I totally agree, intrusive thoughts aren’t often acted upon.
I think the story is trying to capture what it feels like to have intrusive thoughts, how horrifying they can be, and is maybe a way for the artist to work through the idea of “what if those thoughts became so bad - through some supernatural mechanism - that we all succumbed to them?” It’s not meant to be realistic, but just to capture and communicate that feeling of dread combined with compulsion.
It’s kind of similar to Lovecraft’s way of telling stories. He tells you about horrifying and incomprehensible actions taken by regular people and gives some hints about their motivation. But he can’t really convey the full experience of cosmic horror so he leaves you to fill in the blanks. Some people are really affected by it, and for some it’s just too vague and speculative.
I totally agree, intrusive thoughts aren’t often acted upon.
I think the story is trying to capture what it feels like to have intrusive thoughts, how horrifying they can be, and is maybe a way for the artist to work through the idea of “what if those thoughts became so bad - through some supernatural mechanism - that we all succumbed to them?” It’s not meant to be realistic, but just to capture and communicate that feeling of dread combined with compulsion.
It’s kind of similar to Lovecraft’s way of telling stories. He tells you about horrifying and incomprehensible actions taken by regular people and gives some hints about their motivation. But he can’t really convey the full experience of cosmic horror so he leaves you to fill in the blanks. Some people are really affected by it, and for some it’s just too vague and speculative.