Do phantumps remember their past lives?

Luckily, no, anonymous. Whether that’s due to trauma or the nature of technical reincarnation itself is not well understood, but the fact of the matter is that although phantump know intellectually what they had been, they don’t seem to remember anything about who they were or where they had come from.

How do we know? Quite simple, actually, especially thanks to widespread modern pop culture and technology. Researchers as of late have been presenting phantump with well-known items of pop culture (dolls from the My Little Ponyta line, Gligarman comics, and so forth) to see if the phantump recognized these objects beyond simple curiosity and preferences. Alternatively (but not preferably, as this is a less reliable test thanks to the minimum age for trainer’s licenses), we would take phantump to nearby villages to see if they recognized potential former homes. In every single case, phantump were more likely to express curiosity and excitement over being tested than show any indication of familiarity with the objects and places presented to them.

So if you were considering training a phantump, rest assured that this inability to remember their lives as humans is one of many reasons why it isn’t technically unethical.

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