Flip

Martyn Bedford

A very similar story to Switch, but the switch only happens once. More metaphysical than ghost story. Alex wakes up one day in Philip's body. He must figure out who he is, who are his friends and how to cope with daily life. He must also decide how he is going to proceed with his life. I am not sure why this is an interesting story, other than perhaps for those who spend a lot of time wishing they were someone else. If so, then this is a cautionary tale as Alex begins to realize that between his psyche (or soul) and the physicality of his neurons, something doesn't match, and will never match. Even if  he consciously decided to accept his new life, he will always be unsettled. For me, the most interesting discussion is about whether a psyche swap is even possible. If your consciousness and soul is really just the unique arrangement of neurons in you (the physical you), then the swap is not possible. But what belief about the soul would make such a swap possible. Bedford touches on this, but it is a throw away in the plot, just filler to show how strange Alex (Phillip) is by asking questions like this in science class.

Skip