is nowhere and nowhen;
has neither body nor senses;
thinks of infinite, eternal darkness, coldness and emptiness;
is not even a spatiotemporal point because there is nothing else;
is all that exists;
despairs;
after either no time or a very long time, is regarded by the Solipsist;
shares an ultimate, hopeless egotism;
overhears diabolical thoughts;
is cast free by the force of a huge malevolence.
In SM Stirling's The Desert And The Blade (New York, 2016), Chapter Seventeen, Orlaith sees in the eyes of a dead enemy:
"...a nothing that thought it was everything, a futility that believed it was perfection. Where there were no lies because there was no truth, only an endless chewing of stale memory into smaller and smaller bits beneath the gaze of the Solipsist." (p. 365)
So there is a Solipsist in both of these fictional multiverses. I find it difficult to understand either why such malevolence should exist or why the benevolent Powers are unable to prevent that evil from infecting humanity.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I'm puzzled by your puzzlement. The traditional Catholic belief is that Satan was created good by God and was the mightiest and greatest of the angels. BUT, he failed the test of obedience and loyalty to God and fell into evil, becoming the leader of those other angels who fell with him. The angels too, too, have free will. Which means God had to respect their choice if they chose to reject and hate Him.
I have wondered if Satan hates God because he became outraged that there is Another greater than him. That would be plainly where Satan's solipsism comes in.
And Satan, surpassingly great tho his natural powers and abilities are, is not all powerful. God imposed certain limits on what Satan can do, such as not being allowed to tempt or coerce anyone beyond their strength.
Sean
Sean,
Of course I know the traditional Catholic answer although I have philosophical problems with it but I do not expect it to apply in the Emberverse.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Well, I think Emberverser Catholics would agree with me! And I think Satan would make mince meat of these Wiccan or Scandinavian "gods."
Sean
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