They know about Alpha. At the very least, no matter what measures they took afterward, they know for a fact that there's a risk of big old massive, psychotic side effects.

Alpha was the surprise. Echo was already an Active when he snapped. Have they created any more Actives since? And a better question, now that Alpha manifested trauma, should they reverse the process on all of them? Or maybe they try and convince themselves Alpha was an aberration. I think Topher knows, and maybe that's why he's bitter in the first episode.

Yeah, but with Alpha they left a more competent base personality intact between missions. Someone who already had some skills. They may think that by taking the actives even lower fundtionally that they won't have the same problem.

I got the impression it was just the opposite. That the Actives were always low functioning and Alpha was their attempt to give Actives higher functionality so they could defend themselves if missions went sour.

Alpha = high functioning active between missions. Echo on up = low functioning active between missions.

When they decided it wasn't safe to have a higher functioning stand down personality is up in the air. We haven't seen Beta, Charlie or Delta. We don't know which actives were killed, how far up they'd gotten to by the time of the massacre, nor which may have had a higher functioning base personality. We only know that Echo was the only survivor. We do know that the latest active to arrive is Sierra and that there are a number of actives present in the Dollhouse, presumably anywhere from Foxtrot on through Romeo.

Like a body jumper? Cool theory, but my impression is that each personality is more like a copy of the former person, than the original.

What would the difference be?

On a side note, that's one of the things that bugs me about the premise: if you have this kind of tech, there are plenty of ways to profit from it that aren't nearly so risky. Which makes the supervillany seem awfully unimaginative.

if you have this kind of tech, there are plenty of ways to profit from it that aren't nearly so risky. Which makes the supervillany seem awfully unimaginative.

Point.

Like a body jumper? Cool theory, but my impression is that each personality is more like a copy of the former person, than the original.

What would the difference be?

I think the latter would be like Hugh Jackman in THE PRESTIGE - suddenly there are two of you, rather than you jumping your mind into another body. After the event, you go separate paths (if you don't end up in a locked tank of water).

What would the difference be?

Well, to an outside observer maybe nothing. But to the person who is trying to jump bodies...I'd say everything. It means he - the original - dies, and his copy lives on. Doesn't seem worthwhile.

Doesn't seem worthwhile.

It is if you choose the host body well. I could stand an upgrade.

It is if you choose the host body well. I could stand an upgrade.

I don't know if a copy of you is necessarily you. Seems like continuity would matter.

Consciousness doesn't just reside in the brain. It's the brain's relation to the body that determines the whole person (I think). So new body, equals different person. (In my estimation.)

I'm not sure I buy that theory, David. Consider - you can do serious damage to almost any part of the human body without necessarily altering the personality of the person in question, while even minor brain damage or chemical imbalance can permanently and profoundly change the same person's personality.

It would be nice to think that the self doesn't reside just in the brain, but that may in fact be the case after all.

I think the latter would be like Hugh Jackman in THE PRESTIGE - suddenly there are two of you, rather than you jumping your mind into another body.

But both of them are you. What happens to you after the fact doesn't make one more real than the other, so how do you determine which is the original? That was central to The Prestige -- was the "original" teleported, and a copy was created where the original had been, or was a copy created some distance away? There's no way to tell.