Chapter 802: How Shiller Was Split Open (Part 2) _1

If all of this were to be explained in a slightly comical language, it could only be said that shoddy construction harms people a lot; building a brick wall without plastering it has serious consequences.

Victor furrowed his brows deeply, he touched his forehead and asked, "Shattered...what does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Shiller was lightly tapping the bed rail with his fingers as he spoke, "The tower I built was not sturdy enough, and the person was standing too high. So, the whole personality fell and shattered into many pieces. For a long time after that, I was trying to glue it back together."

"This..." Victor wanted to say that it was absolutely absurd, but he thought that it might be due to the metaphor being too plain.

Shiller's original explanation should have contained many professional terminology that he wouldn't understand, so that's why Shiller intentionally made it simpler.

Otherwise, this would be too much of a joke. Can personality shatter? And even more absurdly, can it be glued back together???

"During this time, I wasn't in a normal social environment, but I knew that I had to go back because I had things to do," Shiller continued.

"I had to find a way to make me appear as a normal person, perhaps by trying to piece the fragments back together, sticking them with some glue or applying some caulk in between, pretending it to be a postmodern art piece or something like that..."

Shiller sighed and said, "The reason why I chose psychology was that the psychiatrist who treated me was truly professional."

"Of course, it could also be that my vase repairing technique wasn't right then, he would see through it every time. Therefore, I harbored too much futile hope for this field, so much so that now, I can't even find a suitable student..."

Shiller shook his head in resignation, but Victor didn't find Shiller's jocular way of explaining this funny. Instead, he heard more unpleasant truths hidden behind them.

"Because I couldn't repair the vase, I had to find another way out. I thought, instead of producing a crookedly glued vase, it's better to directly present a piece of broken porcelain and say it's an ancient porcelain fragment."

"But to do this was actually not easy. After pondering over and over again, I decided to build another house, as long as this house could provide enough space, so that every fragment could live in there. Then, by allowing them to play their roles at different times and under different circumstances, perhaps it might be easier."

"So, you built another High Tower?" Victor asked.

"Yes, everything went smoothly. My plan was correct. I stuffed the shattered personality into the new house, then called upon different parts when needed. This made me appear much more normal."

"But soon, a problem arose. If these fragments were to be used systematically, someone needed to manage them."

"Even a newly built house needs maintenance. It needs a receptionist, repairman, security guard, cleaner, transporter, lobby manager, etc. I had to set up a complete system in my mind to ensure it would not easily become chaotic and collapse."

"This sounds like a wild tale," Victor exclaimed.

"Indeed, before long, I found that the fragments were not suffice," Shiller sighed and said, "A condominium can't just be full of property managers, there has to be some owners, right?"

"So, besides the functional personality fragments, I broke the memories into tinier bits, making every personality trait arising from the memories into individual fragments. They became the main residents in the High Tower, whereas the functional personalities serve as property managers."

Victor shook his head, feeling that all of this was insane, but after a pause, Shiller continued, "I'm explaining these because you need to understand where this all comes from, what exactly happened on the day I met Bruce."

"Normally, each personality fragment in my Tower of Thought represents a fraction, and these fractions add up to be a perfect 'one' because all the fragments come from a broken complete personality."

"If you cut a pizza into eight pieces, no matter whether you separate them or join them, they should all be able to combine into a complete pizza." Shiller used an extremely simple metaphor, "If you take one slice out, it is a one-eighth. Eight one-eighths add up to 'one.' That's how the situation was in my Thought Palace before that day."

"When I came to Gotham, I realized that I'd need a more vicious staff member to deal with various dangerous situations here," Shiller touched his eye and said, "But, a Thought Palace can't conjure up employees out of thin air, every personal trait is a fragment of the shattered personality."

"If you want another employee, you'd have to find an existing fragment and split it into two. That way, while it still maintains its original task, it could also take up the new one."

"Out of necessity, the property manager of the Thought Palace split a fragment working in the emotional department into two, molded one half into a new employee, and assigned it to work."