This just in: the new place to see and be seen? The severed floor of the club. That’s right, these trendsetting members of the queer community are all lining up to gain access to L(GBTQ)umon Club, the hottest club open right now. Wondering why the young elite of today are willingly choosing to have an experience the mind won’t remember but the body will? For many — that’s the point.
Severance is a controversial memory altering procedure developed by Lumon Corporation about 12 years ago. It allows you to surgically split your mind, keeping your memories of your “work” life and your “real” life — or the dance floor life and real life — entirely separate. Severance was developed to help people truly create ultimate work life balance — one where you literally cannot remember your job. I know for a lot of us, that idea can feel compelling. The freedom of literally not thinking about work has its points, but why choose a severed dance floor?
We live in a time of constant demands on the mind, so perhaps it makes sense that the youth of today are searching for a place where they won’t remember. “It’s just so relaxing,” Oliver*, 24 tells me. It’s been six months since they went through the severance procedure, and they are still gushing about to everyone they know. “Usually when I go out, I waste so much time worrying about what I am going to say or do or who to talk to. Now all I have to do is get dressed, head down the elevator and boom! It’s the next day.”
Carrie, another advocate for the severed dance floor agrees. “It’s so great, because we all know how the gay community is — always complaining that we’re dating our friends or our friends’ exes, the circles are too small, whatever. This way, we don’t even remember each other. It’s perfect!”
For some folks, the lack of worrying about what they got up to when they were at the club was really relaxing. “I used to get such bad hangexity before I got severed,” Julia, 29, tells me. “I would just sit on the couch and think of ways I did a bad job when I was drunk. Now it really doesn’t matter! It’s so freeing.”
But what about, well…actual hangovers? Splitting one’s mind certainly has its appeal, but how does the body fare? “I can’t lie, the first few mornings were pretty rough,” Oliver admits. “You’ve gotta trust that your Innie won’t like, totally sabotage your Sunday.”
While it sounds like Oliver has a handle on his Innie, many medical professionals I spoke to for this piece were baffled by this choice. “Why is this even a thing” was something I heard quite often, as well as “Why wouldn’t you want to remember partying?” Many argued that the benefits of socializing — and remembering it — far outweigh any of the benefits mentioned above.
Still, Oliver has no plans to hang up his severed dance floor card. “It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” he says. “I mean, I think. I don’t really remember.”
*names have not been changed, but they have been made up.
i would like further information and gallery access if possible