor Ciaro had a bad day.  There may have even been a few other occurrences of activity, but those that have surfaced since have not specifically mentioned that they happened on the 11th, and while things like this aren't an everyday occourance, it seems that this much activity isn't entirely rare, either.  So it looks like my acquaintance The Gargoyle was correct, the theme of repeating numbers is not a necessary facilitator of "Slender Activity."  Its annoying when theroies are debunked, espically when I subscribe to them, sometimes I think he does stuff like this just to screw with me, and by me I ovbiously mean people, because I'm not so vain as to think everything he does relates to me.  Seriously though, we "talked" just tonight, and I swear he was screwing with me the whole "conversation" becuase I kept bringing up the whole repeating numbers deal.  Still, even theroies proven wrong are new information, and Idid get some intresting facts out of the few events that actually did occur, so all in all not a bad  week.  Sorry for the short post I'll try to do another code post soon, since my stats tell me the last one was fairly well recived, now if you'll excuse me I have to go bug a few people that have been way  to quite recently, followed by just the wrong amount of noise.

See you around

Cage

Prophecies of a Madman

O.k, it's time to address the Core Theory, I can already imagine what some of you are thinking, but I feel I need to discuss this, and I simply ask that you hear me out before making your judgments.

I feel it is practically obligatory that I begin this post this way:

”There's a dark jungle next to the village. People who go into it never return. The villagers fear the jungle. Then one day a man with a torch goes in, the villagers scream at him to not, but he does anyway. He returns the next night, crawling back, bleeding to death, claw marks on his back. With his last breath he says 'Within the Jungle lives a Tiger, who is twelve feet long, obsidian claws, and has fire in its eyes...but it is just a Tiger and it bleeds.' After that he dies. The villagers no longer fear the jungle after that day. Oh, it's still scary and they take precautions from the huge Tiger...but it's just a Tiger. No longer is it Unknown or Shadows, perhaps one day someone will go and kill the Tiger...but there is no need for pointless fear.”


The Mystic: ”The Mystic can equal to -Veteran.- Mystic has fought, stores the knowledge of the past, and continues to give support when possible.”

The Hermit: ”The Hermit lives by himself, has developed methods to survive, and is willing to pass on instructions, but has his own priorities, and odds are will not fight as opposed to run.”

The Warrior: ”Brave, Bold, Stupid in that headstrong way, Fights for the sake of the fight, Fights without fear, Only fights on This Side, Can push /Construct/ back to Other Side for a while, cannot beat it. A stop gap, and if they become an /Agent/ then there's going to be a lot of trouble.”

The Guardian:  ”Calm, controlled with knowledge, FIghts for others BUT will have nothing left on This Side, FIghts on Other Side, Stays on Other Side and keep Him there for a much longer time, will return when the Vigil is over, or if a Hero emerges.”

The Hero: ”Afraid but pushes on, Foolish but gains wisdom from Sages and Mystics, Fights for those who are important to him, Fights on both This Side and Other Side Only a Hero can kill a monster...but the Hero always dies at the end of the story.” 


I like this...


Remember I asked for you to hear me out.


The story painted by Robert Sagel is artistic, inspiring, and heartfelt, it has everything a good story should (or at least the outline of a good story should), including a fair amount of fiction.  The very concept on which the Core Theory was founded is flawed, the Construct, as Sagel called him is not bound be the rules of fiction, and naming someone a hero does not ensure His demise, no matter how many people believe in the Hero.  Core Theory is not something people should ever have relied on, the more thoroughly I look at Sagel's blog the more apparent it is to me that the man was delusional, he was brilliant in many ways, but his grasp on reality was compromised, and people who live exclusively by his rules are unlikely to survive extremely long.


