BoM/TWS Message Forum

Between them, Nostrum and Wordsmitty nail it. The only addendum I would make is to what WS says in his first paragraph.

The line (if any) between the mental and the physical is a fraught and controversial one. BoM implicitly endorses a dualist theory because though the mask copies the brain exactly, no memories or other mental traits are copied. This creates a problem for writing about rugal's "neurodivergent" cases, or even plain drunkenness. These, I believe, are best explained in terms of physical structure or processes in the brain, and so should be copied by the masks. And, being physical aspects, they are properties which a mask wearer cannot distance himself, the way he can separate himself mentally from an impersonated mentality. Where such cases have been written into BoM, I'm pretty sure there are inconsistencies.

In cases like these, I think the story just has to fail to be consistent. What happens if you put on a mask, a mind band, or both, of a crazy person should depend upon what's good for the story, not on the rules of the game, because the rules simply CAN'T give an answer that would be conceptually satisfying.