T3h L00m1ng C0nfl1ct
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:14 pm
Hello, good people! It’s been a while…
This is… another attempt at something, I guess…
Actually, this one is a REALLY ambitious attempt.
It would appear that in the main MT story, various forces are in play, and things may be leading up to some sort of major conflict. In this thread is an attempt at a detailed discussion of a number of things which would appear to be important.
The MT story moves ever forward, and we’ve seen a lot of plot up to this point. There are also some themes that have been being developed in the light novels which have not yet featured that significantly in the main MT story.
As was stated, this is an ambitious attempt. This discussion takes a shot at actually explaining the details related to some major and longstanding aspects of the story. So (even if only a fraction of this discussion happens to be correct) it presumably should be mentioned that there are a number of places in this discussion where things are being DIRECTLY STATED.
There is a LOT of text in this thread… but I think that overall it will be worth taking the time to read.
This discussion covers a number of various topics. The earliest essays are rather mundane, but they provide the background for a more substantial part of the discussion later on. There are some things being discussed here that would seem to be of some importance but which have not featured very significantly in the story so far (and how these things may come into play in the future is unknown). There are some places in the text which basically consist of the statement of the obvious, but this is necessary for the sake of creating a cohesive discussion.
And so… This text is respectfully submitted:
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CIVILIZATION
[1379]: "Doesn't a small beach make the ocean seem more awesome?"
Since MT is set in the "concrete jungle" of Tokyo, we don't usually see nature figure that prominently in the main MT story, though nature does show up with some significance in a couple of the omakes. In the Endgames light novels, though, there are plenty of instances where we see nature figure in a prominent manner.
The earth is very large. The land and oceans are vast. Though such instances are rare, there are times when significant natural events occur - large tornadoes, hurricanes, major blizzards, and so forth – and at those times we are hit with all of the great power and fury of nature and we are reminded just how small and powerless we are.
There was a time very long ago when there were much less people then there are today, and those people lived simpler lives, and their lives were lived rather close to nature.
That situation eventually changed, however. The human population increased. Towns and cities formed. Buildings were built. Forests were cleared away to create fields that were used for farming. In places, grass and dirt were covered over with hard surfaces, in order to make it easier for vehicles and pedestrians to travel. As time went on and on, some cities grew into very large urban areas. What was once forest or farmland was built up with buildings or paved over. Today we have gigantic expanses of mostly paved-over urban areas. As part of the process of creating these major urban areas, nature has in effect been tamed by humans, and then nature has been mostly pushed aside.
If people live very close to nature, presumably they have to worry about having to be attacked by wild animals. Early on, human beings started from primitive conditions, but over time things changed. We human beings used our intellect and we discovered things about the world, and better ways of doing things. One example of these “better ways of doing things” is agriculture, which was a more efficient method of obtaining food. Eventually life for human beings became more stable (than it had been). After that had occurred, we no longer had to spend such a great amount of our time and energy on the activities that were required to merely be able to survive. We started to have time to spend on thinking about higher things.
As the centuries passed, we continued to learn more about the world. We studied things and started to understand how they worked. We continued to learn more and more about the world that we live in - the laws of physics, biological processes, and the other mechanisms that govern how things function in our world. And we started to make things based upon this knowledge. Technology increased and kept increasing, building upon itself. We discovered much more efficient ways of doing things. And we discovered ways to do things that had been impossible for us to do before. The various technological advances that occurred over time (including, for instance, motorized transportation, electricity, mass production, powered flight, and computer technology) changed our lives in significant ways. Now, thanks to all of the centuries of technological advances, we can do lots of significant things in an impressively efficient and effective way. We have amazing capabilities. We have looked at things at the subatomic level, and we have seen unfathomable distances out into interstellar space. Our technology and knowledge has given us incredible power. And along the way we have used this power to transform and shape the world according to our will.
A human being living in the most primitive conditions is arguably not very different than an animal in a number of ways. As compared to those primitive times, through the application of intellect we human beings have greatly improved our situation. A primitive man living in a nearly "natural" state was subject to the limitations of what was "naturally" available. Since then, we have greatly stretched or completely broken away from those limitations. As compared to primitive man, we know a lot more about the world (e.g. the laws of physics) and we know that there is much more to the world.
Our opportunity to focus on higher things has also led to the development of new ideas. And, over time these various new ideas have also changed our lives in significant ways. I will just mention one aspect of the changes that have been brought about by these new ideas – the effect of these ideas in the realm of government. Over time, there was a switch from governments that consisted of rule by absolute despots to governments which involved arrangements where power was shared more equally between all people and the basic rights and dignity of each person were recognized. It would seem that over time there has been a general increase in empathy (and tolerance) which people show toward each other, as well.
The process of a gradual increase in knowledge and a gradual advancement of technology has been going on for a very long time, and the process continues unabated even today.
More on these things later.
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FANTASY
We see the people in MT engaging in a variety of types of "fantasy" activities... reading manga, watching anime, playing MMORPGs and other types of video games, and so forth.
All of us need some leisure time; Some time to relax. A person cannot work ALL of the time.
A significant amount of the leisure activities that exist involve fantasy somehow... Going to see movies... LARPing... Playing MMORPGs or other types of computer games... and so forth.
Of course we have to do a lot of things merely to survive. We have to provide for ourselves, and then also do the various activities that are necessary to maintain things and to keep our lives in decent order.
Pretty well any human activity can end up being done to excess, and that is most definitely true regarding fantasy activities, which can have a powerful allure. First of all, fantasy is fun, and it is often a lot more fun than doing work or doing chores. Fantasy worlds are a lot more exciting than plain old ordinary reality. There is a definite temptation for a person to spend as much time having fun as possible.
There are many fantasy worlds (on-line virtual worlds, for instance) which are extremely fun and stimulating. But the problem is, we cannot just leave and go to live in a fantasy world. We live in reality and we can't actually leave it. We have real physical needs. We have to do things to counteract entropy. If a person spends an excessive amount of time in a fantasy world, they are essentially trying to live their life split between two different worlds, which is difficult to do and takes a toll on a person. Too much time spent in a virtual world means that things that needed to be done in the real world are left un-done, time and energy that could have been expended working toward important goals is expended on the fantasy world instead, and the activities in the real world that ARE done may end up suffering somewhat in their quality.
Let us say that one way in which we can define the term "fantasy" is that fantasy is anything that is not reality or that is different from reality.
If so, then a person who is trying to live a life that is dominated too much by fantasy is essentially trying to live their life out of sync with reality. And the more out of sync with reality that a person tries to live, the more likely that things are not going to go well for them.
