Morning, Sybil!
I hope you don't mind that I turned this into a new topic.
It seemed to deserve one all it's own.
Wow. Good question. <ponders and winds up with a major case of brain cramp>
First, I reserve the right to change my mind once I spend some time envisioning this.
I think John would use the same anchor in order to survive the torture. It was his mantra during Revenging Angel, and although it was TJohn who said it, the fact is that Aeryn is his one constant, his guiding star. So I think he would cling not so much to Aeryn as his love for her in order to sustain him. When the reader and Aeryn finally see John's final descent into insanity in
Chapter 18 (of the longer version), John is down to where he defines himself entirely by the fact that he loves Aeryn. Even after her rejection in Fractures, I think he would still define himself that way. It is the choice he eventually makes in DWTB; he will take the one bone of Aeryn, even if it means giving up on his dream of returning to Earth. (Sorry if I'm rambling, but I'm kind of thinking this through as I go along.)
What I think would play out differently is everything after that, on both sides of the relationship. I think Aeryn would still go after him (to rescue him), but she would also be absolutely overloaded with guilt and confusion, probably to the point of totally coming apart at the seams emotionally. At that point in canon, she is struggling to figure out how to deal with that level of emotional pain and loss. If she were to almost lose this John, I think rather than kicking her into the realization that she still has a John Crichton, that it would drive her almost insane with the worry that he might not recover and that she might lose him a second time.
And Unity would be incredibly painful for both of them. That would turn into a hindrance to John's recovery, rather than the thing he holds on to and that sustains him. He might even be suspicious at first, question whether it's Aeryn or why she's in his quiet dreaming place, and possibly reject here. He very definitely would not simply fall into her presence, chanting, "Aeryn, Aeryn, Aeryn, Aeryn" the first time he realizes who has entered his internal world.
God, it's causing heartache just thinking about it. That's one of my personal favorite moments, and I can't see it happening if they aren't comfortable and committed to each other at that point.
Actually, I think the scenes involving Unity would start to feel like Whispers, only worse because they would be sharing thoughts in both directions.
John would know how badly Aeryn is hurting, and she would know just how badly she was hurting him, and still would not know what to do to get it to stop.
I think if I were to write this (NOT going to happen because it would be too frelling painful), that I would use the whole process of getting John to "emerge" from his catatonia as a way for the two of them to reconcile and for Aeryn to come to understand why John makes the decisions that he does; i.e. "Was it easy to be a hero?" I still don't see a glorious sense of victory when he comes back. It wouldn't be a triumph of love. It would a stubborn refusal to give up in the hope that something better lies ahead.
In summary ... Ouch.