8.1 KiB
[WIP] [HF] Recommendation / is it rational ? Killsixbilliondemons
-
Author: u/Real_Name_Here *
-
URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/9d7fvq/wip_hf_recommendation_is_it_rational/
-
Score: 27
-
Created: 2018-09-05T15:10:40
Post:
First here is the link https://killsixbilliondemons.com/comic/kill-six-billion-demons-chapter-1/
The reason I post it here is because it has a very consistent and fun cosmology.
I pose it as a tentative question because no one is super smart as seen in most rational fiction. It fits two of the sidebar criteria.
They are :
Examination of goals and motives: the story makes reasons behind characters' decisions clear.
Thoughtful worldbuilding: the fictional world follows known, consistent rules, as a consequence of rational background characters exploring it or building realistic social structures.
I would enjoy knowing your thoughts on the comic.
I tagged it as work in progress, however it is not mine. Not sure if you are supposed to use that tag on a recommendation.
Comments:
u/Ka_min_sod [+17] (5 hours later)
The universe (multiverse?) of KSBD demands a different sort of rationality, where ignorance becomes a strength all of its own, and attempts to game the system are both well loved and horribly punished at the same time, like poor stupid Aesma.
That being said, rationality is useful for anyone not striving for royalty, but so extremely dangerous it pays better dividends to be irrational. Jadis of the demiurges is powerful, immortal and omnipotent, but her enlightenment caused her body to begin breaking down and now she wishes only for death. Jagganoth and Metatron both wish for the end of all things, after learning some of the truth of creation.
For those who become truly enlightened, death, disgrace and poverty await. Meti was the strongest swords women alive, and she lived in a barrel and begged for food. Zoss abandoned throne and got his head cut off (just like he planned). The gods committed suicide to the last.
In the world of YISUN, the daughter of a noodle vendor is best off remaining as a noodle vendor. Lying to oneself is the most rational choice, but only if it’s not on purpose.
u/mojojo46 [+5] (7 hours later)
How do you know this is correct? It's interesting, but couldn't you also take a view that Yisun chooses fragmentation and ignorance as a route to virtue or further learning, rather than a wish for death?
u/Ka_min_sod [+9] (7 hours later)
Ok, this went longer than I thought it would, But I agree entirely with you.
IIRC, death, ignorance and fragmentation is the purpose of the multiverse and all within it, not the virtues derived from such elements. YISUN finds his rationally perfect existence pointless and so commits divine suicide. Now, YISUN is everything, so after this he both exists as an individual, as a divine providence within reality and as all the fragments of himself, which make time and space, as well as YIS and UN.
Both gods are incompatible truths: one is all that is, one is all that is not. Since they are incompatible they fight, but since they’ve already understand half of the divine truth of YISUN, the hate becomes love when they understand the other (and what YISUN wanted of them), then they inherit the will of YISUN and have the 777, 777 children. Death and division, and an advancement of YISUN’s cause.
These gods then create angels, servants and humans. Humans, the least perfect and most irrational, are fascinating to the gods. The 777, 777 are enlightened and go through the same divine suicide, creating the wheel around throne, scattering humanity and the servants out of throne. Note that everything done is to drive the successive generations further from divinity, enlightenment and grace, which is the exact opposite of what comes to mind when I think of a rational way to improve myself.
Eventually we reach poor Al-YIS-UN, someone who hates themselves, understands nothing of the universe and their own place within it. She is the one chosen by both providence, which exists in the KSBD universe, as well as the one whom we can call closest to god, Zoss, to inherit all of creation and end the madness of the enlightened and rational demiurges
Outside of what we see in the comic, we see the same conflict of a pointless reality in the blurbs and parables we see in abbadons fluff. YISUN’s disciples all struggle to accept the singular nature of the universe, that it is a lie, and that there is only YISUN, lying to himself and everything that thinks it exists. The secret name of god is I, in the wheel and outside of it.
Personally, I make the argument that YISUN, after achieving a rational perfection, has started an attempt to lie convincingly to himself and obtain a greater perfection through the imperfect universe and successor, in some weird fashion.
Because of this, irrationality is rewarded in universe, and rationality punished, since god doesn’t want anything to do with it.
u/None [+3] (21 hours later)
The secret name of god is I, in the wheel and outside of it.
We Elder Scrolls now?
u/HeroOfOldIron [+3] (23 hours later)
I'm honestly convinced that's where the author got at least some of the background lore.
All of the info with Yisun, Yis, and Un reads way too much like Anu, Anuiel, and Sithis. Hell, even the stuff right after with the Multiplicity is kind of like the first few generations of Aedra and Daedra. There's no direct parallel to the King/Mage/Rebel dynamic but you could definitely make the argument that something like it is in the works with the bestowing of the Key to Allison.
u/once-and-again [+1] (2 days later)
I'm honestly convinced that's where the author got at least some of the background lore.
That's not even obscured. "Reach heaven by violence" is straight out of the Thirty-Six Lessons.
I'm not actually familiar with much of the TES lore; but I'd always thought YISUN was supposed to be a direct parallel to Vivec, being as he was a magical hermaphrodite, a ruling king, and a liar without peer.
u/AmeteurOpinions [+13] Finally, everyone was working together. (8 hours later)
Not rational, still a must-read.
u/KilotonDefenestrator [+2] (16 hours later)
Totally worth it just for the worldbuilding. But it also has great sory and and art so it becomes borderline mandatory to read.
u/None [+6] (8 hours later)
I would say no. Arrogance and ignorance are major sources of strength in this universe. I would go so far as to call it anti-rational rather than irrational. There is no objective truth except violence, and people who seek to find it are puffed up and must be destroyed by powerful buffoons.
And I love it.
u/Kaiern9 [+5] (a day later)
Why have i never heard of this before? You guys are praising it like crazy.
Edit: Oh, it's a comic.
u/LapisLightning [+3] (8 hours later)
Not rational, but excellent, with super great worldbuilding and art. (and gay)
u/Serpentsrage [+1] (7 hours later)
What exactly is a rational novel?
u/AurelianoTampa [+6] (8 hours later)
Per the sidebar
Highly-rational fiction could include one or more of the following features:
Focus on intelligent characters solving problems through creative applications of their knowledge and resources.
Examination of goals and motives: the story makes reasons behind characters' decisions clear.
Intellectual pay-off: the story's climax features a satisfying intelligent solution to its problems.
Aspiring rationalism: the story heavily focuses on characters' thinking, or their attempts to improve their reasoning abilities. This is a feature of rationalist fiction, a subcategory of rational fiction.
Thoughtful worldbuilding: the fictional world follows known, consistent rules, as a consequence of rational background characters exploring it or building realistic social structures.