There are some situations where fantasy is used (improperly) as an escape. In such a situation, a person chooses to try to escape into a fantasy world and distract themselves rather than to face certain painful or difficult aspects of their external reality (or to face something inside themselves that needs to be dealt with). In some situations of this type, the "fantasy world" that the person chooses to try to escape into is the altered state of consciousness that is provided by drugs or alcohol. Presumably such an attempt at escape is sometimes involved in situations where a significant addiction to something ends up developing. Whatever the method of escape, it is likely that the fundamental reason that the person is trying to escape boils down to fear. A fear that they choose to avoid facing.
There are plenty of cases where things roughly like this can happen. Real life can be difficult and scary. People who are scared to face real life could retreat into fantasy instead, since fantasy things are usually safe and relatively easy.
There are plenty of examples in the story of situations where people choose to retreat into fantasy in various ways. What seems to be implied in the comic is that anyone who puts too much emphasis in their life on fantasy is doing that because they have chosen to give into fear.
It is not good for a person to give into fear in a significant way.
Perhaps a person is afraid of making the difficult, or time-consuming, or emotionally risky effort that they would be required to make in order to cause something to happen in their life? They can choose to retreat, and to not try to do that thing. Maybe a person is afraid of the fear and pain that is always associated with various types of conflict. (e.g. [606], maybe?) They can choose to never stand up for themselves but to always give in instead. Maybe a person doesn't like being ostracized by others because they have a different opinion? Then they can always choose instead just to keep their mouth shut. All of this may sound a bit excessive, but I am sure that there are plenty of instances where people do actually behave this way, at least to some extent. People who choose to retreat in the fashion that has just been described are certainly not going to end up actually getting what it is that they want out of life, and so they are going to have to resort to the far inferior option of getting what they want only by the way of a fantasy…
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This is done with some trepidation... but... there will now be some speculation about how the “laws of physics” operate in the main MT world.
[1243]: "We don't hide it from her, we CAN'T show her! It's not something she can see!!"
What people can see seems to be extremely important here. Certainly not everybody can see everything, apparently.
In the MT story, we have already seen hints that there are other, "parallel" dimensions that exist (e.g.
[280],[983])…
If it is the case that “parallel” dimensions exist in the MT world, then it would make just as much sense if it was also the case that there were the existence of “higher” dimensions. That is, it would be the case that "normal" reality would actually be an "n"-dimensional space, with "n" being a number that is greater than four.
Whether it is the case that we are dealing with “parallel” dimensions or “higher” dimensions or some other phenomena, the following can be speculated:
Let us call our normal frame of reference, the “ordinary” world that we are used to, “reality”.
Let us assume that there is another area that somehow occupies the same physical space as our “reality”. However, in most situations this area cannot be perceived at all from the frame of reference of “reality”. In this other area, things are very different. The physical laws are significantly different. So, it is possible for things to occur in this area that are impossible in “reality”. Let us call this other area “fantasy”.
So, this “fantasy” area would essentially be like a whole other world. Perhaps there could be strange beings who lived there.
The term "fantasy" can be defined in a multitude of ways. For instance, it could be defined as "things that are NEVER observed in reality", or "things that are impossible in reality", or even "things that exist only in the imagination".
"Fantasy" and "imaginary" are similar terms. They have slightly different meanings, but there are plenty of instances where they overlap and can both properly be applied to the same thing.
Regarding another aspect of this subject…
We generally perceive the world by means of our five senses. However, if it should be the case that there are more things going on in the world then our five senses are able to tell us about (such as things that go on in the “fantasy” area of space, for instance)… then it is possible that we might have other "senses" besides the five primary senses, “senses” that could detect things that the five primary senses could not detect. Perhaps these other senses would work in ways that were significantly different. The most likely example of such an additional “sense” that I can think of is "intuition". Also, it would be possible that for some people, these “other” or “additional” senses would work very effectively, but for other people these senses would have such a low level of effectiveness that they would essentially be nonexistent.
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There is another aspect of this subject that barely shows up in the main story but which has been showing up a bit in the light novels.
It could be said that most of us actually spend a lot of time in a completely different world every day...
...while we are sleeping.
While we are dreaming, in our dreams we are doing things, or things are otherwise happening. But once we wake up, we know that the things that happened in our dreams were not real. They did not actually happen. At least they did not happen from the perspective of the waking world.
Since we don’t consider the things that happened in our dreams to be real, those things are usually of very little concern to us. And it is often the case that we do not even remember our dreams (at least, I very seldom remember mine), and so, whatever it was that may have happened in our dreams, we don’t even really know that it happened!
Taking everything into account (including the light novels), there seems to be an idea that while we are dreaming, the way in which we perceive things may be somehow different then our “normal” way of perceiving things. If there are things happening (or beings existing) in our world that we are not normally able to perceive, perhaps it may become possible for us to perceive them while we are dreaming. Perhaps while we are dreaming our consciousness somehow expands out into other areas (of multi-dimensional space), or even goes to another place entirely.
Ever notice how, in a dream, if something attacks you, you usually wake up instantly?
Could this be due to some sort of survival instinct, perhaps?
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PERSISTING
And now, for something that has hardly shown up in the main story at all, but would seem to have some significant importance...
[1428]: "You do not look like a ghost. You are too pathetic to be a ghost." "Too pathetic?"
"Even a weak and insubstantial shade would radiate some dread or terror. You radiate no threat at all."
Ghosts!
Based on some information in the light novels, it would appear that, in the MT context, a ghost is a mortal who found themselves arriving at their appointed time of death, but, at that time, instead of dying, they rebelled, chose not to die, and somehow managed to avoid dying. Because they chose to do that, however, they were cursed by the divine will, for eternity.
Now, let me try and extrapolate from that (going out onto less stable ground) and try to make a more detailed statement, as follows:
Through their strong will or some other ability, the person in question managed to somehow avoid their death and to remain in the realm of the living, instead of choosing to leave the realm of the living (as they were supposed to do) and to go on to where they were supposed to go. Maybe they had a very strong desire to hang on to life. Maybe they were just generally rebellious. (Or maybe it was the case that they were trying to avoid going where they were supposed to go...) They chose to evade death, but apparently they were unable to prevent the death of their physical bodies, and so they ended up as a disembodied spirit. They had been allowed free will, but, since they made the choice to rebel and to disobey the divine will and to violate the natural order, they were cursed by the divine will. They were cursed to be disembodied spirits for eternity. They have to exist somewhere, but I think that they have basically lost all control of WHERE it is specifically that they are at any given time. They may be somewhere in the realm of the living, or somewhere down in the depths of the underworld. Where they happen to be at any given time is predominately determined by factors external to themselves. (I theorize that when they are in the realm of the living, they exist primarily in areas of multi-dimensional space where they cannot usually be seen.) Regardless of where they happen to be, since their existence is a cursed one it cannot be a comfortable one.
