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As hypothesized by Osiris, the Light seems to be connected to the physical universe, whereas the Darkness appears to be more strongly related to thought, emotion and consciousness more broadly. This dichotomy can be seen in the nature of the elemental manifestations of Light and Darkness: Arc, Solar and Void all grant control over physical forces (electricity, heat and gravity, respectively), whereas Strand allows one to manipulate the psychic "threads" connecting all conscious beings, and Stasis may be seen as embodying the abstract concepts of will and control. This emphasis on physicality versus consciousness may also explain why resurrection via the Light wipes away memories, as well as why the Darkness seems more acutely concerned by the pain and suffering of conscious beings than the Light: both memory and pain are within the realm of conscious experience, and therefore outside of the Light's domain of interest. | As hypothesized by Osiris, the Light seems to be connected to the physical universe, whereas the Darkness appears to be more strongly related to thought, emotion and consciousness more broadly. This dichotomy can be seen in the nature of the elemental manifestations of Light and Darkness: Arc, Solar and Void all grant control over physical forces (electricity, heat and gravity, respectively), whereas Strand allows one to manipulate the psychic "threads" connecting all conscious beings, and Stasis may be seen as embodying the abstract concepts of will and control. This emphasis on physicality versus consciousness may also explain why resurrection via the Light wipes away memories, as well as why the Darkness seems more acutely concerned by the pain and suffering of conscious beings than the Light: both memory and pain are within the realm of conscious experience, and therefore outside of the Light's domain of interest. | ||
This is speculated on in-universe by [[Sen-Aret]], who come to the belief that the Light can actually allow people to remember, but instead chooses not to | This is speculated on in-universe by [[Sen-Aret]], who come to the belief that the Light can actually allow people to remember, but instead chooses not to to relieve us from memory's grief. He compares the situation to an "iterated [[wikipedia:Prisoner's Dilemma|Prisoner's Dilemma]]". In his theorising, Light represents Cooperation and allows us to forget past pain in order to make peace with our enemies and escape the cycle of violence - to do not what is rational, but what is right - and create the possibility of grace. Meanwhile, the Dark represents Evolution and allows us to remember that which hurt us so we avoid it in the future, to stop us making the same mistakes so we can survive. The Dark is needed to avoid being preyed upon by those who see Light as an opportunity to feed, while the Light is needed for the possibility to be more than what reason allows us, to escape reasonable limits by acting "unreasonably". Ikora Rey builds on and counters this, saying that the Light does not offer an afterlife like [[Ascendant Realm|Throne Worlds]], but tells us that paradise, a peaceful life surrounded by chosen friends, is something we have to make in this life. Meanwhile, the Darkness cautions us against mercy to our enemies when our survival is at stake, and helps avoid death and go on existing. Darkness alone points to an eternal existence of mere survival, while the Light allows the choice of a finite life of compassion and common good. Leavening the Light with the Dark, tempering grace with memory, allows for more than what the Dark alone can imagine.<ref>[https://www.ishtar-collective.net/records/the-hidden-dossier The Hidden Dossier]</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== |