> The very first time TakenEgi 'emerges': it's pure 'becoming', the
> Egi are pretty much squished together, and the best bits gets to
> become Rufus. Then, he gets offed a few times, and comes back as
> _exactly_ the same person: he self-resurrects, in other words.
> The Egi don't have to 'become' him, they already are him (or what's
> left, or whatever).
My take on this: pre-Sheng, the original Council of Egi was always the same when they arranged each reincarnation. When Takenegi was offed, he came back exactly the same *because* their "inputs" were exactly the same: the Egi didn't remake him any differently. (Insert a certain amount of mystical hand-waving here to explain the identical body each time, but how hard can this be? Trivial differences between the Four Quarters' specialisations aren't enough to bother me).
Post-Sheng, the Egi are imperfect (including some "mere mortal" replacements). What's more, those Egi who have the *most* input into each Mask are IMO the ones most likely to suffer from unpleasant, head-exploding feedback (etc.) when that Mask perishes.
So, let's say it's mostly the original/immortal Egi who are seeing to Moonson's core essence (Great Self, Antirius Soul, etc.), while the mundane mortal ones see to his perishable bodily parts and worldly aspects (body, personality, personal interests, political alliances): that sounds like a sensible division of labour to me.
The more you shape each Mask of Moonson (as one of the Egi), the less of you is left to do it next time. Finite resources; natural limits on maximum input. Like piling on the years in a game of "Kremlin" -- it's necessary if you want to *do* anything (other than sit on the Politburo and look pretty), but it does shorten your life expectancy. That's the price of power. (Insert appropriate mystical aphorisms about "unwisdom of becoming entangled in worldly affairs" to taste).
:::: Email: <mailto:Nick_Brooke_at_btinternet.com>
Nick
:::: Website: <http://www.btinternet.com/~Nick_Brooke/>
Powered by hypermail