NationStates Jolt Archive

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?

is the assumption that otherwise we don't have one at all?

Afterlives are overrated. I'd rather live forever. :)

Pass. It's no big deal to me. I don't need to be saved.

No. I prefer the one I've already been promised: John 3:16.

No. I prefer the one I've already been promised: John 3:16.

Oh, is that the afterlife where you get to wear a goofy rainbow-colored clown wig at football games? That one's not so appealing; I don't much dig football.

Pass. It's no big deal to me. I don't need to be saved.

Yeah, one life is enough for me.

no, i wouldn't believe him cuz i'd know it was just the mushrooms speaking.

I'd ask if I could have a fleet of nuclear missile submarines, crewed with sailors loyal to me, and me alone.

is the assumption that otherwise we don't have one at all?

Yes.

I'd ask if I could have a fleet of nuclear missile submarines, crewed with sailors loyal to me, and me alone.

Would they be dressed as pirates and say YARRR?

I would rather be a Ghost.

Yes.

lame. I guess the ghosts in the haunted hotel I work at didn't get the memo. I'll have to tell them to stop calling the desk from empty rooms and scaring the shit out of guests...

I would rather be a Ghost.

Ghosts are always cold though :(

I'd definetly rather have an afterlife than just cease to be.

However, the ghost thing might be fun. As would be the afterlife I believe in.

Let's see...

The choice between an afterlife that could include an eternity of suffering (or worse, an eternity of utter and complete boredom) and pain, or no chance thereof.

Frankly, I don't want to live forever. I'd get bored. I wouldn't say no to a few more hundred years of life, but in the long run, I'd rather stay dead when I'm dead. Otherwise I'll be miserable.

I'd consult a bookie and see what the odds of me getting a good afterlife would be.

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?
is the assumption that otherwise we don't have one at all?
Yes.
This question sucks. I mean, it's not even a contest. Yes, it is possible that I could end up with a crappy afterlife, but what are the odds that it would be so bad that I'd rather stop existing.

The question would be much tougher if I had to choose between an garunteed afterlife of unknown nature vs. the a an unsure afterlife of a particular nature (such as the Christian Heaven.)

Sure. Why not. I'll take a chance. Better an afterlife where your eternally tortured than no afterlife at all.

Then I'll go insane and shoot myself about three months after making the deal because I can't stop thinking about what the afterlife will be, so I shoot myself to find out.

I'd rather take advantage of the technology promised in Ghost in Shell. :)

I don't plan to die. I plan to live an infinity of lives within a simulated reality, artificially reincarnated in each with my memory totally or partially wiped between lives to prevent boredom.

At the same time, I'll gradually replace my physical body with mechanical parts until I can be uploaded in to the world-computer and truly live forever.

Frankly, I don't want to live forever. I'd get bored. I wouldn't say no to a few more hundred years of life, but in the long run, I'd rather stay dead when I'm dead. Otherwise I'll be miserable.

Memory wipes. Problem solved. It's like Nietzsche said: "The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time"

Are those like baby wipes?

Are those like baby wipes?

Well, kind of. They both clean things up, and generally the stuff you want wiped is pretty shitty to begin with, so...

Oh, is that the afterlife where you get to wear a goofy rainbow-colored clown wig at football games? That one's not so appealing; I don't much dig football.


But the goofy rainbow-colored clown wig is totally cool.....

I would rather be a Ghost.

Hell yeah.

I've read enough books to know not to take an offer like that. But I'd certainly keep this guy talking for a while. Offer him a cigarette.

I would rather be a Ghost.

So you can possess Whoopi Goldberg and do pottery with Demi Moore?

So you can possess Whoopi Goldberg and do pottery with Demi Moore?

Or help the Ghostbusters pwn other ghosts...no offense to anyone, but Ghostbusters 1 and 2 both pwn Ghost with Whoopi.

No. I wouldn't risk eternal torment.

Or help the Ghostbusters pwn other ghosts...no offense to anyone, but Ghostbusters 1 and 2 both pwn Ghost with Whoopi.

You'll get no argument from me. Slimer > Patrick Swayze

I plan to live an infinity of lives within a simulated reality

Would you really? Knowing that all your accomplishments would be fake, that all your experiences would be simulated, that none of the people you would meet and care about would be real?

Would you really? Knowing that all your accomplishments would be fake, that all your experiences would be simulated, that none of the people you would meet and care about would be real?

At least I'd know the reality of the deception for a fact, instead of sitting here and wondering about it in ignorance now. There is that advantage.

*Looks at Lawrence Oliver disguised as Shylock* "I'll take your afterlife if you help me with this transhumanism project." ;)

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?

Free stuff tends to have lots of strings attached.

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?

Based on my experience of standard, ordinary life: no.

This life is a messy and contingent thing, and it's limited. Those are the good things about it! The idea of some incompetent god's attempt at "life mark II" which might not have the 'Quit' button, might be endless and might have all the choice taken out of it, is far too big a risk for me to take.

Memory wipes. Problem solved. It's like Nietzsche said: "The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time"

Ah, Nietzche. Up there bouncing witticisms off Oscar Wilde, while they both enjoy the free drinks.

That's not really funny, is it? I'm for bed.

I don't plan on leaving this life, so no.

I intend on taking a Gameshark with me to the grave so, once it's time for my next life, I can re-enter with a whole bunch of cheat codes. Infinite lives, infinite strength, ability to confuse people, and always having a bag of Doritos and a cold Pepsi in my backpack.

Would you really? Knowing that all your accomplishments would be fake, that all your experiences would be simulated, that none of the people you would meet and care about would be real?

Well, that's assuming that I'm the only person who does this; if everyone does, that's an entirely different situation. Plus, I wouldn't know the difference anyway except when I "died", and that would be a brief time at best especially if I have no or only partial memory of my past lives. And, if mankind has a soul, it would be entirely possible for God to grant the "artificial" people in these worlds souls as well, making them equal in humanity to myself and other humans.

And, we really can't be sure if everyone we encounter now is real or if our reality is real anyway, so I don't worry too much about it because it's possible that it's already happened.

every time i read this thread title i see it as "Who wants a free giraffe?". i think i might be going mad.

every time i read this thread title i see it as "Who wants a free giraffe?". i think i might be going mad.

I want a free giraffe.

*nods*

You'll get no argument from me. Slimer > Patrick Swayze

Slimer and Egon kick major ass; I don't recall Patrick Swayze fucking attacking a museum covered in slime or defeating a reincarnated Carpathian warlord with a living Statue of Liberty.

Don't even get me started on how they defeated a Sumerian god in GB1...

Afterlives are overrated. I'd rather live forever. :)

QFT

You'll get no argument from me. Slimer > Patrick Swayze
Yeah, at least Slimer's not a creepy, slimy weirdo.

Well, not as much.

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?
Do i get one with a Free Tibet?

So, let's say a mysterious being in the guise of the Shylock from the Merchant of Venice with the voice of Laurence Olivier comes down and says, you'll have an afterlife, but I won't tell you what it will be and you don't get to choose?

Would you take it?

Nah, keep it. Who needs an afterlife?