Harry talking to his subconscious in Twelve Months - Your opinions

[KurtinStGeorge]

I just wanted to ask what everyone else thought of the single conversation Harry had with his subconscious; or ID as Harry thinks of it?

I was a little disappointed how short the conversation was and the fact we didn't get a follow up conversation.  Especially as Harry cut the conversation short when he threw a water glass against the wall.  I think some of the conversations Harry has had with his other self in some of the earlier books have been far better.

Much more important, I was puzzled by some elements in the conversation itself.  I'm going to have grab the book for this.  After subconscious Harry unsuccessfully tries to give Harry some good advice and gets foul language back in return, he makes this statement.  "But have you ever considered that life with Lara would have its advantages?"  This appears typical for other-Harry, thinking about sex over long-term considerations, like becoming enslaved by Lara.  But then other-Harry gives hung over but conscious Harry a warning.  "Watch Lara more closely.  You haven't been seeing the same things I have."  Or was it a warning at all?  Because a few sentences down other-Harry says this.  "Thomas and Justine seemed happy together.  What if you could strike a balance like that?"

This confuses me and it creates a missed opportunity within the story.  Whether Harry's subconscious was telling Harry to watch Lara more closely as a warning that she was up to something or it was an attempt to tell conscious Harry that Lara was being sincere; because that seems like the only reasonable alternative, there was never any follow up.  Harry never thought about it later or confronted Lara about something he finally realized, some clue about the way Lara moved that tipped him off what her true intentions were.  Unless it was something really subtle that I missed.

I'm not sure how to describe it.  It makes me think of Chekhov's Gun, but where the writer makes the mistake of never using or mentioning the gun again.  What did you think of this conversation?   

[Xamion]

"Watch Lara more closely.  You haven't been seeing the same things I have." 

I believe this was ID-Harry (correctly) pointing out what was actually happening to Lara, and in essence what Mab's real objective was in all this. Since it was consistently made pretty clear throughout the book, that Harry was operating on very low performance levels mentally and emotionally, due to the fallout of PT/BG, this was again a hint that our subconscious knows a lot more than our conscious, given that it has access to 90+% of our brain's "raw" computing power (and this is where the popular myth actually comes from) and *all* information inputs from our body. Deep down inside, Harry absolutely had all the hints and information he needed to actually "outplay" Mab and the situations he was in, but just wasn't in the right state of mind to make use of them, a.k.a. his consistent character "Fatal Flaw."

[LaraBeck]

Yeah, I'm a little intrigued by this as well, to me it feels like there's something hanging in the air. Maybe it was just about realizing what Mab was doing, but the conversation is not really about Mab. By the context, though, how IDHarry speaks about being with Lara as some sort of positive, I'm inclined to think that Harry was missing something good about her?

But I dunno, IDHarry has also said a bunch of things that are not necessarily right or a reflexion of what Harry wanted or should do, like the thing in Skin Game about him waiting on Molly.

I'm also intrigued by the fact that, if I'm not forgetting something, this is the first time Harry sees IDHarry outside a dream, for the first time, Harry was effectively awake when they have this conversation.

[Bad Alias]

I'm also intrigued by the fact that, if I'm not forgetting something, this is the first time Harry sees IDHarry outside a dream, for the first time, Harry was effectively awake when they have this conversation.

I think this is at least half the point of ID Harry's appearance. To show us how broken his mind is.

I think the other point is to suggest Lara is either sincerely seeking a partnership with Harry (unlikely due to the content of the negotiations concerning control) or sincerely interested in Harry in ways that could result in a reasonably healthy relationship for a wizard and vampire.

[Mira]

I think the other point is to suggest Lara is either sincerely seeking a partnership with Harry (unlikely due to the content of the negotiations concerning control) or sincerely interested in Harry in ways that could result in a reasonably healthy relationship for a wizard and vampire.

Which she isn't, she is as upfront about it as Harry is, unless she is lying, she isn't happy about being forced into this relationship either.  It could become a reasonably healthy relationship now because all the cards are on the table as far as what Lara is and what Harry is.  If it wasn't for her being a vampire, I think Lara is the best fit for Harry on an intellectual level. 

One thing not mentioned in this thread is Harry's question as to whether Harry truly loved Murphy or she loved him?  I have to go back and reread, but that's what caused him to throw the glass against the wall.