IN> Re: Free Will (attempting to fix the subject)

[Elizabeth McCoy]

At 8:19 PM -0500 7/16/06, <hyrneson at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>  If an angel or demon is created by an archangel or prince(ss), does the
>angel/demon have any compulsion to obey their superior other than a sense of
>loyalty, sense if duty, fear of retribution, (or in some cases) discord, or
>dissidence?  Is there some inherent 'control'

Dissonance?

It is generally useful to work with the idea that celestials have
"memetics" that incline them to certain personalities, just as humans
seem to have similar genetic and cultural inclinations. A demon (or angel)
built by a Superior is very likely to have been built in a way that the
Superior found pleasing -- a metaphysical representation of inclinations,
say. Therefore, there will _probably_ be an _inclination_ to do things
that serve the Word of the Superior who created the celestial.

Naturally, if the Superior then adds a Heart, the Word will be a strong
force in the new-created celestial's being; the "culture" that they
are suddenly steeped in is that of the Word.

Further, the Superior is the one who is dumping skills and languages and
whatnot into the new being's soul. This means that everything it knows,
when first created, has the Superior's "spin" on it.

So a new-created celestial is not necessarily _compelled_ to serve, but
what it _wants_ to do, as instinctively as a newborn wants to nurse, is
Word-affirming in some way.

Once a celestial ages a bit, and gets more points of view, the celestial
may then exercise its Free Will (or succumb to predestination, whatever)
and find that other nuances of other Words (or none...) are more pleasing
to it. E.g., a Seraph of Judgment might wind up working for Destiny due
to associating too much with the "Mercy faction." Or a demon might seek
redemption, or an angel Fall.


At least, that's what I find it _useful_ to work with, as a GM, player,
and author. There's some debate about whether it's accurate _in character,_
in the Lilith writeup, regarding Lilim personalities.
-- 
--Beth, arcangel at io.com / archangel at sjgames.com  In Nomine Line Editor  
http://www.io.com/~arcangel/