Desperate to live, and suffering under their cursed existence, the ghosts become angry at the one who cursed them, envious of the living, and all around angry and resentful. And the ghosts are also DESPERATE to find some way to escape from their plight. So, (as may be implied by the quote up above) pretty well any ghost will present a potential threat to anyone who should encounter them - the ghost likely could try to possess them, or could try to drain their energy, or could try to do anything else that the ghost could do to further the ghost's desire to somehow become truly alive again. If a person should somehow end up in the same place as a ghost and that person for some reason happened to be in a state that made them vulnerable to a ghost, the ghost would be a legitimate threat to them.
Now... What significant character do we know of that tends to be rebellious in nature (e.g.
[606], [307], [920]) and apparently has always had an incredibly strong desire to live ([1454], [1484])?
But in the particular case of Miho, it appears that there was more than one bizarre situation that occurred. Miho experienced what was for someone in her situation an incredible stroke of luck. People heard of the compelling story about the things that had happened at the end of her life, and their desire for her story was somehow so powerful that it caused Miho to be yanked completely back into the realm of the living, and given a physical body again, even. Apparently she didn't have to exist as a disembodied ghost for very long.
Now, if the nature of ghosts is actually as was previously described, she would of course not be the only ghost that ever existed. Potentially, at least, it could always be the case that, lurking in the background behind currently living humanity, there would be a large number of ghosts...
Hey, wait a minute...
[1070]: "This store is full of characters that want to live. Why does she deserve life more than they do?"
Oh, my...!!!
Well, well... So what would be the ONE thing ([1034], [1035]) that would be most likely to invoke significant empathy from Miho?
I guess that, even as far back as comic [219], there's always been something a little suspicious about this "Kotone" thing, hasn't there?
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And now, an attempt to explain a likely important but rather complicated point regarding Miho and her life.
This discussion concerns the way that things apparently were for Miho for a long time, up at least until the events at the end of the previous chapter.
Let us consider an individual human being. That person will only exist in the mortal realm for a limited period of time.
Conversely, there are plenty of other things that can exist for far longer than the time span of a human lifetime. Certain physical objects such as rocks and land can persist for millennia. Things that are made up of multiple people - such as organizations, companies, governments, and nations - can persist for generations, if there is a continuing influx of new people to replace the people who depart or who pass on. Similarly, some intangible things, such as ideas and philosophies, can persist for numerous generations as long as there continue to be new people that embrace them.
Something else that would be classified as being one of the “intangible things” would be a story.
There are some stories that can persist for generation after generation, as well. A story can manage to survive for a very long time if it happens to significantly resonate with people. (The story "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is still going strong after 150 years, for example...)
Now, regarding (again) the case of a human being… a human being will be present (and exist) in the mortal realm for a finite period of time, and then they will die, and pass out of the mortal realm.
Looking at things just from the standpoint of the mortal realm, the following can be stated…
A person lives, and then they die. After the person has died, that person will continue to exist (in some fashion) in people’s memories. But the people who remember the person will all eventually die, as well. After all of the people who had firsthand memories of the person have died, then the person will still continue to exist somewhat (in a very limited fashion) by the means of any photographs or written records (or, more recently, archived video records) about that person that should still exist. Of course, it is the case that a significant majority of the people who have died have never been heard of by the “average” person. Those few people who have died that are widely remembered usually did something very significant (i.e., they invented something, helped start a new government, or so forth), or it may just be the case that they happen to have a good story associated with them.
Whether it is by the means of some sort of unexciting documented account or by the means of an exciting tale, a person who died a long time ago now exists (in as far as they continue to exist) only as some kind of story. And, since they are no longer alive, their story never changes. The past can never be changed.
Okay, now... Let us make a very important assumption.
Let us assume that the fundamental purpose of a person's life in the mortal realm is for that person to CHOOSE. (To choose between being good or evil, for instance.)
Let us therefore assume that a fundamental sign that someone is alive is CHOICE. And, furthermore, let us assume that CHOICE is a privilege of ONLY those who are currently alive in the mortal realm.
So, if a person dies, and then by some strange occurrence they somehow end up back in the mortal realm with a physical body, it is still the case that they died. When they died, they lost their ability to make choices. Since they no longer have the privilege of choice, then, if it is somehow the case that they are existing in the mortal realm in human form, then the only way that they are able to exist is if they are re-living their previous life over again. They have already made their choices, and, so, if they exist, they have to live their previous choices over again. Basically, if it was the case that they were allowed to do something new, then it would have to be the case that they had the ability to choose.
A ghost is a person who decided to attempt to keep living beyond their allotted span of time. And, that person (ghost) has a huge problem, because such a thing goes significantly against the natural order of the world.
Remember, though, that a character in a fantasy story can continue to live, for (human) generation after (human) generation, if it is the case that the character and story continue to be experienced by currently living people, generation after generation.
And of course (as was previously discussed above), within the natural order of things, an ordinary human being CAN persist in the mortal realm, in a minor, residual way - and the way that they persist is in the form of a story of some sort.
And, so, if ghost Miho is actually to persist in the mortal realm beyond her allotted span of time, the only way that her doing so can somehow fit in AT ALL within the natural order is if she exists as a character in a story.
Even though there is at least a way that she can sort of fit in, her existence is still a violation of the natural order. For Miho to continue to exist isn't easy, and she has complications to deal with that most people don't have. And, for that matter, she is also still cursed.
We previously knew that Miho has apparently been living some sort of cyclical existence for a very long period of time. She lives, dies, is brought back to life, lives again, dies again, and so on, in an ever-continuing cycle.
Apparently, at the most fundamental level, Miho must be living her real life over again. It would seem that Miho is actually able to live life substantially like a normal human. She can go places, see people, and participate fully in the world as it currently is (so, therefore, it is possible for her to play video games, for instance). Miho can actually make thousands of choices - but these are MINOR choices. Miho is not capable of making a MAJOR choice. When she reaches the point on the timeline of her life at which she originally made a MAJOR choice, she is forced to make the exact same choice that she originally made, and so at that time she must relive that choice again.
