Go on then, whip me!

Stunned!

Alexander was utterly gobsmacked!

Because they were all duplicates, numbering their foreheads to distinguish their identities was a spontaneous act.

Perhaps it was because their thought patterns were too similar. Just like how people often overlook their own little quirks or trivial matters due to daily habits.

For example, glaring typos that remain undetected despite one's best efforts to check. Words that are reversed but automatically corrected when read, as if the mind conveniently arranges them in the proper order.

Even in places one has visited a few times, when searching earnestly, doubt creeps in, questioning if this is the right place. Sometimes one can even take a wrong turn.

But when one is lost in thought, strangely enough, the path becomes clear without any conscious effort.