## Unsong chapter 55: None Can Visit His Regions

* Author: u/BoppreH *
* URL: http://unsongbook.com/chapter-55-none-can-visit-his-regions/
* Score: 50

* Created: 2017-01-15T22:30:05

### Post:

[Link to content](http://unsongbook.com/chapter-55-none-can-visit-his-regions/)

### Comments:

> **u/UltraRedSpectrum** [+32]  (an hour later)
> 
> After this, the Comet King is defeated by the Other King and his necromantic legions. Following this, his children die cursing his name.
> 
> So, his wife dead and his plan failed, the Comet King resolves to get into Hell one way or another. Unfortunately, it's impossible - like Acker before him, he's too wise and great to be sent to Hell. Even if he were to commit suicide, he would only ascend into Heaven, the selflessness of his sacrifice making it ironically invalid.
> 
> Taking inspiration from Acker, he creates the persona of the Other King, planning to commit enough sin to outweigh the good he's done so that he might die and go to Hell, where he can speak HaMephorash and destroy it once and for all. He "kills" himself and lays siege to Royal Colorado, committing atrocities along the way so that he might undo the ultimate evil in the afterlife.

>> **u/ZeroNihilist** [+2]  (a day later)
>> 
>> I was going to say that I wasn't sure the timeline matched up for that, but then I reread [chapter 30](http://unsongbook.com/chapter-30-over-the-dark-deserts/):
>> 
>> > In the mid ’90s, Las Vegas was on edge with rumors of some kind of necromantic cult. The Comet King had come to the city, smoked out the cultists, and personally executed the leader. There it should have ended.
>> 
>> > As the century drew to a close, the rumors started up again. Killing the leader had only made him stronger. Now he was regrouping. Those who died in the fight against him became soldiers in his armies. He wore a deep scarlet robe with a hood covering his head. No one had ever seen his face.
>> 
>> > The Comet King had other problems now. His great crusade had failed. His wife was dead. He kept to his room, leaving the day-to-day work of governance to his Cometspawn. They were less confident than he was. They stayed out of Las Vegas, delegated the problem to subordinates, hoped it would take care of itself.
>> 
>> And then there's this:
>> 
>> > The necromancer declared himself a king and took up residence beneath the great black pyramid of Luxor.
>> 
>> The Luxor is named after the Egyptian city of the same name, which sits where Thebes used to. According to Wikipedia, Luxor comes from the Arabic *al-ʾuqṣur* (الأقصر), lit. "the palaces".
>> 
>> In English, "Lux" is the SI unit of illumination. "-or", as a suffix, is used to construct agent nouns (e.g. "realtor", "debtor", "juror"). So "Luxor" would be "one who enlightens".
>> 
>> This being Unsong, this may have been planned.
>> 
>> Also, it fits better than my theory that the Other King and the Comet King did a switch, though it leaves me wondering who the captain of the *Not a Metaphor* is (unless the Comet King fragmented himself somehow, which I don't really find appealing as a twist).

>>> **u/MugaSofer** [+3]  (a day later)
>>> 
>>> Captain Nemo could be Acher, like a few people predicted.
>>> 
>>> That would require the *original* Other King/cult leader to be someone else, but there's no real indication he was anything special.

> **u/scruiser** [+17]  *CYOA* (an hour later)
> 
> ...Did they Comet King not realize that whatever "God" is, it does not align with human morality?  I mean, just the of all the suffering in the World alone kind of indicates that "God" isn't really aligned with human values, the fact that Hell literally exists is just making it more obvious.  Uriel realized this.  What doesn't Ana or Aaron or Sohu or the Comet King get this simple fact?  If they really want to fix things, they need to be aiming for the level of power to alter a facet of "God".  Is that the lesson of this story?  Theodicy is a bad idea?

>> **u/monkyyy0** [+7]  (10 hours later)
>> 
>> >. Is that the lesson of this story? Theodicy is a bad idea?
>> 
>> I think its that our souls are amid the markets din, busy being oracular that there isn't a "god" not in a sense one who should be worshiped anyway, and comprising with the sin of any of "gods" facets leave us enslaved into generational projects doomed to fail from bad methodical failings.

