Other stuff

From: David Cake <davidc_at_cs.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 13:23:20 +0800

> As for The Other - the White Moon could defeat her Other because she knew
>the Secret. Without this knowledge you cannot defeat your Other. The Secret,
>BTW, is of course Illumination.

        Cool insight. But how does this tie in with Yelm?
        Perhaps the Secret allows you to choose your Other (only between

available candidates, though)? Thus allowing Yelm to choose the friendly Dendara rather than the Empty Emperor, thus allowing him to defeat Kazkurtum (but granting Dendara a powerful place - because he knew she wouldn't use it)(hmm... Peter M. - this tie in with the Brightface Entekosiad Return of the Seven stuff?).

        Greg had some interesting stuff to say about Illumination at RQ Con DU. Notably, that Illumination allows you to reconcile impossible aspects of your nature, but does not (in itself) grant you free will. Which may shoot down what I said above. Whoops. So Yelm, Illuminated, can be both the One and part of the Many, and other contradictions. But he does not have free will. The Red Goddess has or had some free will, though, because she was reincarnated as a human (humans have free will).

        Another note (stream of consciousness is flowing here) - if Yelm is illuminated, and thus can have inherent contradictions in his nature, doesn't this mean the Clarifications of the Yelm cult (early third age?) were doomed?

        Cheers

                Dave



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