Hypothetical Scenario of the Week: Body Swapping

What If You Could Body Swap?

Welcome to a brand new, semi-regular feature where I explore whatever fantastical and purely hypothetical scenario happens to catch my fancy while I’m daydreaming on public transport. This week: body swapping.

Body swapping, or the transference of one person’s psyche into another’s body and vice versa, has been depicted in any number of movies, comics and games. You probably have your own favourite example, but for some reason, the one that sticks in my mind is from the Scooby Doo movie where Fred ends up in Daphne’s body and starts ogling himself/herself.

Don’t judge. Most body swapping scenarios tend to go down that road anyway.

But what if you could really swap bodies with anyone on the planet? And if you could choose who you swapped bodies with? Which brings us to…

Scenario: You have been granted the ability to swap bodies with a person of your choice by a mysterious cosmic entity. The only condition is that it has to be someone who is currently alive and conscious. The swap is temporary and will revert after a one-week period. Do you accept the mysterious cosmic entity’s offer?

At first glance, this offer seems great! Who hasn’t, at some point, fantasised about what it would be like to experience life as somebody else? And it’s completely reversible, so you don’t have to worry about long-term commitments! It’ll be like going on a vacation, completely free of charge! You could become Kim Kardashian and live the high life, or Mariah Carey and finally be able to sing “When You Believe” at full stretch, or Donald Trump and make the US presidential race even more of a farce than it already is! You might argue that there’s no way you could cause more harm than Trump, but the point is, the possibilities are endless! What are you waiting for?

For the other shoe to drop lah.

Here are some things you might want to think about before gleefully going on the mind-trip of a lifetime.

1. You only gain control of the other person’s body, not his or her mind. This means that you’ll be going in practically blind, with almost no knowledge about how to behave or interact in a way that won’t disrupt the other person’s lifestyle. You’re not really going to be able to hit all the ritzy clubs in LA if Kris Jenner insists on taking you to the psychiatrist for daily checkups.
2. This also applies to sportspeople’s training and conditioning. You can inherit all of Lionel Messi’s natural athleticism and stamina, but you won’t be scoring any goals unless you know how to put it to use. Not to mention that the team briefings will most likely be conducted in Spanish.
3. For those of us with a conscience, there’s the possibility of accidentally screwing up the other person’s existence beyond repair. Many more existences are at risk if you choose someone in a position of power or influence (as many of us undoubtedly will).
4. You won’t exactly have asked for permission to borrow the other person’s body. Notice the scenario did not include a caveat where you could give someone a heads up. So what you’re doing basically amounts to identity theft and a gross violation of an individual’s human rights.
5. Body swapping is a two-way street. Whoever you’re swapping bodies with is going to have the freedom to cause as much havoc in your life as they feel like causing, and the chances are they’ll be in a real bad mood (see point 4).

Of course, swapping bodies by mutual consent is a whole different ballgame altogether, one which I don’t feel particularly inclined to go into right now. But it’s been fun, people, to iron out the kinks of this little thought experiment. Comments and suggestions for future instalments are most welcome.

Just remember to keep things in the realm of the purely hypothetical.