Miho, of course, probably attempts to rebel against this and to resist, inasmuch as she is able to do so (and, since she probably had a regular habit of doing gambits during the course of her original life, that fact helps), but of course it is not possible for Miho to actually resist her fate.
Now, has the fact that Piro “saved” Miho at the end of the previous chapter somehow caused some major change to the things that have just been discussed? I don’t know…
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DARKNESS
In the latest of the light novels (The Great Underground Empire) we see some shadowy creatures that are not able to stand the slightest light.
Let’s take that idea and apply it in a much greater fashion…
It would appear that human beings have some sort of primal fear of the dark.
Human beings are attuned to the regular cycle of day and night, and of course during some part of that cycle we have to sleep. In order for a person to be able to sleep, it is helpful for them to be in a darkened room.
In complete darkness, a person cannot see anything. Therefore, a person cannot be absolutely sure what is there around them. Even if you previously saw everything that was there… theoretically, at least, anything could be there (because theoretically someone else could have silently changed something). If you are in pitch darkness and you let your imagination run wild and you imagine that there are scary things hiding in the darkness, then you can really scare yourself (or allow yourself to be scared)…
Let us assume that there really are creatures that exist in the darkness. Let us also assume that these dark creatures exist in the “imaginary” or “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
If you are in complete darkness but you have a light with you and then you turn on the light, that light can have a very comforting effect. (Well, at least it feels that way to me…)
If there is some sort of light that is even dimly lighting up the room that you are in, then you can see for sure what is there and what is not there. Perhaps the light allows the rational mind to override the imagination, since if a person can see then they KNOW what is there and what is not there. Since the light allows the rational mind to dominate, perhaps it could be the case that the light really does protect us against dark creatures…
These “dark” creatures would be such that they could only exist in complete darkness, and so they would be driven away by the slightest light. Assuming that it is the case that these creatures exist in the “fantasy” (or “imaginary”) area of multi-dimensional space, then, in a place where there was complete darkness, perhaps these creatures would be able to attack a person by means of that person’s imagination…
Let us assume that these creatures of darkness would somehow have their power increase (to some extent) during the part of the day/night cycle that is dominated by darkness, and would have their power decrease during the part of the cycle that is dominated by the light.
Again, the time of day that is dominated by darkness is usually the time when we sleep, and when we dream. And dreams are not real – so, basically, they are fantasies. And, as was previously theorized, perhaps when we dream we are capable of sensing things that we are not able to sense while we are awake – and perhaps this would include sensing things in the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
So, based on this, we could say that darkness is associated with fantasy and light is associated with reality.
Let us assume that in the middle of the night when a person’s energy is low, a person’s defense against certain forms of attack (emotional? imaginary? spiritual?) is decreased. At such times a person can experience such things as nightmares, a racing mind, worries, muddled thinking, and so forth. And also at such times – while conscious or while dreaming - a person may be more open to sensing things in the imaginary/fantasy (or the spiritual?) realm.
I can see angels and demons fitting into all of this as well, maybe.
So, taking the previous speculation and trying to add in demons:
Demons would be some of the dark creatures that existed in the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space. They would be non-corporeal creatures, and so they would be unable to attack a human being physically. But they would be able to attack a human using non-physical means such as emotions (with fear being a very significant one of these). They would do things such as attempting to hold a human being back from what the human being would otherwise be capable of doing, or trying to trick the human being into doing something unwise.
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REGARDING TOKYO
The Tokyo that we see in the MT world is an interesting, exciting, chaotic place. 'Zillas and giant turtles periodically rampage through town. Corporate agents perform sinister deeds. The buildings that are damaged or destroyed as a result of this activity are almost instantly rebuilt. Magical girls and ninjas exist, and they exhibit impossible leaping skills, super speed, and other types of super powers.
There are a large number of people in Tokyo. And some of these people are otaku. And so… there are a large number of otaku. We have seen large CROWDS of otaku form, multiple times.
[466]: "we, the remaining members of the 'Hayasaka Erika Fan Club' vow to find the truth you died so valiantly to reveal!!"
That sounds pretty serious, doesn't it?
From the numerous instances that we have seen, it is clear that the otaku are often VERY serious as far as things related to their preferred fantasies are concerned.
Not just very serious… TOO serious!
The lengths that we have seen the otaku go to for the sake of their preferred fantasies are… rather concerning, really. I’d say that it is often the case that they are going too far.
They care too much.
I think that it could be said that these people are simply putting TOO much emphasis on fantasy in their lives. And there are a large number of otaku about which this could be said.
I’m going to speculate that it’s not just the otaku for which this is the case, but there are in general a significant number of people in Tokyo whose lives are focused too much on fantasy. And that this situation is so widespread that it is becoming a real problem.
Assuming that the previously stated things are accurate… an important question is, have things always been this way in Tokyo, or was there a particular time when this situation started? I’m guessing that things have not always been the way that they currently are.
It would seem that if someone is to get significantly involved in fantasy, they have to have plenty of available leisure time. And a person will not have a lot of available leisure time if circumstances are such that they have to spend almost all of their time on doing things that are necessary in order to simply survive. So, people as a whole will only have a good amount of leisure time available to them during eras when things are generally peaceful and stable.
I think that a statement that Miho made during the "t3h b34ch" omake must be extremely important. Whether or not the events that Miho mentioned actually happened in the mainline MT story, I think that her statement must definitely give us some insight about the situation that currently exists in MT Tokyo.
[1375]: "In 1954, Tokyo residents reported bright flashes and loud rumblings off the coast from the direction of a series of small islands remarkably not that far offshore."
[1376]: "Initially there were reports of a secret nuclear test gone horribly wrong." "Its excessive yield opened a crater into some sort of eldritch underworld."
Okay... so, let's think about the year 1954. In America, the Korean war had ended the previous year, and the end of World War II was then nine years in the past. In Japan... presumably things had by this point become stable after the years of war followed by a disruptive period under American occupation? So, perhaps it would be the case that we could say that Japan was entering into a period of peace and stability?
Let's assume, then, that this could be the point in time at which a significant number of people in the Tokyo area started putting too much emphasis on fantasy in their lives.
As for the current-day situation in MT Tokyo…
We can see that there are a lot of interesting things going on in Tokyo. Periodic monster rampages are just one of the many things that are going on.
What if we take everything that we are seeing literally? (And why shouldn’t we do so?)
Let me attempt some speculation about the actual causes of the things that we see going on…
Kimiko feels things intensely and wants to somehow live what she feels ([528]). There's probably a large number of people in Tokyo who feel the same way and have the exact same desire.
