WelsperTheCat
05-12-01, 01:05 AM
Things are kind of slow in the OMG forum right now, so I thought I'd have a little fun and relate a pet theory of mine.
If you haven't read Terrible Master Urd and don't want to be spoiled, please STOP READING NOW!
The events in Terrible Master Urd got me to wondering about the motivations behind the Almighty's actions during this story arc. Now, I'm a big believer in "Do not attribute to conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." I hate conspiracy theories in general. However, some things just defy explanation by stupidity or anything else. The Almighty's actions during Terrible Master Urd are a prime example of this.
Consider the following events in Terrible Master Urd:
1. The Almighty tells Belldandy he won't hesitate to strike down Urd if she ever claims her birthright. Yet he never so much as lifts a finger against Urd during the entire story arc. When he does attack, he attacks Keiichi! Why attack poor Keiichi? If he could spare the time to attack at all, why not target Urd, Fenrir or Midgard? Did he not have the power to strike them down? Not likely, this is the Almighty we're talking about. Similarly, Fenrir and Midgard posed no more threat to Yggdrasil than did Keiichi, since they couldn't teleport and had no magical attacks. In fact, the whole "protect Yggdrasil" thing seems to have been bogus from the beginning.
2. The Almighty tried to seal Urd's demon side away but failed. The Dark Horse translation makes it sound like he tried to seal the Lord of Terror himself, but in the original Japanese it's Urd's birthright he's sealing. He definitely knows that she is the rightful heir to the Lord of Terror, and that she will likely become vulnerable to its influence at some point in the future. Otherwise, why try to seal it away? Yet, the Almighty suspends Urd's license for something as trivial as lying too many times. Why give her a 50 year suspension when that's just going to make her very vulnerable to the lure of all that power? 50 years is a big window of opportunity for disaster to strike.
3. Belldandy breaks her seal, a crime punishable by "termination" (presumably of her license) then directly challenges the Almighty, Urd accepts the Lord of Terror, and Skuld builds a device capable of destroying the universe. Yet, none of them get so much as a slap on the wrist! Well, Urd gets a mark in her permanent file, but she probably has quite a collection already, I would think. ;) Anyway, contrast the lack of punishment for these major offenses against a 50 yr suspended license for telling too many white lies. Why the contrast?
OK, let's assume for giggles that there is no conspiracy. We would have to assume the following:
1. The Almighty is wishy-washy, saying one thing and doing another. He is also a coward, waiting until the Lord of Terror is in a mortal vessel before he attacks.
2. The Almighty is stupid. Suspending Urd's license for 50 years was just plain dumb when you consider that the Lord of Terror could appear at any moment to seduce her.
3. There is no standard of punishment in Heaven. The rule of law does not apply. What constitutes a major offense changes from day to day, whim to whim. Even those who directly defy the Almighty have a good chance of getting off scott free.
I find all this somewhat hard to swallow. Maybe it's because I have a hard time thinking the ruler of Heaven could be such a spineless idiot.
OK, now let's assume that the Almighty had ulterior motives. Suppose for a moment that the Almighty wants the Lord of Terror and Ultimate Destruction Program destroyed, but doesn't want to do it himself, for whatever reason. He suspects his attempted sealing of Urd's birthright will fail, so he needs to find someone else to do defeat the Lord of Terror, someone he can reliably manipulate. This someone must also be a "goddess of purity", since only such a goddess can destroy the urn and bring the Lord of Terror out into the open.
1. He tells Urd's sister, the pure-of-heart Belldandy who would never suspect him of subterfuge, that Urd is half demon, and that he will not hesitate to kill Urd if that demonic nature should ever surface. He has loaded the weapon.
2. Whether or not he suspects Mara of trying to activate the urn, he suspends Urd's license for 50 years, an action he knows will leave her distraught and vulnerable. He has baited the trap.
3. Urd accepts her birthright, and Belldandy is suddenly confronted with the very real prospect of losing her sister. As an unintended bonus, Keiichi is kidnapped. Fearing she is about to lose two members of her family, Belldandy in desparation breaks her seal. The weapon is now cocked and ready to fire. According to plan, the unsealed Belldandy destroys the urn, Fenrir and Midgard, but the Lord of Terror/Ultimate Destruction Program infects Keiichi next, and Belldandy refuses to harm K1. In fact, she appears perfectly willing to let things stay as they are indefinitely. The Almighty has to get Belldandy back into action so he attacks Keiichi, making it clear to Belldandy that Keiichi will not be safe until the Lord of Terror/Ultimate Destruction Program is destroyed once and for all. Belldandy goes into action again and the threat is finally eliminated.
4. Now, lots or rules have been broken, but only because the Almighty has been manipulating events through Belldandy. In fact, there has been no revolt against him, no threat to his sovereignty. So, he grants a general amnesty, though with token punishments as a smoke screen.
As I said, I hate conspiracy theories, but the Almighty's actions during Terrible Master Urd fit a conspiracy model much better than they do simple incompetence. As a final note, I need to credit the guy responsible for winning me over to the conspiray idea, Mr. Henry J. Cobb, probably the best OMG SPAMfic writer out there. I'm not sure if he was serious at the time or not, but he certainly had a neat idea. :)
So, what do you think?
