The Jedi are fighting for the light side of the force.
Aes Sedai fight for the creator versus the Dark One using the One Power.
Elric fights for the chaos lords versus the lords of law.
Buffy fights for the primordial forces of light against primordial darkness.
Eorzean heroes fight for the living crystal Hydaelyn against darker powers.
Superheroes are agents of justice. Which is admittedly an idea, not an idea embodied by a force or a god, so powerful that one is compelled to wear tights and punch people in defense of it.
Not sure why I'm thinking about this. Although it's interesting to think about the difference between universes populated by harsh, and unfathomable gods whose commands are seemingly random, to gods who embody ideas and therefore whose commands make slightly more sense, to discarnate forces embodying an idea that compel the mortal plane to ideas so powerful they compel mortals by simple exposure. Are ideas the irreducible elements of a higher, compelling power or is there a next step somewhere down the line?
Which is a less disturbing concept: agents with free will that the gods convince to act, vast nameless forces that compel behavior but leave the illusion of free will, or ideas so powerful the agent is left with no choice but to embody and defend them at every turn once they've been exposed to them? Or all those all the same thing?
I am currently jonesing for more stories about people pulled into larger conflicts occurring beyond the scope of their own comprehension. I can't really explain why, but their place in our collective psyche intrigues me.
No comments:
Post a Comment