> **u/LeifCarrotson** [+11]  (an hour later)
> 
> Last chapter: 
> 
> > “I don’t know,” said Robin. “I’m scared enough for both of us. I’m scared you won’t come back. Or I’m scared you’ll give up and come back too soon, with Hell still intact.”
> 
> > “About that you need not fear,” said the Comet King.
> 
> Good luck my friend.

> **u/None** [+7]  (3 hours later)
> 
> [deleted]

>> **u/Arancaytar** [+1]  (8 hours later)
>> 
>> She's dead though, isn't she?

>>> **u/monkyyy0** [+1]  (10 hours later)
>>> 
>>> maybe she is the other king?
>>> 
>>> The cometspawn used "rare" names before, why not have the marriage name, and hell will only be defeated through the holy giving the unholy the light to improve their situation themselves

> **u/UPBOAT_FORTRESS_2** [+8]  (3 hours later)
> 
> >THE THEORETICAL KABBALAH CORRESPONDS TO THE WORLD OF ATZILUTH. IT IS THE ANALYSIS OF THE FORM OF ADAM KADMON. THIS FORM IS UNTOUCHABLE AND THE SLIGHTEST CHANGE TO IT WOULD PROBABLY DESTROY THE WORLD.
> 
> (Uriel, 44)
> 
> An analogue to Hell certainly exists in Adam Kadamon. That the Comet King couldn't destroy Hell without also destroying the world isn't a coincidence.
> 
> Also, we know that the apocalypse is coming in the 2017 storyline.

> **u/BoppreH** [+6]  (18 minutes later)
> 
> ^Not ^sure ^about ^tags. ^The ^last ^post ^had ^none, ^so ^I ^kept ^the ^pattern.
> 
> I wonder how many years of world-lifespan tck burned with this.
> 
> And this battle preparations gave me a distinct Fine Structure vibe. Loving it so far.

> **u/dalitt** [+6]  (an hour later)
> 
> I suppose the Comet King realized, after this, that he had to die and go to hell before saying the Explicit Name?

>> **u/LeifCarrotson** [+8]  (an hour later)
>> 
>> I don't think that *dying* and thereby giving Thaimel power over him (to prevent him, for example, from speaking.  Or to extract the Explicit Name from his mind.) is a good idea.

>>> **u/dalitt** [+4]  (3 hours later)
>>> 
>>> Agreed, but at least it gets him there.  I can think of a few other options -- for example, various misfortunes could befall him (death of his wife, defeat by the Other King, his children dying and cursing his name) that would cause him to enter a "personal hell."  Maybe a bit farfetched.

>>>> **u/LeifCarrotson** [+4]  (4 hours later)
>>>> 
>>>> As UltraRed points out, the Comet King is heaven-bound.

>>>>> **u/dalitt** [+1]  (a day later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> I think UltraRed's suggestion is exactly the same as mine...

> **u/monkyyy0** [+4]  (10 hours later)
> 
> >It went like this:
> 
> >A tav.
> 
> >A resh.
> 
> >A fearsome joy.
> 
> >A fervent wish.
> 
> Now if only I knew what these words, wikipedia tells me the first is craved onto a golems head, and the second means head; so I'm assuming this refers to mankinds creation as the fearsome joy and fervent wish seem to be very much what everyone was doing at the moment it was spoken.
> 
> But wheres the broken hallelujah?.... unless .... ... he did say hi to uriel did he not? maybe the greeting isn't broken the god being greeted is?

>> **u/UPBOAT_FORTRESS_2** [+4]  (16 hours later)
>> 
>> [FWIW, in this universe, those are the words to the song](http://unsongbook.com/book-i-genesis/)

>>> **u/MugaSofer** [+1]  (a day later)
>>> 
>>> Did Leonard Cohen actually release a song detailing the True Name of God in the Unsongverse?

>>>> **u/bassicallyboss** [+1]  (a day later)
>>>> 
>>>> No.  That verse is the only one we've seen that contains any details about the name.  It seems to be a song about the events of this chapter; you can see the other two verses by clicking the colons in the book headings in the table of contents.

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