If you haven't read Terrible Master Urd and don't want to be spoiled, please STOP READING NOW!
The events in Terrible Master Urd got me to wondering about the motivations behind the Almighty's actions during this story arc. Now, I'm a big believer in "Do not attribute to conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." I hate conspiracy theories in general. However, some things just defy explanation by stupidity or anything else. The Almighty's actions during Terrible Master Urd are a prime example of this.
Consider the following events in Terrible Master Urd:
1. The Almighty tells Belldandy he won't hesitate to strike down Urd if she ever claims her birthright. Yet he never so much as lifts a finger against Urd during the entire story arc. When he does attack, he attacks Keiichi! Why attack poor Keiichi? If he could spare the time to attack at all, why not target Urd, Fenrir or Midgard? Did he not have the power to strike them down? Not likely, this is the Almighty we're talking about. Similarly, Fenrir and Midgard posed no more threat to Yggdrasil than did Keiichi, since they couldn't teleport and had no magical attacks. In fact, the whole "protect Yggdrasil" thing seems to have been bogus from the beginning.
2. The Almighty tried to seal Urd's demon side away but failed. The Dark Horse translation makes it sound like he tried to seal the Lord of Terror himself, but in the original Japanese it's Urd's birthright he's sealing. He definitely knows that she is the rightful heir to the Lord of Terror, and that she will likely become vulnerable to its influence at some point in the future. Otherwise, why try to seal it away? Yet, the Almighty suspends Urd's license for something as trivial as lying too many times. Why give her a 50 year suspension when that's just going to make her very vulnerable to the lure of all that power? 50 years is a big window of opportunity for disaster to strike.
3. Belldandy breaks her seal, a crime punishable by "termination" (presumably of her license) then directly challenges the Almighty, Urd accepts the Lord of Terror, and Skuld builds a device capable of destroying the universe. Yet, none of them get so much as a slap on the wrist! Well, Urd gets a mark in her permanent file, but she probably has quite a collection already, I would think. ;) Anyway, contrast the lack of punishment for these major offenses against a 50 yr suspended license for telling too many white lies. Why the contrast?
OK, let's assume for giggles that there is no conspiracy. We would have to assume the following:
1. The Almighty is wishy-washy, saying one thing and doing another. He is also a coward, waiting until the Lord of Terror is in a mortal vessel before he attacks.
2. The Almighty is stupid. Suspending Urd's license for 50 years was just plain dumb when you consider that the Lord of Terror could appear at any moment to seduce her.
3. There is no standard of punishment in Heaven. The rule of law does not apply. What constitutes a major offense changes from day to day, whim to whim. Even those who directly defy the Almighty have a good chance of getting off scott free.
I find all this somewhat hard to swallow. Maybe it's because I have a hard time thinking the ruler of Heaven could be such a spineless idiot.
OK, now let's assume that the Almighty had ulterior motives. Suppose for a moment that the Almighty wants the Lord of Terror and Ultimate Destruction Program destroyed, but doesn't want to do it himself, for whatever reason. He suspects his attempted sealing of Urd's birthright will fail, so he needs to find someone else to do defeat the Lord of Terror, someone he can reliably manipulate. This someone must also be a "goddess of purity", since only such a goddess can destroy the urn and bring the Lord of Terror out into the open.
1. He tells Urd's sister, the pure-of-heart Belldandy who would never suspect him of subterfuge, that Urd is half demon, and that he will not hesitate to kill Urd if that demonic nature should ever surface. He has loaded the weapon.
2. Whether or not he suspects Mara of trying to activate the urn, he suspends Urd's license for 50 years, an action he knows will leave her distraught and vulnerable. He has baited the trap.
3. Urd accepts her birthright, and Belldandy is suddenly confronted with the very real prospect of losing her sister. As an unintended bonus, Keiichi is kidnapped. Fearing she is about to lose two members of her family, Belldandy in desparation breaks her seal. The weapon is now cocked and ready to fire. According to plan, the unsealed Belldandy destroys the urn, Fenrir and Midgard, but the Lord of Terror/Ultimate Destruction Program infects Keiichi next, and Belldandy refuses to harm K1. In fact, she appears perfectly willing to let things stay as they are indefinitely. The Almighty has to get Belldandy back into action so he attacks Keiichi, making it clear to Belldandy that Keiichi will not be safe until the Lord of Terror/Ultimate Destruction Program is destroyed once and for all. Belldandy goes into action again and the threat is finally eliminated.
4. Now, lots or rules have been broken, but only because the Almighty has been manipulating events through Belldandy. In fact, there has been no revolt against him, no threat to his sovereignty. So, he grants a general amnesty, though with token punishments as a smoke screen.
As I said, I hate conspiracy theories, but the Almighty's actions during Terrible Master Urd fit a conspiracy model much better than they do simple incompetence. As a final note, I need to credit the guy responsible for winning me over to the conspiray idea, Mr. Henry J. Cobb, probably the best OMG SPAMfic writer out there. I'm not sure if he was serious at the time or not, but he certainly had a neat idea. :)
So, what do you think?