Apparently a lot of these people want to experience excitement. They would like to live like a character in an exciting fantasy story. And it would seem that their desire for such a thing is extremely strong.
Is it the case here that peoples’ collective emotions give power to stories? ([1240]?) Can peoples’ collective desires warp reality? Whatever the exact reason may be, it seems that something is causing the things that these people desire to actually happen in reality. Exciting events – like the events in a fantasy story – are actually occurring.
Apparently there must be a significant number of people who would actually like to live in a world that is like the world that one would see in a Japanese “giant monster” movie. And so, because of the collective desire of a good number of people, somehow a number of actual large monsters have been drawn (from somewhere) to the Tokyo area, to serve the purpose of being the antagonists in a fantasy-type monster story.
Let me speculate that the people (in Tokyo) who have an excessive desire for fantasy basically fall into two categories. The first category consists of the "adventurous" types. These are the people who actually want to be the person who is experiencing the exciting events of the fantasy story. They want to be the hero, for instance. The other category would consist of the more passive types of people. These people don't want to have the exciting experiences themselves, they just want to watch someone else participating in the exciting events.
So, if we are assuming that people’s desires or emotions are actually affecting reality, then it would be the desires of the adventurous types that would cause exciting events to actually occur (such as 'zillas rampaging through downtown), and it would be the desires of the passive types that would empower the stories of the Character Analogues. And, perhaps it is possible that some of the people who fall into the "adventurous" category are people who actually end up becoming Character Analogues.
Again, it would seem that there are a good number of people who desire to live in a world where there are 'zillas or other giant monsters regularly rampaging through the city. But if that is the case… Wouldn’t a person who had such a desire tend to also desire to actually be the person who is piloting a giant mech-
...oh, right.
So, that would seem to shed light on the problem that Masamichi had in Chapter 3. There was no other unit "available" to help Masamichi take on Gameru because...
...Because everyone wants to be the one piloting the 'mech, but no one actually wants to do the difficult and painful work of actually fighting the giant monster! No wonder Masamichi was so grateful to Largo for his help...
Okay, now, there is a quote from Chapter 3 that is somewhat related to this...
[355]: "The Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division schedules 'events', cleanup, and reconstruction. We're proud of the fact that we can facilitate 30% more disasters this year than last year."
Generally an organization does not get a large increase in personnel and equipment without some legitimate rationale...
Good grief, that's an alarming rate of increase of the fantasy-addicted population of Tokyo...!
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There are plenty of old stories... most of which are from LONG ago... that feature strange creatures, such as dragons, nymphs, leprechauns, fairies, (and kitsune), and so forth.
However, as far as I have seen, in our real world we don't currently have any evidence that would prove that any of those creatures ever actually existed.
If you think about it, all of that is... kind of suspicious, isn't it?
In MT Tokyo, at least, we see that there are actually some of those fantastical creatures hanging around.
As has been previously stated, it would seem that peoples' emotions (or desires) are apparently having some kind of actual effect on the world. It was also previously speculated that it might be possible for people (at least some people) to sense certain things that are outside the realm of what can be sensed using the normal five senses.
Let it be hereby theorized that sometime in the fairly recent past, the people in Tokyo (collectively) changed their outlook in a significant way, and so they now desire fantasy much more than they had desired fantasy in earlier times.
There is thinking, and there is feeling. Human beings do both. Perhaps one could say that logical people think a lot and emotional people "feel" a lot. I am also reminded of the idea (whether it is valid or not) that people are "right-brain" or "left-brain" dominant.
But, anyway, whether it is "emotions" or "attitude" or "aura" or "intentions" or "desires" or "essence", let us theorize that humans are usually constantly broadcasting something outward into the area around them that is not directly perceivable by the five senses. (One example that is possibly relevant to this is how you occasionally can walk into a room and sense a "vibe" that is reflective of the collective emotional state of the people that are in that room.)
The people in the Tokyo area changed their outlook in such a way that they now desire fantasy to a significantly greater degree (than they used to), and something associated with that change in outlook has caused a significant change in what is being broadcast outward by these people.
I am not sure of exactly what the change is. Perhaps the change is a shift toward more emotionalism and a reduction in logical thinking? Or it is something else?
Regardless, whatever it is that people are broadcasting outward apparently has an effect on the surrounding "environment". This effect is not directly perceivable with the five senses, but it does have ramifications from a multi-dimensional perspective. Basically the change in what people are broadcasting outward has caused the area of land (or space) that is the Tokyo metropolitan area to be “shifted” to some degree, from a multi-dimensional perspective. Specifically, the Tokyo area has been partially “shifted”, to a degree, out of “reality” and into the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
We now see that giant turtles, 'zillas, and sea monsters are present in the Tokyo area. There's probably nothing that would prevent dragons from showing up as well ([760]?).
All creatures have their own "habitable range", which is the range of environmental conditions that the creatures can exist in, comfortably.
Let us assume that the fantastical creatures (such as 'zillas and sea monsters) usually have to exist in a slightly different environment than humans exist in. This is because the habitable range of these fantastical creatures is such that they have to live in an area that is shifted into the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space to a certain significant degree.
It is hereby theorized that what has been going on here is as follows: Long ago, it was possible for the humans and the fantastical creatures to live in some proximity to each other. (Whether or not they were able to get along with each other is a different subject.) But, at some point in time, there was a significant change in the human outlook. What the humans were broadcasting out into the surrounding environment changed significantly. Also (over a long period of time) there was a significant increase in the number of human beings that there were. The change in what the humans were broadcasting out caused a significant change in the surrounding environment, and the result was that the areas where the humans lived were now no longer in the habitable range for the fantastical creatures. (Those areas had shifted more into "reality".) So, the fantastical creatures could no longer even exist comfortably around humans, and so they had to go elsewhere, far away from humans.
But, recently, the human outlook has shifted again, and now it is possible for the fantasy creatures to exist comfortably near humans again.
(Perhaps it could be the case that the humans have forgotten the things that they did in the distant past in order to "protect" themselves...)
Since the environment of the Tokyo area has changed and it has shifted more into "fantasy", that shift has caused the laws of physics in the Tokyo area to change somewhat. So, things that would not have been possible before are now possible, and so it is now possible to create things that could not have been created before. So, we are seeing the appearance of things like robot girls, plasma cannons, and large spherical mobile cannons that are capable of climbing up to the top of tall buildings. The entertainment companies (gee, why would they be the first ones to catch on...) have taken full advantage of these changes in the laws of physics.
