History Main / LivingMemory

* The above picture is aptly named "Memory of Alessa", a boss in ''SilentHill3''. She tries to kill Heather, who is basically her reincarnation, in order to help her avoid the pain and horror of birthing an EldritchAbomination.

The Living Memory is a very strange "being" and similar to [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] in a lot of ways. Physically they're usually [[IntangibleMan intangible]] (though YourMindMakesItReal can make them dangerous regardless), but some are in physical (though probably non-human) bodies. They may be fully sapient and can be reasoned with, a chunk of memories with a bit of personality, or just vinyl records on an endless loop. What they all have in common is that they are not the real deal, the original, just an [[UncannyValley eerie simulacrum]]... and [[TearJerker some]] even [[WhatHaveIBecome realize it.]]

The flesh is weak compared to the mind, heart and soul, especially when in the [[HotBlooded throes of passionate emotion]]. Some places are especially malleable to psychic phenomena. Combine the two and you have the LivingMemory, an echo of a person who either is still alive or has [[KilledOffForReal definitively]] gone on to a final reward (or punishment).

The flesh is weak compared to the mind, heart and soul, especially when in the [[HotBlooded throes of passionate emotion]]. Some places are especially malleable to psychic phenomena. Combine the two and you have the LivingMemory, an echo of a person who either is still alive or who has [[KilledOffForReal definitively]] gone on to a final reward (or punishment).

The flesh is weak compared to the mind, heart and soul, especially when in the [[HotBlooded throes of passionate emotion]]. Some places are especially malleable to psychic phenomena. Combine the two and you have the LivingMemory, an echo of a person who is either still alive or who has [[KilledOffForReal definitively]] gone on to a final reward (or punishment).

* In ''[[WorldOfWarcraft World of Warcraft]] Wrath of the Lich King'' Argent Confessor Paletress summons a "memory" of an enemy the players previously defeated.[[labelnote:Examples]] This includes Edwin VanCleef, Lady Vashj, Onyxia, [[MemeticBadass Hogger]], Archimonde, and Illidan Stormrage.[[/labelnote]] The spell description for her ability implies these are the player's darkest memories, though they are nowhere near as strong as when previously faced.

* Cody, from ''Film/GhostFromTheMachine'' at least thinks the ghosts conjured by his machine are this, chewing out his neighbor for LovingAShadow after stealing it so he can cowxist with his dead wife.

* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', [[spoiler: When Nick's memories are erased, his new personality is trapped rather than destroyed, and manages to partly reassert itself by sharing memories with Nicholas. Eventually, when his friends show their support, it is revealed that this was done deliberately and that by [[SecretTestOfCharacter having his friends willing to risk death to protect him but trying to convince them not to]], he passed the test to be allowed to return permanently.]]

* Not a character but still effectively this trope, in the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' the character Osseric is pulled in the a living memory of the Raraku desert by his father. The memory goes so far back into prehistoric times back to when Raraku was a lush swamp.

* In ''[[WorldOfWarcraft World of Warcraft]]'' WOTLK there is an encounter during the 5-man instance Trial of the Champion where you are up against Argent Confessor Paletress, who will summon one of various ghost-like “memories” of previous foes the player characters have (or should have) defeated in the past, who must now be faced once again. These memories include famous antagonists such as, Edwin VanCleef, Lady Vashj, Onyxia, Hogger, Archimonde, and Illidan Stormrage, among several others who have a chance to spawn. It also may be worth noting that the flavor text of the spell Confess, which Paletress uses to summon them, states that it forces the target to confess their darkest memories, implying that the spell draws from the memories of the PC to summon a Living Memory of one of their toughest foes, so it probably qualifies for this trope. Suffice to say, as a 5-man instance these memories are not nearly as menacing as their living counterparts once were at the time of their original defeat.

