13 Signs That You Are in a Cult

It could happen to anyone: in your search for meaning and connection you have joined a group.  The people are pleasant and time spent with the group is agreeable. Over time the group becomes increasingly present in every aspect of your life. So how do you know if your relationship with your newfound besties has crossed into unhealthy territory?  

Here are 13 signs that you in a cult:

1. You think it’s impossible you could fall victim to a cult.
2. In a short period of time, your friends and family who are not members of the group have largely been replaced by a new set of friends and “family” who coincidentally happen to be members of the group.
3. You find yourself being extremely, perhaps violently, opposed to anyone with views that differ or contradict those of your group. Contradicting opinions feel like a personal attack. 
4. Your current clothing and hairstyle is completely inconsistent with any style you have ever chosen in your life, but it is entirely consistent with clothing worn by other members of the group.
5. You never attend events where no other group members will be present.  You couldn’t possibly relate in any way to anyone else. 
6. You find yourself completely terrified of a person that in another context you would have found laughable.  This terrifying person just happens to be the leader of your group.
7. You have cut personal spending to the minimum required to sustain your life, but your financial situation hasn’t improved since those hard-earned savings have been donated to advance the group’s causes. (A leader should never have to suffer the indignity of flying economy.)
8. You feel deeply embarrassed to admit you are a member of the group yet can’t even consider the possibility of leaving the group.  It’s a bit embarrassing to tell your boss that you need a day off to help paint the leader’s house.
9. You’ve stopped spending time on hobbies, outings, and even personal chores yet you have no free time at all since you feel compelled to spend all your time on tasks like tending the leader’s garden.
10. Most of the books, movies, and music you previously enjoyed you now find detestable.  Instead you now enjoy a group-curated selection of material that your previous self would have hated. You especially enjoy the music and writing skillfully crafted by your leader.  
11. You have sold your personal dwelling and now live in a cramped shared space with the other members of your group… In exchange for the proceeds of the sale, of course.
12. You find yourself requiring the leader’s advice or approval for even the most mundane, trivial things in life.  What’s the correct brand of peanut butter to consume?  Should I put on the left sock or right sock first?
13. You are convinced that the world will end soon and the only way to overcome the coming apocalypse is through careful adherence to the leader’s demands.

This mind-bending work of satirical science fiction explores the question of whether there is a meaningful difference between objective reality and perceived reality. In the novel’s dystopian world, governments deploy psychotropic drugs called mascons (short for “masking compounds”) used to manipulate perception and create illusory realities, concealing the “true” reality of overpopulation, resource scarcity, and societal collapse. Which begs the question: which reality is “real”? Does it matter? Do you believe that our reality is merely a construct of the mind shaped by our senses, biology, psychology, and experiences (as advocated by Immanuel Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason)?

At some point the main character finds himself in a version of reality where virtually every aspect of perceived reality is induced by a specific drug designed to induce a specific hallucination.

Some of the most interesting mascons from the book:

• Recriminol:  Makes users more prone to recrimination by boosting combative, argumentative behavior.
• LTN (Love Thy Neighbor) Bomb:  Forces unconditional love.  While compulsory, this new-found love isn’t necessarily rooted in genuine feelings of devotion and affection often leading to extreme social behavior and chaos.
• Duetine:  Splits consciousness into two interacting parts allowing users to discuss topics with themselves.
• Authentium: This ironically named agent creates synthetic memories of something that didn’t actually occur.
• Caucasium:  Makes users appear to be Caucasian.
• Gospel-credendium:  Causes religious, faith-based devotion to nearby objects, leading to worship.  Amusingly, this extends to inanimate objects like a napkin or spoon!

Of course there is also an anti-mascon drug:

• Up’n’at’m:  A countersomniac and antipsychem agent that reveals true, harsh reality by countering the pleasant hallucinations induced by mascons.  This is similar to taking the red pill to see the reality that is obscured by The Matrix.

So which is better, a happy illusion or a despair-filled reality?