Apparently the makeup of human beings is robust enough that humans can exist comfortably in a good range, with respect to how much the area where they live is shifted into “fantasy” space. But to really thrive, humans need to be located in an environment that is significantly in reality. Otherwise, humans can exist at a location, but they will not do as well.
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There would seem to be another point related to this regarding the large monsters, and, again, the statement from Miho would seem to be relevant:
[1376]: "Initially there were reports of a secret nuclear test gone horribly wrong." "Its excessive yield opened a crater into some sort of eldritch underworld. But the citizens of Tokyo were soon busy dealing with the first attack by a very large zilla. So the story was easily covered up."
Again, this quote comes from the omake… but, still, it would seem that the best information that we have suggests that these large monsters have emerged from some sort of underworld.
I theorize that, sometime in the distant past, both human beings and these large monsters roamed the face of this planet. But the monsters and the humans were fundamentally incompatible, and so they could not peacefully co-exist together. Therefore, the humans and the monsters battled, and eventually the humans gained the upper hand. The monsters were killed or violently driven away. In order to survive, the monsters were forced to retreat to places where there were no humans. But, eventually, humans covered the entire face of the planet…
If we assume that humans covered the entire surface of the planet but the monsters still managed to retreat to some place where they could survive… It would seem pretty unlikely that the monsters could have somehow gone up into the sky, and so it would be likely that the place that the monsters retreated to would have had to be underground.
Presumably the various races of monsters managed to survive for ages, away from humanity, underground. But now it seems that a few of them have emerged, and have been drawn to the Tokyo area…
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What people are “broadcasting out” is certainly important here, but I think that is only one aspect of something broader.
It is hereby theorized that the way that things work (in the MT world, that is) is as follows:
Technically, the kinds of things it is that a person likes are not entirely determined by the decisions that the person has made (at least not early on). But the person can specifically choose what they focus on, and what they spend their time with, and what they seek out. In the end, a person chooses their outlook, and they choose the things that they spend time with, and so they choose the things that they have an affinity with, and what they are attracted to.
I theorize that (the way that things work in the MT world) in choosing their outlook, a person essentially determines what they are able to see.
So, presumably, it would be the people who are very heavily focused on fantasy who would tend to be the type of people who could see the ‘zillas and other fantastical creatures that periodically roam through Tokyo.
Conversely, a person who was heavily focused on reality would not be able to see the fantastical creatures. However, in the rare event that something caused that person to see something fantastical (say, for instance, a ‘zilla was about to step on them), the person would then notice the fantastical being (or thing) and would attempt to take the appropriate actions. However, once the unusual event was over and things were back to “normal”… Since the person was heavily focused on reality, their brains would tend to end up categorizing what they just saw as a fantasy – In other words, their brain would categorize what they just saw in the same way that their brain categorizes a dream – and so, they would tend to quickly forget the strange thing that happened to them.
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A person’s outlook (which is something that they choose) would determine what that person was “broadcasting out”. And it would determine what that person can see. A person’s outlook (and what they choose to be attracted to) would also end up determining what that person would tend to ATTRACT. And, it would determine what kinds of beings would be able to see THEM.
Since fantasy is out of sync with reality… then a person who places too much emphasis in their lives on fantasy is trying to live out of sync with reality, and that is a kind of rebellion…
I theorize that the change in the outlook of the residents of Tokyo (and the resulting change in what they were “broadcasting out”) not only altered the environment so that fantastical creatures can now exist comfortably in the Tokyo area, but the change also ended up causing a lot of ghosts to be attracted into the Tokyo area (from wherever else it was that they happened to be). And of course, the people who place a lot of emphasis on fantasy should tend to able to see the ghosts, and so the ghosts should be able to see them…
So, the upshot of all of this would be… that simply by a person’s choice of outlook, and what they desire, and what they pursue, the person could end up making an opening for significant evil to come into their life. By heavily pursuing fantasy they are inadvertently making themselves vulnerable to all sorts of dark things…
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So, then… here is an attempt at an overall summary of the situation in Tokyo, and the conflict that would seem to be looming…
A good number of the residents of Tokyo are still primarily focused on reality. They don’t really see the unusual things that are going on, and those things usually don’t really affect them…
But an ever-growing number of people have become focused too heavily on fantasy in their lives. And that is gradually having an effect on them. They are gradually becoming disconnected from other people and isolated. They are gradually becoming weakened, as well, as fantasy sucks away their time and energy, and eventually weakens their will. Some people have gone so deep into fantasy for so long that they have become essentially enslaved to it. Their lives are now shrouded in darkness.
Apparently there are a number of ghosts that are now lurking around the Tokyo area. It would appear that these ghosts are somehow causing a slow process to occur that gradually results in the creation of additional character analogues. The extremely powerful allure of a character analogue can attract a large number of people, and so this process tends to cause additional people to be encouraged to become deeply involved in fantasy. Also, another effect of this process is that a few lucky ghosts will end up getting a chance to return to the realm of the living.
[868]: "I still can't believe you managed to scare so many of them into giving you their memory cards. I guess deep down they really are all just a bunch of pathetic cowards."
The people of Tokyo have been at peace and have had things pretty good for a long time. They are not used to fighting. Those who are focusing on fantasy are distracted and are not expecting to face any kind of attack. But, as more and more people are drawn into fantasy, the populace gradually becomes more and more weak, in various ways. I am going to assume that a good percentage of the populace is rather weak and not likely to engage in any significant resistance.
I am assuming that the population of Tokyo is weak and unprepared enough that, if it happened to be the case that some powerful and tyrannical entity wanted to launch an attack that was both strong and sudden ([314]) that entity would most likely win easily, quickly, and decisively. Then the victorious entity would have their way with the residents of Tokyo - whatever it is that they wanted. For the residents of Tokyo, life as they had known it would be over.
Even without any sort of attack, it would seem that the current situation is beneficial to the governmental and corporate authorities that exercise structural control over the city. A relatively weak populace would tend to be fairly easy to govern. If the powers that be can manage to keep things fairly balanced and stable in the city, then they will likely maintain the status quo and preserve their controlling positions. It is likely that they would look askance on anyone who threatens to significantly disrupt things.
And then, there are the large creatures – ‘zillas, giant turtles, sea monsters, and so forth – that are roaming around in the vicinity of Tokyo. Apparently the numbers of these large creatures (that are present in the area) have been gradually increasing ([355], again).
