> Strip away the fluff, and essentially the tale is the same - "a god did
> something, the world changed, and a new entity, X, appeared".
The significant detail your eliding, in among the 'fluff' is _from where_ the new entity 'appeared'. According to Orlanthi cosmology, the Devil appeared from _outwith_ 'creation', whereas Umath comes from pretty much the 'usual method', having two 'parents' within creation.
Interesting observation about the similarity, though I'm not sure how close it actually is. One of the alleged themes of Orlanthi mythology is parallels between chaotic and non-choatic events and myths. (KoS gives the example: Lokamayadonism: chaotic; founding ritual, non-choatic...)
To use your virus analogy: a virus is still of 'foreign' origin, however closely it becomes integrated into one's body. And no-one is denying that Chaos _does_ become closely integrated: even your slimiest of Chaos creatures, like a Dragonsnail, will be mostly 'nature', with a tiny chaotic 'seed'. To take another example, your own liver is 'natural', whereas a transplanted one is not. (And yes, I'm reasonably familiar with the immunological and biochemical processes of the 'integration' of transplants, too.) Of course, ultimately your liver arises from outside your body, and there the analogy breaks down. In Glorantha, after the period of Creation, the 'natural' part of Glorantha is a closed system, _apart from_the intrusion of Chaos. (Or what the Orlanthi consider to be 'by definition' "Chaos", from having such an origin.)
> Anyway, I suspect that this discussion is nearing futility, as you guys
> repeatedly semi-flame that I am some argumentative idiot who isn't even
> trying to understand.
I don't recall making any semi-flames to this effect, so I hope you don't imply I'm one of said Guys. You may be right about the futility part, though.
> Maybe I'm taking too much of a holistic, Taoist approach to the
> metaphysics, but, to me, your approach has plenty of holes.
I'm not sure what the comparison with Taoism is, or even, what's holistic about Tao. At any rate, perhaps it's not just the most helpful of analogues. I don't know that I have any 'approach' here, other than just trying to explain what Orlanthi belief about Chaos is, or what the 'holes' are supposed to be in it.
Cheers,
Alex.
Powered by hypermail