Julie wrote:Everyone keeps referencing M as being in control/keeper of the Chimera/GGG. Firstly, I'd imagine they aren't the Chimera anymore (since they were broken into their individual parts prior to meeting M). They're just Golems. Secondly, didn't Monica kind of relinquish control of them ages ago? I may have asked this before (goodness knows I have trouble remembering how to sign ym name some days, so remembering this is tricky stuff), but I had been under the assumption that M gave them their free will back ages ago...which took away her "control" over them. I mean, I guess free will can exist for a being that is controlled (or at least capable of being controlled), but that seems a little counter-intuitive to me.
From my perspective, it seems like it would be more accurate to say that she is a Glyph Reader (which was an aspect of her control over the GGG back in the day) and that she is close friends with several Golems, who might be inclined to destroy continents if harm came to her (though now that she's got the phoenix blood in her system, the only harm they probably need to worry about is emotional harm...and the GGG probably wouldn't be so massively destructive since M would still live and need a
place to live...they'd likely focus that strength to destroy the source of pain instead).
Everyone feel free to go back to the archives to show me just how wrong I am.
I think it's mainly been Shelly pointing out she has control of the golems, which I take to mean Monica can override their wills through her paranormal power of Glyph Reading (as opposed to just normal-normally reading the language).
She has only used this power once. That was sufficient for her to learn it is not a casual thing to do.
It has always lurked as a possible threat, though. Always found
this page to be one of the more frightening of
Wapsi Square.* Acacia has been yanked off to some desert, and is being told what to do to keep her "host" happy. Bud can blow out the solar system like a candle, but she nervously mutters an agreement to play along. And the scene continues on, and M chills out, and the lesson to not treat weapons as toys is made... But on that one page, does Bud really have a choice? Would she have been allowed to leave?
Would Monica have let Bud change her mind and say No?
The fact that that question can be asked is why evil is a human power.
Free will unlocked by sacrifice has been the story of the Chimera. No time right now to look up the links, but I'm pretty certain these concepts were all voiced onstage:
+ The Lanthian priests lost control of the Chimera due to Jin's sacrifice.
+ After separation, Tepoz takes the time to rebuild their personalities, giving them the independence necessary to exercise free will
+ Monica's bus accident counted as a sacrifice, allowing the GGs free choice; they chose to serve Monica
+ Monica decided to give the GGs their free will, and then Jin emphasizes that only raw emotions were a part of their golemization, not free will
Conversely, innocence butchered leads to loss of free will, i.e. the Nu Gui overriding Brandi and imprisoning the Etheitians; and now The Tar.
Yet the question of free will in a golem is kind of an old one: The legendary rabbinical "monster" was only able to be created because man is made in God's image, so therefore man can make a creature in man's image. The rabbi losing control of the golem is therefore congruent to Yahweh losing control of Eve.
*Of course, I think the funniest line in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is, "Mind your own business."
