The incurable cloudiness of an elevated mind
Life at 20 000 feet can take a toll on the human brain.
Despite it being a marvel of advanced engineering and biotechnology, the Cloudsphere provides no real defense against the electrocosmic radio waves of altitude (Johansen F. 2009. The Electrocosmic Impact of Altitude on Mind and Matter), giving rise to any number of sociobehavioral eccentricities triggered by this unseen force that seems to push from the outside in, making the walls of our biosphere buckle and the brains of Cloudlanders go into a roiling riff.
Attributing the overelasticized neurophysical nature of the Cloudlander brain to altitude alone would be a gross oversimplification. Oxygen does play a significant role, though not to the degree it did decades ago when the biome was still in its experimental phase. In fact, the population’s overall MPI (Mental Profiling Index) hasn’t shifted much through the better part of the second biome phase but remained at a level that is now considered to be the Cloudland standard, one where the insolitus of things is just another turnpike on the highway of Perfectly Common and Socially Acceptable.
The human body does not react well to extreme altitudes.
Which is the predominant reason why some mountaineers tend to shit themselves upon summiting Mount Everest (a topic rarely touched upon in mountaineer circles). In terms of physiology, Cloudlanders have made remarkable advancements as a sky-resident race, exercising full control over their sphincters, among many other things. But the brain is not a muscle, and at 20 000 feet the mind has the tendency to take on a life of its own.
“It seems suicide has become the national sport up here.”
A statement made by a distressed representative from the CLD Health Department to the press that did not take into account the fact that less than three percent of cases filed as MPPD (Missing Person Presumably Dead) confirm that existential self-termination was the underlying cause. Some neurophysicists attribute the overwhelming number of MPPD cases to foggy weather (Fernandez T. 2009. An Analysis of Cloudland Cold Crime in the Age of the Second Biome). Others point to the fact that oxygen levels are still about 26 % lower than in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a city that sits at approximately 7 199 feet (2 194 meters) above sea level, but studies have found no correlation between subaverage oxygen levels and suicidal intentionality. Instead, these studies suggest, it is more likely to be the result of inadequate safety signage around fog pits. Notwithstanding, recent reporting from the CLD Health Department has concluded that subaverage oxygen levels in combination with electrocosmic radio waves (altitude) can indeed do funny things to the human mind (Cloudland Health Department Report 2022, Indices and Insights into Cloud Altitude Health), such as make a person randomly jump off a cloud canyon bridge, run into a fog ditch, or accidentally get tangled up in rope tied to a storm pole.
From a neurological perspective, Cloudlanders do have fragile brains.
For all our microenvironmental progress, the risk of experiencing a stroke or a cerebral aneurism remains high on the Cloud. Yet, statistically, only about one percent of the population will die from brain-related disease, due to the fact that Cloudlanders have strong hearts that effectively support cerebral circulation and prevent the risk of coronary artery illnesses. In other words, it all balances out.