I assume that the monsters remember that the humans fought against them and drove them away in the distant past. They would be happy enough to rule the land again, and to give some payback to the humans... For the moment, the monsters respect the power of the human authorities. But they sense that the human population is gradually weakening. If it ever happened to be the case that they thought that the time was opportune for them, it is possible that they would attempt to make a decisive attack on the human population…
Monsters from ancient times... ghosts from the past... Civilization itself now faces a deadly threat from its ancient enemies…
And in the middle of this gathering darkness, there is a small group of strong-willed young people who are at least starting to become aware of what is really going on. Will they decide to try to do something about it?
This is… another attempt at something, I guess…
Actually, this one is a REALLY ambitious attempt.
It would appear that in the main MT story, various forces are in play, and things may be leading up to some sort of major conflict. In this thread is an attempt at a detailed discussion of a number of things which would appear to be important.
The MT story moves ever forward, and we’ve seen a lot of plot up to this point. There are also some themes that have been being developed in the light novels which have not yet featured that significantly in the main MT story.
As was stated, this is an ambitious attempt. This discussion takes a shot at actually explaining the details related to some major and longstanding aspects of the story. So (even if only a fraction of this discussion happens to be correct) it presumably should be mentioned that there are a number of places in this discussion where things are being DIRECTLY STATED.
There is a LOT of text in this thread… but I think that overall it will be worth taking the time to read.
This discussion covers a number of various topics. The earliest essays are rather mundane, but they provide the background for a more substantial part of the discussion later on. There are some things being discussed here that would seem to be of some importance but which have not featured very significantly in the story so far (and how these things may come into play in the future is unknown). There are some places in the text which basically consist of the statement of the obvious, but this is necessary for the sake of creating a cohesive discussion.
And so… This text is respectfully submitted:
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CIVILIZATION
[1379]: "Doesn't a small beach make the ocean seem more awesome?"
Since MT is set in the "concrete jungle" of Tokyo, we don't usually see nature figure that prominently in the main MT story, though nature does show up with some significance in a couple of the omakes. In the Endgames light novels, though, there are plenty of instances where we see nature figure in a prominent manner.
The earth is very large. The land and oceans are vast. Though such instances are rare, there are times when significant natural events occur - large tornadoes, hurricanes, major blizzards, and so forth – and at those times we are hit with all of the great power and fury of nature and we are reminded just how small and powerless we are.
There was a time very long ago when there were much less people then there are today, and those people lived simpler lives, and their lives were lived rather close to nature.
That situation eventually changed, however. The human population increased. Towns and cities formed. Buildings were built. Forests were cleared away to create fields that were used for farming. In places, grass and dirt were covered over with hard surfaces, in order to make it easier for vehicles and pedestrians to travel. As time went on and on, some cities grew into very large urban areas. What was once forest or farmland was built up with buildings or paved over. Today we have gigantic expanses of mostly paved-over urban areas. As part of the process of creating these major urban areas, nature has in effect been tamed by humans, and then nature has been mostly pushed aside.
If people live very close to nature, presumably they have to worry about having to be attacked by wild animals. Early on, human beings started from primitive conditions, but over time things changed. We human beings used our intellect and we discovered things about the world, and better ways of doing things. One example of these “better ways of doing things” is agriculture, which was a more efficient method of obtaining food. Eventually life for human beings became more stable (than it had been). After that had occurred, we no longer had to spend such a great amount of our time and energy on the activities that were required to merely be able to survive. We started to have time to spend on thinking about higher things.
As the centuries passed, we continued to learn more about the world. We studied things and started to understand how they worked. We continued to learn more and more about the world that we live in - the laws of physics, biological processes, and the other mechanisms that govern how things function in our world. And we started to make things based upon this knowledge. Technology increased and kept increasing, building upon itself. We discovered much more efficient ways of doing things. And we discovered ways to do things that had been impossible for us to do before. The various technological advances that occurred over time (including, for instance, motorized transportation, electricity, mass production, powered flight, and computer technology) changed our lives in significant ways. Now, thanks to all of the centuries of technological advances, we can do lots of significant things in an impressively efficient and effective way. We have amazing capabilities. We have looked at things at the subatomic level, and we have seen unfathomable distances out into interstellar space. Our technology and knowledge has given us incredible power. And along the way we have used this power to transform and shape the world according to our will.
A human being living in the most primitive conditions is arguably not very different than an animal in a number of ways. As compared to those primitive times, through the application of intellect we human beings have greatly improved our situation. A primitive man living in a nearly "natural" state was subject to the limitations of what was "naturally" available. Since then, we have greatly stretched or completely broken away from those limitations. As compared to primitive man, we know a lot more about the world (e.g. the laws of physics) and we know that there is much more to the world.
Our opportunity to focus on higher things has also led to the development of new ideas. And, over time these various new ideas have also changed our lives in significant ways. I will just mention one aspect of the changes that have been brought about by these new ideas – the effect of these ideas in the realm of government. Over time, there was a switch from governments that consisted of rule by absolute despots to governments which involved arrangements where power was shared more equally between all people and the basic rights and dignity of each person were recognized. It would seem that over time there has been a general increase in empathy (and tolerance) which people show toward each other, as well.
The process of a gradual increase in knowledge and a gradual advancement of technology has been going on for a very long time, and the process continues unabated even today.
More on these things later.
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FANTASY
We see the people in MT engaging in a variety of types of "fantasy" activities... reading manga, watching anime, playing MMORPGs and other types of video games, and so forth.
All of us need some leisure time; Some time to relax. A person cannot work ALL of the time.
A significant amount of the leisure activities that exist involve fantasy somehow... Going to see movies... LARPing... Playing MMORPGs or other types of computer games... and so forth.
Of course we have to do a lot of things merely to survive. We have to provide for ourselves, and then also do the various activities that are necessary to maintain things and to keep our lives in decent order.
Pretty well any human activity can end up being done to excess, and that is most definitely true regarding fantasy activities, which can have a powerful allure. First of all, fantasy is fun, and it is often a lot more fun than doing work or doing chores. Fantasy worlds are a lot more exciting than plain old ordinary reality. There is a definite temptation for a person to spend as much time having fun as possible.
There are many fantasy worlds (on-line virtual worlds, for instance) which are extremely fun and stimulating. But the problem is, we cannot just leave and go to live in a fantasy world. We live in reality and we can't actually leave it. We have real physical needs. We have to do things to counteract entropy. If a person spends an excessive amount of time in a fantasy world, they are essentially trying to live their life split between two different worlds, which is difficult to do and takes a toll on a person. Too much time spent in a virtual world means that things that needed to be done in the real world are left un-done, time and energy that could have been expended working toward important goals is expended on the fantasy world instead, and the activities in the real world that ARE done may end up suffering somewhat in their quality.