That said, the Core Theory did provide some interesting points, and it offered something up to the Runners at the time that they needed: Hope.  Granted hope won't do you much good when you're bleeding out on the ground, or being ripped to shreds by an inhuman monster, but it isn't a currency that should be undervalued.  Of course the one thing I admired the most was the concept of Names that Sagel introduced.  Perhaps it's just the avid reader in me, but the concept of naming the players in this battle made it so much more interesting.  Of course he was wrong in assuming that his players would be bound by their roles, there is absolutely nothing keeping The Guardian from having something left on "this side", and there is no reason that the Hero has to be the one to make the final blow, or even die at the end, for that matter.  Rather I liked the names because they identified people, it showed how they were important, what they thought, and where they came from, I didn't need this theory to hold these people to a standard, but perhaps it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if it had been used to organize people into a unified front, with the titles identifying the officers of the group.  I suppose in a way that this is the one true effect of the Core Theory, people have become more organized, and show special respect to the Named and the Sages, however it is done on such a small scale as to be almost irrelevant and so I suppose I shall never get to see such unification.  Well I suppose this simply makes my current situation that much safer, but, since I'm feeling creative why don't we add a few roles to Sagel's Theory: (I will be using gender neutral for all of these, as they can be filled by anyone.)


The Scholar: The Scholar is a reservoir of knowledge, it is xis goal simply to learn, xe will never fight if xe can help it, however xe is also unlikely to run, and will always stand xis ground if xis research is threatened.  Xe may send people out on errands for xim, but xe will never purposely task anyone with a quest they cannot handle so long as it can be avoided.  That said, xexe is often unaware of others capabilities, and will go to great lengths to obtain any piece of new information.


The Merchant: The Merchant is a skilled barterer, and might be known for trying to swindle xis friends and foes alike.  However, xe has a way of getting xis hands on very rare or difficult to acquire items, and will gladly trade them for something xe wants or needs.  Unfortunately for those who seek xis wares what xe wants is not always something material, as xe is more than capable of getting such things on xis own, rather xe will request favors from his clients, and some can be quite difficult.


The Thief: The Thief may work with The Merchant or may work alone, in fact sometimes the two roles can be combined.  However, the thief is far more withdrawn than The Merchant in most cases, preferring to brood by ximself instead of hawking wares and swindling travelers.  The thief can find a way into almost any place, no matter how safe, and relive it from its belongings.  The thief will always take great pride in xis work, and has some level of honor.  However xe is also quite reclusive, and finding xim will surely take a fair deal of work.


The Dragon: The Dragon is a very powerful creature, xe may work for either side, but it is not unlikely for xim to betray xis current allies for seemingly no reason.  Xis reasons for fighting are often just the fight itself, and if it is anything greater xe is likely not to reveal it.  Often The Dragon works directly with either the Hero or The Construct, and is extremely unpleasant to anyone who tries to become him and his master.  The Dragon is also quite fond of flames, and will use fire as a powerful tool or weapon much more effectively than xis comrades.


The Spy: The Spy will maintain the allusion of working for one side for a considerable period of time with the sole purpose of reaching a position to do considerable damage to that side.  While The Spy almost never actively sabotages anything xe is a part of, xe will often feed information to the other side subtly.  Xe is quite clever, but will often make ximself appear only moderately intelligent so that xe will not inadvertently help the side xe spies on win the war.  Xe will either try to come of as needy to gain sympathy, or heroic to gain respect, the damage xe can do changes with each role.  Xe is most likely to relay information back to xis side through The Scholar or The Thief.


And because its after midnight, and sleep deprivation makes me do stupid things because they seem funny and clever at the time:


The Princess: The Princess is always in need of rescuing, though xe(Yes I'm still going with gender neutral here, The Princess may very well be male) contributes next to nothing to the group when xe is captured or cut off all other matters take a back seat.  Saving The Princess is of the highest priority, as xe will usually be a romantic counterpart for The Hero.  Xe is quite concited and foolish, and almost always falls for The Merchant's scams, occasionally endangering the group in the process.  If one must choose between saving The Princess and ensuring survival, victory, or the continuation of the human race, one must always rescue The Princess first.


The Expendable Crewman: The Expendable Crewman is a title that should be given to a new person at least once a month, and if someone has held on to the title for longer than a month xe should promptly be sent on a suicide mission.  Xe will be someone with very little background, and will be generally considered useless and stupid.  For added meaning this title should always be given within minutes of sending xim on a mission that has very poor odds and is virtually obsolete.


