Fake Memories: Difference between revisions

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Of course, [[Pygmalion Snapback|this never works as planned.]] Like an itch they can't scratch, the character with tampered memories will notice things aren't as they should be and scratch at the false memories like a scab, questioning their [[Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story|"Past"]] and [[Broken Masquerade|searching for the truth.]] Or go crazy trying. Occasionally, a hero will leave a [[Note to Self:]] or instructions for friends to help. The irony being that the false memories tend to lead the character right back to the people who erased them with enough of an advantage to take them out.
Of course, [[Pygmalion Snapback|this never works as planned.]] Like an itch they can't scratch, the character with tampered memories will notice things aren't as they should be and scratch at the false memories like a scab, questioning their [[Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story|"Past"]] and [[Broken Masquerade|searching for the truth.]] Or go crazy trying. Occasionally, a hero will leave a [[Note to Self:]] or instructions for friends to help. The irony being that the false memories tend to lead the character right back to the people who erased them with enough of an advantage to take them out.


A darker, more sinister version of this trope is when the character in question realizes his memories don't add up, but doesn't know ''[[Schrodinger's Butterfly|which]]'' set of memories is true. Often self-inflicted, these memories are slowly revealed through [[Or Was It a Dream?|dream sequences]], and the experience tends to come with [[An Aesop]] about the frailty of human mind and the subjectivity of memory.
A darker, more sinister version of this trope is when the character in question realizes his memories don't add up, but doesn't know ''[[Schrödinger's Butterfly|which]]'' set of memories is true. Often self-inflicted, these memories are slowly revealed through [[Or Was It a Dream?|dream sequences]], and the experience tends to come with [[An Aesop]] about the frailty of human mind and the subjectivity of memory.


Quite common in video games, probably because [[Easy Amnesia|amnesiac heroes]] are extremely convenient for the format. Occasionally used as part of a more radical attempt at making someone into an [[Unperson]].
Quite common in video games, probably because [[Easy Amnesia|amnesiac heroes]] are extremely convenient for the format. Occasionally used as part of a more radical attempt at making someone into an [[Unperson]].
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' 3.5 has a spell called ''Programmed Amnesia'' which allows you to remove and add memories on the affected target. The caster could give the target a whole new life and new personality.
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' 3.5 has a spell called ''Programmed Amnesia'' which allows you to remove and add memories on the affected target. The caster could give the target a whole new life and new personality.
** There is also a less powerful spell call [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/modifyMemory.htm modify memory] that still has power perversion possibilities.
** There is also a less powerful spell call [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/modifyMemory.htm modify memory] that still has power perversion possibilities.
* The Fetch from ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' are magical doppelgangers created by the True Fae when they abduct a human. The Fetch live out the lives of the people they've replaced, oblivious to the fact that their whole life is a shame...until the taken human, now a Changeling, escapes from Faerie. Most Fetch aren't aware anything's amiss until this happens, and most take the news they are fakes with memories stolen from a small piece of a person's soul poorly. Of course, sometimes the Fetch's memories are imperfect to begin with...
* The Fetch from ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' are magical doppelgangers created by the True Fae when they abduct a human. The Fetch live out the lives of the people they've replaced, oblivious to the fact that their whole life is a shame...until the taken human, now a Changeling, escapes from Faerie. Most Fetch aren't aware anything's amiss until this happens, and most take the news they are fakes with memories stolen from a small piece of a person's soul poorly. Of course, sometimes the Fetch's memories are imperfect to begin with...
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* The ''[[Crusader: No Remorse|Crusader]]'' games do not reveal anything about the [[Super Soldier|protagonist's]] past—but one thing that is known is that if he ''was'' genetically engineered, he was never told it, and finds the suggestion surprising.
* The ''[[Crusader: No Remorse|Crusader]]'' games do not reveal anything about the [[Super Soldier|protagonist's]] past—but one thing that is known is that if he ''was'' genetically engineered, he was never told it, and finds the suggestion surprising.
* The main character's life before coming to Rapture in ''[[BioShock (series)]]''.
* The main character's life before coming to Rapture in ''[[BioShock (series)]]''.
* In ''[[Starcraft]]'', many marines and other low-ranking Terran infantry have their memories altered (usually to remove criminal character traits such as serial killing, cannibalism, etc) using technology; this is called neural resocialization. The technology acts as a [[Restraining Bolt]]. Ghosts underwent a similar treatment, but the newest generation of Ghosts just undergo [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] instead (since that's harder to fix). The main character of one of the novels has been resocialized, and several supporting characters in the book have undergone the same treatment.
* In ''[[StarCraft]]'', many marines and other low-ranking Terran infantry have their memories altered (usually to remove criminal character traits such as serial killing, cannibalism, etc) using technology; this is called neural resocialization. The technology acts as a [[Restraining Bolt]]. Ghosts underwent a similar treatment, but the newest generation of Ghosts just undergo [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] instead (since that's harder to fix). The main character of one of the novels has been resocialized, and several supporting characters in the book have undergone the same treatment.
* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II]]'' has {{spoiler|Hiroko, who was implanted with fake memories of being a [[Knight Templar|Temple Knight]] in order to conceal the fact that she was forcefully used in an experiment as the surrogate mother of [[The Messiah]]}}.
* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II]]'' has {{spoiler|Hiroko, who was implanted with fake memories of being a [[Knight Templar|Temple Knight]] in order to conceal the fact that she was forcefully used in an experiment as the surrogate mother of [[The Messiah]]}}.
** ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]'' 2 has a horrific form of these, {{spoiler|coupled with [[Demonic Possession]]. Turns out there's this virus that can transform you into a demon. Certain cases are worse than others, some reaching the degree where your mind is essentially overwritten and then it's just the demon driving your body. The worst part? The four or five cases where the victim's mind is permanently obliterated? All of them turned into ''angels''.}}
** ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]'' 2 has a horrific form of these, {{spoiler|coupled with [[Demonic Possession]]. Turns out there's this virus that can transform you into a demon. Certain cases are worse than others, some reaching the degree where your mind is essentially overwritten and then it's just the demon driving your body. The worst part? The four or five cases where the victim's mind is permanently obliterated? All of them turned into ''angels''.}}
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{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Memory Tropes]]
[[Category:Memory Tropes]]
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[[Category:Fake Memories]]
[[Category:Mind Manipulation Tropes]]
[[Category:Mind Manipulation Tropes]]
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Fake_Memories"