I know you're being facetious, but just to be clear for those in the back (since the internet often misunderstands words), you can experience cognitive dissonance and still continue doing the same things afterwards.

It's just that uncomfortable feeling when you are presented with an idea that conflicts with your beliefs about reality. I fully expect they'll figure out how to get past it with some mental gymnastics, a thought-terminating-cliche, or (gasp) accepting reality and recognizing that the character is fictional.