The Fool: The Fool has made one very bad decision that has tainted everyone's view of him.  Xe exists without respect and is often blamed for the most embarrassing failures.  The Fool is actually quite intelligent, and will usually have a plan with good odds for saving the day, however because of the stigma against xim no one pays attention.  Sometimes xe will grow very bitter and spiteful and switch sides, when this happens xe is a very destructive force.


EDIT: Well apparently Sagel's back, so in honor of his (fourth? fifth? I don't even know) return I give you a new title:


The Zombie: The Zombie is the one person who just won't stay dead.  Whether it's because of proper planning, pure luck, a mistaken witness, or actual necromancy, this person has a talent for raising form the dead.  


Well there you have it, the new and improved Core theory.  I'm aware that this whole post is probably in very bad taste, and I do not plan on going around and handing out titles to anyone.  But what the heck, I put a lot of work into making those characters, so if you want to name someone go right ahead, let me know and I'll even make a separate page to keep everyone listed.  Just be warned, names are good for identifying someone, giving them authority, but don't blame me if what you got from here doesn't turn out the way you expected, that's not the way it works, people aren't bound by their roles, merely given direction by them.  Oh well, I'm done, obligatory hate for anything relating to the Core Theory goes below, and thanks for hearing me out.

See you around

-Free

Dreaming Is Free

O.k., I don't even like Blondie all that much, but it was that or a MLKJ reference, and this seemed less cliche.  Yes, that's right, it's time for my first semi useful research post, also known as the reason I started this blog.   I figured I would start on something easy, but still something that most of us can relate to: Dreams.  As I'm sure most of you have experienced, our tall acquaintance seems capable of influencing our dreams, and even without his hand some dreams seem to have a deeper purpose, and a higher function.

Dreaming begins when a person enters R.E.M (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which tends to be around 90 minutes after they fall asleep.  While there is no generally accepted explanation for why we dream, it is evident that without entering REM sleep we quickly lose the ability to function.  People who have gone several days without entering rem sleep often experience hallucinations, shortened attention spans, an inability so perform complex mental functions, and occasionally physiological reactions.  Dreams can seem to last hours or days, but in actuality they rarely last for longer than ten minutes.  This, more than anything, is a testament to the human brains untapped potential, if our subconscious is able to play out fantasies of such detail that much faster than we could ever experience them in real life, than the brain is capable of compiling and compressing more data in its free time than all the supercomputers in the world.  This also means that if our favorite dream demon can send these images to us, then he is capable of processing as much as our minds can handle on a consinouns and deliberate level.  There are many theories as to the purpose of dreams, including the ideas that they effect our long term memory, how we perceive individual memories, and how we remove unused emotions or sensations, these theories are not all bound together, but neither are they mutually exclusive, meaning if one had power over dreaming, he could possibly effect all these other mental functions as well.

Dreaming also has psychological implications.  Dreams are often seen as an opportunity to play out different scenarios in our head, with improved understanding of the results but no risk to ourselves.  Many people have claimed that dreaming has provided them with answers to problems that they couldn't solve while awake, showing another example of how much potential we have locked away.  Our favorite pervert, Freud, believed that dreams were a chance for the Id to live out its fantasies without the repercussions that would normally keep the ego or superego from stopping it.  He also believed that dreams were a way to conquer our emotions in stressful or confusing situations.

Dream interpretation is a heavily explored and long existing field of study, bordering on the realm of accepted science.  Many notable psychologists and ancient civilizations have contributed to the study of understanding dreams.  Despite all of these, or perhaps because of them, we are often left with many different interpretations for each dream.  One person could claim that a single dream represents several different issues manifesting themselves in a single scene, and someone else could say that the same dream focuses solely on a single issue, unrelated to the other person’s interpretations.  The fact is, to fully understand most dreams you need a lot of context, education, and practice, and I have very little of any in this field, so I'm not even going to try to fully explore this topic.

