The Horror of Eternal Consciousness | The Jaunt
Related videos
The Scariest Part of Three Body Problem
Quinn's Ideas
43.2k views
The Old and New Gods of Science Fiction
Quinn's Ideas
9.0k views
Phillip K Dicks Terrifying Lost Cosmic Horror
Quinn's Ideas
18.2k views
The Constructed Gods | Why Sci-fi Makes Deities
Quinn's Ideas
43.9k views
The Cosmic Terror of Lagash | Nightfall
Quinn's Ideas
88.2k views
Arthur C. Clarke's Forgotten Cosmic Horror | The Nine Billion Names of God
Quinn's Ideas
228.8k views
The Corruption of Athshe | The Word For World is Forest
Quinn's Ideas
105.6k views
The Existential Loneliness of Tau Zero
Quinn's Ideas
187.0k views
The Horrifying Utopia of Prime Intellect
Quinn's Ideas
424.7k views
The Truth Lovecraft Didn’t Tell | The Ballad of Black Tom and the Horrors of Humanity
Quinn's Ideas
169.1k views
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Related videos
The Scariest Part of Three Body Problem
Quinn's Ideas
43.2k views
The Old and New Gods of Science Fiction
Quinn's Ideas
9.0k views
Phillip K Dicks Terrifying Lost Cosmic Horror
Quinn's Ideas
18.2k views
The Constructed Gods | Why Sci-fi Makes Deities
Quinn's Ideas
43.9k views
The Cosmic Terror of Lagash | Nightfall
Quinn's Ideas
88.2k views
Arthur C. Clarke's Forgotten Cosmic Horror | The Nine Billion Names of God
Quinn's Ideas
228.8k views
The Corruption of Athshe | The Word For World is Forest
Quinn's Ideas
105.6k views
The Existential Loneliness of Tau Zero
Quinn's Ideas
187.0k views
The Horrifying Utopia of Prime Intellect
Quinn's Ideas
424.7k views
The Truth Lovecraft Didn’t Tell | The Ballad of Black Tom and the Horrors of Humanity
Quinn's Ideas
169.1k views
Top Comments (10)
On extra detail left out, there was also a story where a guy threw his wife through the jaunt alive, but with no destination.. His lawyers pleaded not guilty, since she technically wasn’t dead. When everyone realised what that meant the guy got a worse sentence than for murder. I think that’s one of the worst fates in fiction, at least the kid and the prisoner eventually died, she’s just gonna be in the jaunt for an inconceivable amount of time, and it won’t ever end.
“Longer than you think” gave me chills after his dad’s description of eternity.
This was one of my favorite King stories growing up. The sheer existential horror of it rocked me as a child, and it still gives me chills looking back.
Resting this story years ago has always made me wish that King played around with sci-fi more than he traditionally has.
"Jaunt" is such a perfect word for this story. Its normal connotation is a quick, enjoyable trip but King turns it into an eternity of horror, twisting a word that isn't supposed to be associated with horror into something terrifying. He's a master at finding horror where it isn't supposed to be (lawnmowers, vending machines, clowns, the family dog, etc...)
For me the horror is in the implications of "longer than you think". The dad had explained to his kids that one guy said it was eternity in there. The dad speculated that it could be an eternity of eternities in there. Think about that. An eternity of eternities. Then at the end the son says it's longer than you think. What could feel longer than an eternity of eternities? Whatever it is, it apparently doesn't destroy your mind. At least two people come through the jaunt and actually speak coherently, the son even recognizes his dad AND remembers their previous conversation. The shock of being back in physical form is where the problem comes in. This means you never are released from experiencing whatever it is you experience while jaunting. You will never be driven insane so that at least you have no idea of how much you are suffering. The kid retained his mind to the point that he could quantify that it was longer than his dad suspected. Now consider that in the story a woman was sent out on a jaunt that had no exit point. She's jaunting permanently...and it's longer than you think.
My best friend (now passed) said that to understand death you have to imagine what is was like before you were born.
"i spoke to my grandfather, he's been dead for 30 years" "what'd he tell ya" "i t s e t e r n i t y i n t h e r e"
The Respawn Machine from Emesis Blue brought me here, when the first man Respawned and stood there, he screamed "It's Eternity in there!" and collapsed
If I jaunted while I was awake I would just thug it out and not go insane.
Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge
- Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
- Chat with videos, export text & PDF
- $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research
Free forever plan • All features unlocked
Top Comments (10)
On extra detail left out, there was also a story where a guy threw his wife through the jaunt alive, but with no destination.. His lawyers pleaded not guilty, since she technically wasn’t dead. When everyone realised what that meant the guy got a worse sentence than for murder. I think that’s one of the worst fates in fiction, at least the kid and the prisoner eventually died, she’s just gonna be in the jaunt for an inconceivable amount of time, and it won’t ever end.
“Longer than you think” gave me chills after his dad’s description of eternity.
This was one of my favorite King stories growing up. The sheer existential horror of it rocked me as a child, and it still gives me chills looking back.
Resting this story years ago has always made me wish that King played around with sci-fi more than he traditionally has.
"Jaunt" is such a perfect word for this story. Its normal connotation is a quick, enjoyable trip but King turns it into an eternity of horror, twisting a word that isn't supposed to be associated with horror into something terrifying. He's a master at finding horror where it isn't supposed to be (lawnmowers, vending machines, clowns, the family dog, etc...)
For me the horror is in the implications of "longer than you think". The dad had explained to his kids that one guy said it was eternity in there. The dad speculated that it could be an eternity of eternities in there. Think about that. An eternity of eternities. Then at the end the son says it's longer than you think. What could feel longer than an eternity of eternities? Whatever it is, it apparently doesn't destroy your mind. At least two people come through the jaunt and actually speak coherently, the son even recognizes his dad AND remembers their previous conversation. The shock of being back in physical form is where the problem comes in. This means you never are released from experiencing whatever it is you experience while jaunting. You will never be driven insane so that at least you have no idea of how much you are suffering. The kid retained his mind to the point that he could quantify that it was longer than his dad suspected. Now consider that in the story a woman was sent out on a jaunt that had no exit point. She's jaunting permanently...and it's longer than you think.
My best friend (now passed) said that to understand death you have to imagine what is was like before you were born.
"i spoke to my grandfather, he's been dead for 30 years" "what'd he tell ya" "i t s e t e r n i t y i n t h e r e"
The Respawn Machine from Emesis Blue brought me here, when the first man Respawned and stood there, he screamed "It's Eternity in there!" and collapsed
If I jaunted while I was awake I would just thug it out and not go insane.