Hold on to your seats... How the Insequent are NOT a problem

[Seppi2112]

According to today's GI, the Theomach was ALWAYS going to become the guardian (I think this is the source of the II he mentioned btw... he's stuck doing this because the name Kenaustin Ardenol was mentioned in the second chronicles) but that doesn't mean he always was going to mentor Berek.

Brinn became the guardian without tutoring TC/LA, and so in the same way its possible that Theo was INITIALLY (original timeline) just a companion of Berek's who eventually had to fix some timeline divergences...

This naturally hurts my theory a bit, BUT as the source of the afore-lamented Internal Inconsistency I think the theory in total still works.

[wayfriend]

Yes, either it's a delightful coincidence, or a really short question queue, but this came up today.

Vinny F: Stephen,

Hi Stephen,

My question is regarding the Theomach in Fatal Revenant. Was it your intent that the Theomach was always ak-Haru Kenaustin Ardenol, or was this one of the steps he needed to take to keep the sequence of Time intact? Either way the story works, just curious.

• The way I see it, the Theomach (in every consistent time-line <rueful smile>) was always aiming to become the Guardian of the One Tree. Linden's imposed appearance facilitated a (small) portion of the quest he had already undertaken for himself. After all, how else can an ordinary mortal (physically, at least, the Insequent are ordinary mortals) hope to humiliate--or even insult--the Elohim?
  
  (02/29/2008)

Is Vinny here at the Watch?

According to today's GI, the Theomach was ALWAYS going to become the guardian ... but that doesn't mean he always was going to mentor Berek.

I'm not sure what you are basing the latter part on. In the story, what Linden facilitated was a means to become introduced to Berek. She didn't facilitate his becoming Berek's mentor ... he did that himself, with the knowledge of the seven words. Linden only facilitated a "small portion" of the Theomach's quest: I would not call changing the Theomach's role from mere companion to mentor "small". And it's doubtful (although not impossible) that Berek would have brought the Theomach along to the One Tree if he considered the Theomach a nobody hanger-on.

[Seppi2112]

SRD said verbatim that the Theomach "was always aiming to become the Guardian of the One Tree." We know nothing about how he originally did that. He could have been USEFUL without being a MENTOR.

I believe we will learn more when we see the Theomach again in AATE (how can we not?).

[dlbpharmd]

I believe we will learn more when we see the Theomach again in AATE (how can we not?).

That would require another trip back in time. I hope we're done with that.

[Bran Pendragon]

Not a chance, I'd say. I'd bet the (haven) farm that we'll be back in the time of Kevin, and probably in the time of Kastessen's relationship with the mortal woman, before the end.

[Seppi2112]

I think we'll see Kevin too; he's been too heavily discussed in FR not to be involved in AATE.


The Theomach can't be gone though - recall TC's words to Mahrtiir in FR, that he was going to have to leave the land. Hopefully another trip to the one tree/braithairealm?

[Zarathustra]

The way I see it, the Theomach (in every consistent time-line <rueful smile>) was always aiming to become the Guardian of the One Tree.

What's up with the parenthetical? Why a rueful smile? Does anyone else get the feeling that he's f*cking with us here, and smiling because he dares us to figure it out? So are there inconsistent timelines where Theo wasn't destined to become the Guardian? What exactly is an inconsistent timeline? Wouldn't that be one where these "ripples" get out of hand and contradict the known future? A threat to the Arch? And isn't Seppi's theory that the Theomach's presence, indeed his purpose, is to stave off such temporal contradictions? Why go to the trouble of pointing out that Theo is always the Guardian in consistent timelines? Why not just say, "yes"?? I think we can glean from this that it's possible that there could have been inconsistent timelines in which the Theomach was not the Guardian--or if he didn't become the Guardian, this would produce an inconsistent timeline. Given that the Arch is still intact, we can assume that this has never happened. But that's the danger which the Theomach is there to guard against. At least that's how I'm interpreting this. How do you all read it?

[amanibhavam]

I simply read the text in the parentheses to mean "= if I do not screw up and introduce further IIs" but I may be mistaken...

[Bran Pendragon]

That's my reading of that as well.

[wayfriend]

I took the parenthesis to mean that there is always the possibility that history can be changed. You can't make the statement "The Theomach was always aiming to become the Guardian" without reservation when time travel and changeable history are involved.

I didn't think he meant that he'd be playing any further games here. I think it was just a wink wink.

The guy only has two books left to talk about Covenant and resolve the open issues he already left us. I don't think he'll be adding more.

[Relayer]

Agree w/ WF and the comments that he was poking fun at himself.