Severance
What are the ethical considerations of becoming severed?
If Severance continues on its current trajectory, it will be one of the best TV shows of all time. The premise was enough to hook me, and it only got better from there. The show pressures us to think of deep philosophical and ethical questions. So I must urge you to watch it.
Ready for your pre-interview?
(No spoilers ahead.)
Welcome to Lumon.
Before you accept your position here, you need to understand what it means to be a severed employee. Undergoing the severance procedure will sever the memories between your work self—your ‘innie’—and your outside self—your ‘outie’. Your innie will have no memory of what you do outside of work, and your outie will have no memory of what you did at work. They’re completely disconnected. You will enter the elevator to go to the office and in the blink of an eye, 8 hours have passed and you’ll be on your way home.
Severance is the best way to separate your work life from your outside life. We strive to make your innie as comfortable as possible so you can be just as comfortable at home.
What does Lumon do? Well, for confidential reasons only your innie will know that, but as one of our superstars of the severed floor says:
“The work is mysterious and important” - Mark S, Macrodata Refinement Chief
Who are you?
The first thing your innie will hear will be in the form of a question: ‘who are you?’. It’s one of the central themes of Severance.
So, who are you?
If you were to swap memories and personality with your neighbour, then who would you be—your neighbour, or yourself, just in a different body? Are you your body, or the sum of your conscious experiences? Are you flesh, spirit, or both?
Severing yourself will effectively create another conscious being inside your body so if an innie and outie inhabit the same body with their own likes, relationships and habits, is this the same person and what rights does one have over the other, if any?
Interesting questions which we urge you to think about. Still not sure about the severance procedure? There’s more to discuss.
Opening Pandora’s Box
Not everyone you meet will have a favourable view of severance. You will have minor conflicts with your peers on this subject, possibly even face discrimination. It is, after all, a controversial procedure, one that some see as a form of imprisonment, and others, as a liberation. This is up to you to decide.
We spend roughly a quarter of our lives at work, and work can just be... work, you know? It can be great; other times, not so much. We do our best to make it palatable for the innies, but, bear in mind, they will be unable to experience anything outside of the office, work will be their only existence. Your innie does not get a say in this. You consent on their behalf. Your innie may request termination as an employee, but the final decision is yours.
This is greatest consideration to take into account: it’s irreversible. You cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube, as they say. You, as the outie, may be okay with severing, but there is another perspective that must be considered: how your innie will feel. Remember, you are essentially creating life with the sole purpose to work for you.
The innie, therefore, becomes your responsibility. They are not some distant, disconnected worker; they are, because of you. Any suffering this innie experiences is because you decided to become severed. But it’s not all bad! The fun they have, the relationships and bonds they form, any joy and happiness they experience is also because of you.
Now is a great time to start talking about your inevitable termination. I know, you haven’t even started your first day, and we’re already talking about your last. Remember, there is no going back. Once your innie starts work, they will have a life of their own in our offices. You may not like the idea of an entire existence at work, but if you were an innie, wouldn’t you prefer to live in an office rather than not exist at all? If you choose to move on, for you, the outie, not much will change. You’ll seek employment elsewhere and return to your normal work life. But your innie? Well, they won’t have another experience ever again.
Are you okay with creating another being knowing that one day you will take away everything they ever knew? Is this okay, or should we start to get human rights activists involved?
I’ve given you a lot to think about. Please mull this over before accepting our offer.
this is such a beautifully written and unique narrative perspective on writing about the show!! i’m definitely gonna be passing this essay around when i want to convince someone to watch Severance. thank you!!!!!!