Madness string 111438

Random mermaid
Perhaps they'll grow up courageous, finding joy in all of life, filled with wonder and hope despite all the pain before them. Or perhaps they'll only resent their lifetime of agony, in which they themselves had no say at all. But you can't know, now. Now, faced with your tiny bundle of miswrapped baby, you must choose for them, and you may never know if it was the right choice. But you'll have to live with that choice regardless.

It's a last-ditch survival tactic. The brain expends as much energy as it can to look for any possible way of getting out of a deadly situation, which gives the impression that time is slowing down because you're thinking so much more in that one second. If it works you're left suddenly exhausted but alive; if it doesn't you're just dead.