[UA] "The End" of UA? (Don't worry, it's just a title.)

[Timothy Toner]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Anderson" <stuartanderson at qwest.net>
To: <ua at lists.uchicago.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 6:14 PM
Subject: Re: [UA] "The End" of UA? (Don't worry, it's just a title.)


> holycrow at mindspring.com wrote:
>
> > 2) This, however, being a universe with a board of directors, a few
humans survive through mind-boggling coincidences.  All the Godwalkers
survive -- at least, all the loyal ones.  ("Here's a message... SEE YOU IN
HELL, DERMOTT!")  In fact, probably ALL the survivors are high grade
Avatars, protected by their invisible patrons?
>
> Seems like if all (or enough of) the supporters of a particular archetype
perished, that archetype would
> drop out of the IC as though it'd been replaced. Given that, if humanity
was tottering on the brink for long
> enough, the IC would start jockeying for position, somehow. Avatars pitted
against avatars. Laws of probability
> distorted to favor certain individuals performing certain actions. Could
be pretty cool. I can see something like
> Mage: The Hero Discovered, but with more scope.

Well, this is where I think archetypes veer away from the concept of
religion by popular consensus.  There might be quite a few archetypes with
zero practical adherents, but they are an essential part of who we are as
humans.  One slight reversal of fortune, and a rational, generous man might
turn to The Cannibal for salvation.  Likewise, I think that, as Statosphere
hints, some Ascensions are popularity contests, with the candidate having
reached the right amount of people, and etching his qualifications in the
hearts and minds of millions.  There also should be some (not many, but
some) who quietly embody those qualifications without all the fuss and
bother, and silently ascend one morning.  I'm thinking specifically of a
wonderful Peter Jackson movie called Forgotten Silver, which presents a
hitherto unknown New Zealander who read about the _idea_ of motion pictures
in the early 1900s, and managed to single-handedly invent almost every major
film innovation, from the tracking shot to the biblical epic.  His films
were locked away until recently, when his far-sightedness was finally
discovered, and he at last received his due too late.  It seems that he
wandered off, and was never seen again.  I like the idea of THAT GUY joining
the IC.  No one knows who the hell he is, but like Ed Wood, he's too
passionate for the universe to ignore, and that's gotta count for something,
right?

Rereading Statosphere, I noticed the bit where the 'first' in a few
categories auto-ascends, specifically the first mother and first person
killed in war.  Imagine being there when it happens, and thinking, "So, uh,
when they pop out the baby...they disappear?  Cool!"


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