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', the person behind the mysterious attacks at Hogwarts turns out to be a living memory of the BigBad from when ''he'' was at school. At first, he could only communicate via the diary he was preserved in, but once he got [[spoiler: Ginny]] to trust him with enough secrets, [[EmotionEater he grew steadily more powerful]]. Four books later, it turns out that the diary was one of several [[SoulJar soul-jars]] Voldemort created, although this was by far the most dangerous.
** The many ghosts that dwell in Hogwarts appear to be this as well: they're described as "imprints" of the once-living person who has since passed on to... whatever comes next.
** It's never explored in any detail, but the animated portraits of deceased persons seem to work this way. They have all of the knowledge and at least some of the personality of the deceased, but it's unclear whether they have free will or the ability to truly act of their own accord.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock may have already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart, which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentially]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop (or TrickedOutTime, depending on whether or not this is the first time the loop has run) - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches Kirk Prime die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock had YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart , which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentially]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop (or TrickedOutTime, depending on whether or not this is the first time the loop has run) - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches Kirk Prime die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock had YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart , which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentially]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches Kirk Prime die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] , which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentially]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches Kirk Prime die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met might have been just another echo, meaning that Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] , which they can now implement without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentally]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches him die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met was just an echo, and Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] and so they can go through with it without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentally]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches him die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] and combined with YouAlreadyChangedThePast in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met was just an echo, and Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] and so they can go through with it without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentally]], the LivingMemory would form the basis for a StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches him die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] and combined with YouAlreadyChangedThePast in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' [[spoiler: Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met was just an echo, and Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] and so they can go through with it without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentally, the LivingMemory would form the basis for a]] StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches him die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and [[FridgeHorror(hopefully)]] leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.]]]]

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] and combined with YouAlreadyChangedThePast in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' [[spoiler: Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met was just an echo, and Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] and so they can go through with it without worrying about changing the original timeline. [[FridgeBrilliance Essentally, the LivingMemory would form the basis for a]] StableTimeLoop - Picard enters the Nexus in the twenty-fourth century, learns about Kirk Prime's fate, joins forces with him, defeats Soran, watches him die, and informs Spock Prime of his passing, which provides a vector for the information to reach Jim, who pulls Kirk Prime out of the Nexus in the alternate twenty-third century and [[FridgeHorror(hopefully)]] leaves behind an echo to assist Picard, thus restarting the cycle.]]

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]], [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] and combined with YouAlreadyChangedThePast in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5441465/chapters/12663329 I'll Be Home for Christmas.]]'' Jim learns about Guinan's echo (see ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' below) and recalls hearing from Spock Prime that he [[NeverFoundTheBody never found Kirk Prime's body]], and theorises that echoes can leave the Nexus for a short time before disappearing based on his own research. He combines the three and realises that the Kirk Picard met was just an echo, and Jim and Spock had [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast already succeeded with Jim's plan to retrieve his counterpart]] and so they can go through with it without worrying about changing the original timeline.

* Ghosts in ''Literature/{{Pact}}'' are soulless impressions of experiences of great emotion that have been left on the world, who fulfill this trope by forcing the memory of the event that created them onto others or simply playing through it over and over. You don't necessarily have to have died to generate them-at one point, Blake Thorburn, the protagonist, encounters several ghosts that ''he'' left in his DarkAndTroubledPast.

* There were a few ghosts on ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' who were like this - the ones that made Buffy & Riley have lots of sex.

* The past avatars in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' are Living Memories to their future incarnations, and when the current avatar dies they join the ranks of past avatars. Since the avatar is continually {{Reincarnat|ion}}ed, there are hundreds if not thousands of past lives the living avatar can call upon for advice and to draw upon during the [[SuperMode Avatar State]].

** After the events of up to Season 10, Epsilon developed a habit of simulating the other Alpha fragments from his own memories of them, long after the original fragments are destroyed. He splits up different tasks between them during battle. Though they act more or less the same as their original counterparts, they are aware of just being Epsilon's memories, as the second Delta is quick to remind Epsilon of. [[spoiler:In the Season 13 finale, Epsilon concludes that he doesn't have the processing power to help his friends out of a tight spot, and decides that his main "Church" self is just holding him back too much. [[DeathOfPersonality He intends to erase this main self]] and [[HeroicSacrifice give his memory buddies enough strength to save the day for him.]]

** After the events of up to Season 10, Epsilon developed a habit of simulating the other Alpha fragments from his own memories of them, long after the original fragments are destroyed. He splits up different tasks between them during battle. Though they act more or less the same as their original counterparts, they are aware of just being Epsilon's memories, as the second Delta is quick to remind Epsilon of. [[spoiler:In the Season 13 finale, Epsilon concludes that he doesn't have the processing power to help his friends out of a tight spot, and decides that his main "Church" self is just holding him back too much. [[DeadOfPersonality He intends to erase this main self]] and [[HeroicSacrifice give his memory buddies enough strength to save the day for him.]]

* Most smart [=AI=]s in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' are [[BrainUploading created from the brains]] of dead people (as the process usually destroys the brain), but Cortana is the product of a cloned mind rather than a dead one. She and her creator, Dr. Halsey, often share many of the same attributes and opinions, especially regarding the Master Chief, John-117.
** Forerunner AI [[spoiler:343 Guilty Spark]] was copied off the mind of [[spoiler:a prehistoric human named Chakas]].