[UA] Clarification

[Epoch]

On Fri, 17 Dec 1999, Jonathan P. Williams wrote:

<snip>
> Ok, what I am slightly confused about at this point is if there are "only"
> 333 Archetypes or is it the "first" 333 to ascend? I am assuming at this
> point that it would be the "first" 333 to ascend, which seems more
> interesting as it becomes more of a race to ascend in your Archetype before
> someone else ascends in theirs.

Is this in the FAQ yet?

It's the "first."  An Archetype isn't an Archetype until somebody Ascends
to it.  The only Archetype which seems to be guaranteed to be in the IC is
the First and Last Man (Il Comte de Saint Germaine).  There was nothing to
say that there had to be a Masterless Man, or a Flying Woman, or a Mother,
in the IC.

> Assuming I am correct up to this point, then when all 333 have ascended, the
> nature of the next incarnation of the universe would be determined by the
> combined nature of the new Godhead.
> 
> The new Godhead would be made up of both "Entropy" Archetypes and "Order"
> Archetypes. Right?
> 
> I guess what I'm getting at in all this: Is the nature of the Godhead
> determined by the nature of the Invisible Clergy that make it up?

As best as anyone can tell, yes.  It's a bit difficult to get solid data
about what happened one universe ago.

Note that that's not only what Archetypes make it into the IC, but the
slant of the Archetype that the current IC-member puts on it.  So is it
the evil Mother of the original Hansel and Gretel tales, or the good
Mother  who makes cookies while wearing pearls?

> So, in my campaign the characters are, on an unseen cosmic level, helping
> those that would have the possibility of ascending to a entropy-type
> Archetype if they are "weaker" by moving against any new people that come to
> represent the Archetype better (and stronger) than the current one. By
> supporting the current "weaker" Archetype, they are making sure that the
> entropy-type Archetypes that are present in the Clergy have less of an
> impact on the Godhead.

What do you mean by an "entropy-type" Archetype?

I don't think that your argument necessarily follows.  I'd generally think
that an Archetype is an Archetype is an Archetype.  It doesn't matter if
Fred Schmoe, the current holder of the Psycho Evil Killer Bestial
Mother-Raper IC slot, or Joe Schmoe, the Godwalker of the Psycho Evil
Killer Bestial Mother-Raper Archetype, is the one who's eventually in the
Godhead -- that Archetype is in it, and there's no getting rid of it now.

Of course, you /could/ certainly hold that a "stronger" personality in the
IC member would make that Archetype stronger, but I don't know that the
source material supports that.

Definitely, if Jim Schmoe, avatar of Psycho Evil Killer Bestial
Mother-Raper, has managed to put a positive spin on that Archetype, then
he should be helped into the slot, because then that Archetype will be
of his more positive flavour in the new Godhead.

> So, in basic terms: They are helping the "Bad Guys" because these "Bad Guys"
> are weak, which in effect really helps the "Good Guys"
> 
> Does any of this make sense to anyone but me?

Yes.

Mike

---
60.  My five-year-old child advisor will also be asked to decipher any
     code I am thinking of using. If he breaks the code in under 30
     seconds, it will not be used. Note: this also applies to passwords.

www.eviloverlord.com


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