EDIT: A new note, one that is primairly speculation at this point, but I have found enough information that I feel comfortable talking about it here with the proper disclaimer.  There is evidence that the Slender Man is not the only creature capable of entering people's dreams.  At this point what evidence I have found leans towards the theory that whoever or whatever intiates the dream has the most power over the reciver.  This means that, if I am correct, Slender Man and creatures of a similar nature do not actually enter your dreams, rather they "manufacture" dreams, which they then place in your mind for you to view and interact with.  again this is just a theory, and it does not diminish the effects a dream can have on your mind, it is just an explination of how these dreams can occur.  I think that He can still "enter" dreams, but he does not have as much control in this situtaion as it is still "your dream."  Take from this what you will, it is hardly a breakthrough, but I always love stumbling across new information.  If you have any new ideas or evidence let me know.

Well that's all I have on the topic of dreaming for now, though new discoveries do happen from time to time, and every now and then my research will reveal some new light on a topic I have already explored, so it is entirely possible I will return and improve this information from time to time.  I know for a fact my roommate just committed to writing a paper on this subject, so maybe I'll steal some of his work when he is finished.  Also, please do share some of your own dreams below, I'm interested in seeing what all of your experiences are.

See you around

FreedomCaged

A breif introduction into Freudian physcologly

Here is the last post I have planned designed explicitly to explain and introduce myself before I move on to matters that I'm sure you will all find immensely more helpful or interesting, or completely irrelevant depending on my mood.  In this post I would like to address something you've surely noticed by now (especially if you've read my comments) and that is my seemingly dual personality.  I admit that I refer to Free and Cage as entities almost separate from myself, but this really isn't an accurate portrayal of our relationship, I am neither schizophrenic, nor do I have multiple personalities.


In fact the best way I can think to define our relationship is through Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche.  This identifies the three main aspects of the human psyche: The Id, The Ego, and The Superego.  I view my personality as an extreme manifestation of these aspects, most people are only ever aware of their Ego the middleman who decides weather the Superego or the Id takes precedence, I however am hyper aware of both my Id (Cage) and my Superego (Free).  While many only hear one part of themselves at a time, I am constantly listening to all three, and because I am so actively aware of each of my extremes I have a tendency to act on either edge of the spectrum.  This can explain how I am so ordered, sometimes even compulsively so in some of my interactions, and how I snap so easily.  If you were to visit Cage's site you would notice quite clearly the differences in our styles and even take note of how he is substantially less coherent.  However, that is more than enough rambling on my part, lets take a look at how exactly Freud divides the psyche (I'd like to take this last chance to note that while this is not a perfect parallel, most of what I will be discussing in the next paragraph will line up with my own mentalities.)


Freud believed that within each of us remained an animal instinct, a part of our minds fueled only by the need to survive and our own concerns.  The Id is a chaotic faction of our minds, driving us to pursue pleasure, comfort, and safety if need be.  It is driven by impulses, easily distracted, but completely amoral (not immoral, there is a difference), if allowed to have complete control the Id would have no objection to taking any path that brought it greater joy, regardless of the expense to others, or even the long term safety of itself (although, once again, its own immediate safety takes precedence over all else.)


However Freud also believed that mankind (and mankind alone) had developed a higher level of reasoning and altruism.  The Superego, he theorized, was responsible for all of our moral guidance, a facet of our mind that protected our long term interests by making itself conform to society's roles and expectations.  Of course, the Superego will always pursue perfection and self actualization, it is responsible for our conscience and a desire to sacrifice for the greater good.


The final aspect of the human psyche as seen by Freud was the Ego, which acted as a middleman between the often contradictory natures of the Id and Superego.  It was the Ego's job, Freud rationalized, to find ways to please the Id without endangering the Superego's moral compass or goals for long term growth.  Of the three, the Ego is believed to exert the most cconsciousness and is the part of the mind where our actual thoughts take place.


Now that we've covered this I'd like to throw up a little fun fact about Freud: despite being a very significant and influential physiologist, Freud was also well known for being a sexist pervert, and quite egotistical as well.


See you around
-Cage


Side note: Another blogger, Robin, actually noticed how I presented myself this way before I made this post, and while I would like to point out that I had actually been thinking about myself this way since I took psychology in High School, I am quite impressed that he caught on so quickly.  Therefore three bonus points are awarded to Robin, congratulations on this quite useless reward.