It's not as though I haven't thought of it as such, Yusuf, [ Eames points out, flat - the Deities present themselves as wholly unavailable, even if the method of striking at the stability of the dream seems to lie in them, other alternatives weeded out with every day that passes. The way they came to be here, too, is a matter of concern - but there's little they can suss out while still under, that being something they need to handle when they come back to themselves. ]

But being able to reach through the immersion of a mixed pool of multiple subconscious to directly toy with memory? [ It's a frightening amount of control for any one - or more - people to have, and it requires a certain amount of subtlety. ]

They spoke to me but we never met face to face. One minute I was 'dead' and the next I wasn't. Like a switch.

[ He sets his coffee down again, not certain what branch is best to stalk out on at the moment, where they should be focusing now with a reliable chemist in their midst and - hopefully, based on the track record, not just for a day. ]

But even if we assume the Deities do represent the so-called 'main' subconscious, how're we supposed to deduce whether it's one-for-one, or if each of them is just...a facet of one mind?

[ The long and short of it, the rules don't work the way they are familiar with and for all they know they can't even be applied. It's a shot in the dark whatever their approach, which is irritating to even think about - the weak-point of the environment they're in ever elusive. ]

[ Eames has a valid point. The two of them have been playing the dream scene for long enough to know what seems natural and what seems fabricated. Neither Arthur nor Eames would be fooled by a simple subconscious- but perhaps that isn't what they're dealing with here. A single person couldn't stay down this long without implementing multiple levels. Even then, to assume that someone would be able to keep a city's worth of people (where would one store the bodies?) sedated and micromanaged? It is much too extravagant a system to assume it isn't being controlled by multiple people.

Brushing his thumb over the ceramic of his cup, Yusuf's eyes track across the tabletop aimlessly. Theories, insofar as anything as illegal and scarcely documented as dreamshare can have such, say that a mind is capable of maintaining a dreamscape because the dreamer is only focused on the part of the dream where he or she is. A person can create infinitely, but their experience in the dream is limited. One cannot be omnipotent and singularly present at the same time- hence why any Joe with a PASIV can't hook up and play God in a person's head for a little while. It requires too great a mastery over the mind. But some people think this is the result of having a set understanding of consciousness- a practiced implementation of limitations on oneself and the constructs of one's reality. If one is flexible enough, has the ability to see around such strict parameters of "real" and "impossible" than, some believe, it might be possible to work with the dream. If forgers can change their bodies, why can't a person learn to affect the psyches they perceive as their own? Yusuf has heard of theories... ]

It would be quite a talent, that much is certain... [ Yusuf grants after a moment, glancing toward Eames; pointedly not refuting the possibility. To Arthur however, he gives a small shake of his head, his shoulder rising in a brief shrug. ] Of that, I am afraid I am not certain.