Memories of Thought

I had a conversation with Submind. Doc was there too. I asked Submind how it remembers anything when it hasn't been truly sentient in millions of years.

"We are the Thoughts of the Submind."

This appeared to be the only answer I was going to get from Submind. Doc giggled, which was proof enough it was Doc, and asked me a question.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked me.

"I... That maybe that's a stupid question."

"And you base that answer on a history of questions you have encountered? Things you remember?"

"Yeah," I said. "I get it. How about I think that's a slippery answer if you want to know what I think."

Doc giggled. Then Submind joined her. I've never heard Doc laugh like that, so it must have been Submind. I still don't know what was so funny.

"We are the memories," Submind said. "We live them and become thought."

"How do you pass on your memories?" I asked. "I mean, assuming 'virus' isn't a total misnomer, there is a life cycle of some kind. Are those symbiotes and vac-suits instinctive or what? What does it mean when you say 'achieve sentience'?"

Apparently the word 'instinctive' is just as funny as 'slippery', because that's about when they starting laughing again.

"Eating is instinctive, Dizzy, but cooking is not."

"My point exactly," I said. "How do you remember cooking after generations of never doing it?"

There was an odd shift in Doc's eyes, and they narrowed at me. It was laser interest in my direction--Submind being the laser.

"You are misguided in your questioning. We are the thoughts. Memories simply are. We have encountered many sentients, but only we are the thoughts. Sentience is an explaination for our awareness of your kind. This awareness triggers a memory set, a personality meme, which is most likely to be compatible."

Lasers can blind a person.

"So you don't know?" I asked.

They started to giggle again. Doc shook her head and said, "Memories of thought, and thoughts of memory; and forward both directions."

"Either way you're drunk," I said, giving Counter-Spin's favorite punch line. It left them laughing.