Bliss

Bliss is a chemical compound that induces amnesia in those who consume it. It is a psionic drug, and can be used to target specific memories that are best forgotten. The drug is often used to induce Amnesia in civilians and those lucky few who retire from The Web. Bliss was created in a joint effort between The Alexandrian University and The School Of Carthage. The University was driven to create an amnesiac and while this was fairly easy, there was no way of actively targeting specific memories and removing them. When The Magicians got involved they utilized new concepts developed in Psychic Surgery that allows the drug to specifically target images and memories within one's mind.

Blissful Ignorence

The drug is most known for its use as a key component in a procedure that is overseen by a Magician and a scientist of The University. During this procedure the individual will consume the drug and be placed in a psychic coma, similar to a hypnotic state. During this state of hypnosis the magician will stumble through the mind and pick out specific memories that feed the patient's Candlelight. By using the chemical structure of the drug, and enhancing it with their own abilities, the magician can isolate those memories and remove whatever aspects of those memories that cause Candlelight. This allows those who retire to retain information about the web without having to worry about the consequences directly. It also allows those who encounter The Web to join if they change their mind later on.

Tis Folly To Be Wise

Bliss comes in many forms. These forms are often used for similar purposes that do not require a magician in order to use them. Apart from its standard liquid form, Bliss is primarily a preventative, rather than a treatment. Its liquid form is the only form that can actually treat Candlelight, but the lower forms are designed to prevent it from happening in the first place

Liquid Bliss

During the procedure, Bliss is used in a clear liquid form. This liquid enters the bloodstream through injection shortly before the procedure begins. This is regarded as the quickest and most efficient method of spreading Bliss through the body and is the only way to treat Candlelight.

Bliss Therapy

A common form of Bliss carried by many individuals is a small container filled with an aromatic form of the drug. By opening the container, one can simply inhaled the drug to achieve minor sedation and temporary alleviation of Candlelight. The goal is to prevent an increase in Candlelight while the drug is in the system, as anything that causes candlight will be forgotten when the drug wears off after about 3 hours. Many have come to rely on this form too much and often experience short and long term memory loss as a result. It is recommended that one only uses this particular form once or twice a day, as it is incredibly potent.

The Blue Pill

Some of the larger organizations are able to afford medication given to those who operate within them. This usually comes In the form of a small blue gel capsule. This form of bliss is designed to give you 24 hour prevention of increased Candlelight. Very few people are able to afford it in the amount needed to truly sustain its effects but it is often considered a rare and valuable to those in the field who stumble across it. A common problem is that individuals often forget their stash of pills and leave it behind. It is also, sought when searching the bodies of fallen operatives of the web.

Effects

Side effects both long-term and short-term, sprung up during the time that Bliss has been in use. It tends to cause recurring nightmares in those who choose to retain most of the information from the memories. The worst side effects always occur to those who do not wish to have that procedure. Many citizens have been forced to take the drug and upon doing so either never survive the procedure due to the constant struggle of resisting the surgery, or are left with debilitating mental illnesses. Those who do not suffer these extreme side effects, but still resist often go through life with a different outlook.
Many individuals will feel a sense of impending dread or feel like something is missing and they can never truly figure out what. Their ability to experience positive emotion becomes heavily suppressed and they are unable to find much joy for the rest of their lives.
For this reason, Bliss is only used by the willing and several tests must be passed in order to determine whether the individual is truly willing or simply doing what they feel they should do. The resistance comes from the subconscious and not of the conscious mind. This fact alone means that detailed survey of the psyche is required before the procedure can begin.

What to Expect

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Once the willingness of the participant is determined, the procedure is a fairly simple one. They can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours depending on just how much needs to be removed. The patient will be put in the most comfortable position possible, and then the drug will be taken. At this point the magician will work to bring patient into the hypnotic State needed for the procedure to begin.
When the procedure begins the vitals will be monitored by the scientist of the University while the magician goes through and removes the memories individually.
Each time a memory is found, the patient will be shown the memory in their mind and asked if it is okay to remove what elements need to be removed in order to eliminate the Candlelight.
Once this is done is, the patient will be put into recovery. They are slowly woken and the brain is assisted by the magician in trying to comprehend what has happened to it. This is a new element of the procedure that ties up the loose ends within the memories that are affected. The magician can implant suggestions within the mind to allow for the mind to cope without too much resistance.

by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This process often involves leading the mind to certain conclusions without actively letting the mind know you're doing it. As the brain filters through the effect of memories and tries to reconstruct them, the magician can actively impose images in the conscious mind that translate to the subconscious mind as fact. This reestablishment of the connection between the conscious and subconscious mind is the key for a permanent solution. The procedure actively severs the connection between them and this connection must be restored or they will both work in their own ways to reconfigure the memories.
Magicians have gotten so good at this process that individual can know that they met a monster and yet not have the candlelight. Patients can know what it is that they experienced but since they do not have the memory to recall, they are left unfazed by it. This also allows for the procedure to fight back against the various relapses that can occur. By knowing that you saw a demonic entity, nothing short of a demonic entity will cause the relapse. If you know what kind of demonic entity you saw then you must meet that entity again in order for you to relapse.


This process has allowed those who retired or for those who do not wish to join the web to maintain contact with those within it. Although it is not the best idea, it means the operatives of the web can maintain contact with their relationships before they were members of the web.
When the procedure is done, everything left behind will be barely remembered at best. The more Vivid memories will still have voids in whatever images are recalled. No matter how hard the patient tries they will not be able to put together the pieces of the memory back to the way it was. If the sight of a creature is what caused the candlelight to emerge in a memory, then what will remain after the procedure is a vague sense of danger and a blank space where the creature would be when recalling a memory.

Complications

The Magicians don't like leaving pieces of memories Inside the mind as the brain tends to fight back against the procedure after the procedure takes place. While it rarely occurs, a full relapse can happen if one of two situations occur.
Both situations require the mind to be actively trying to put the pieces back together and resisting the finished procedure. The first scenario involves speaking to those who were present during the memory. Revealing to somebody who has gone through the procedure what it is that they experienced truly, can cause a full relapse of the memory. On the other hand re-experiencing a memory later on after the procedure, can fill in the blanks.
This can also happen if the individual who has gone through the procedure experiences something else. If the image of a creature was removed from a memory, then encountering another creature can cause a relapse the memory that is actually false. If you initially encountered a demonic entity, and after going through the procedure, encounter a different creature that causes the candlelight to appear, the memory may simply right itself involving that creature instead of the original one that was actually encountered.