Let us say that one way in which we can define the term "fantasy" is that fantasy is anything that is not reality or that is different from reality.
If so, then a person who is trying to live a life that is dominated too much by fantasy is essentially trying to live their life out of sync with reality. And the more out of sync with reality that a person tries to live, the more likely that things are not going to go well for them.
There are some situations where fantasy is used (improperly) as an escape. In such a situation, a person chooses to try to escape into a fantasy world and distract themselves rather than to face certain painful or difficult aspects of their external reality (or to face something inside themselves that needs to be dealt with). In some situations of this type, the "fantasy world" that the person chooses to try to escape into is the altered state of consciousness that is provided by drugs or alcohol. Presumably such an attempt at escape is sometimes involved in situations where a significant addiction to something ends up developing. Whatever the method of escape, it is likely that the fundamental reason that the person is trying to escape boils down to fear. A fear that they choose to avoid facing.
There are plenty of cases where things roughly like this can happen. Real life can be difficult and scary. People who are scared to face real life could retreat into fantasy instead, since fantasy things are usually safe and relatively easy.
There are plenty of examples in the story of situations where people choose to retreat into fantasy in various ways. What seems to be implied in the comic is that anyone who puts too much emphasis in their life on fantasy is doing that because they have chosen to give into fear.
It is not good for a person to give into fear in a significant way.
Perhaps a person is afraid of making the difficult, or time-consuming, or emotionally risky effort that they would be required to make in order to cause something to happen in their life? They can choose to retreat, and to not try to do that thing. Maybe a person is afraid of the fear and pain that is always associated with various types of conflict. (e.g. [606], maybe?) They can choose to never stand up for themselves but to always give in instead. Maybe a person doesn't like being ostracized by others because they have a different opinion? Then they can always choose instead just to keep their mouth shut. All of this may sound a bit excessive, but I am sure that there are plenty of instances where people do actually behave this way, at least to some extent. People who choose to retreat in the fashion that has just been described are certainly not going to end up actually getting what it is that they want out of life, and so they are going to have to resort to the far inferior option of getting what they want only by the way of a fantasy…
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This is done with some trepidation... but... there will now be some speculation about how the “laws of physics” operate in the main MT world.
[1243]: "We don't hide it from her, we CAN'T show her! It's not something she can see!!"
What people can see seems to be extremely important here. Certainly not everybody can see everything, apparently.
In the MT story, we have already seen hints that there are other, "parallel" dimensions that exist (e.g.
[280],[983])…
If it is the case that “parallel” dimensions exist in the MT world, then it would make just as much sense if it was also the case that there were the existence of “higher” dimensions. That is, it would be the case that "normal" reality would actually be an "n"-dimensional space, with "n" being a number that is greater than four.
Whether it is the case that we are dealing with “parallel” dimensions or “higher” dimensions or some other phenomena, the following can be speculated:
Let us call our normal frame of reference, the “ordinary” world that we are used to, “reality”.
Let us assume that there is another area that somehow occupies the same physical space as our “reality”. However, in most situations this area cannot be perceived at all from the frame of reference of “reality”. In this other area, things are very different. The physical laws are significantly different. So, it is possible for things to occur in this area that are impossible in “reality”. Let us call this other area “fantasy”.
So, this “fantasy” area would essentially be like a whole other world. Perhaps there could be strange beings who lived there.
The term "fantasy" can be defined in a multitude of ways. For instance, it could be defined as "things that are NEVER observed in reality", or "things that are impossible in reality", or even "things that exist only in the imagination".
"Fantasy" and "imaginary" are similar terms. They have slightly different meanings, but there are plenty of instances where they overlap and can both properly be applied to the same thing.
Regarding another aspect of this subject…
We generally perceive the world by means of our five senses. However, if it should be the case that there are more things going on in the world then our five senses are able to tell us about (such as things that go on in the “fantasy” area of space, for instance)… then it is possible that we might have other "senses" besides the five primary senses, “senses” that could detect things that the five primary senses could not detect. Perhaps these other senses would work in ways that were significantly different. The most likely example of such an additional “sense” that I can think of is "intuition". Also, it would be possible that for some people, these “other” or “additional” senses would work very effectively, but for other people these senses would have such a low level of effectiveness that they would essentially be nonexistent.
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There is another aspect of this subject that barely shows up in the main story but which has been showing up a bit in the light novels.
It could be said that most of us actually spend a lot of time in a completely different world every day...
...while we are sleeping.
While we are dreaming, in our dreams we are doing things, or things are otherwise happening. But once we wake up, we know that the things that happened in our dreams were not real. They did not actually happen. At least they did not happen from the perspective of the waking world.
Since we don’t consider the things that happened in our dreams to be real, those things are usually of very little concern to us. And it is often the case that we do not even remember our dreams (at least, I very seldom remember mine), and so, whatever it was that may have happened in our dreams, we don’t even really know that it happened!
Taking everything into account (including the light novels), there seems to be an idea that while we are dreaming, the way in which we perceive things may be somehow different then our “normal” way of perceiving things. If there are things happening (or beings existing) in our world that we are not normally able to perceive, perhaps it may become possible for us to perceive them while we are dreaming. Perhaps while we are dreaming our consciousness somehow expands out into other areas (of multi-dimensional space), or even goes to another place entirely.
Ever notice how, in a dream, if something attacks you, you usually wake up instantly?
Could this be due to some sort of survival instinct, perhaps?
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PERSISTING
And now, for something that has hardly shown up in the main story at all, but would seem to have some significant importance...
[1428]: "You do not look like a ghost. You are too pathetic to be a ghost." "Too pathetic?"
"Even a weak and insubstantial shade would radiate some dread or terror. You radiate no threat at all."
Ghosts!
Based on some information in the light novels, it would appear that, in the MT context, a ghost is a mortal who found themselves arriving at their appointed time of death, but, at that time, instead of dying, they rebelled, chose not to die, and somehow managed to avoid dying. Because they chose to do that, however, they were cursed by the divine will, for eternity.
Now, let me try and extrapolate from that (going out onto less stable ground) and try to make a more detailed statement, as follows:
Through their strong will or some other ability, the person in question managed to somehow avoid their death and to remain in the realm of the living, instead of choosing to leave the realm of the living (as they were supposed to do) and to go on to where they were supposed to go. Maybe they had a very strong desire to hang on to life. Maybe they were just generally rebellious. (Or maybe it was the case that they were trying to avoid going where they were supposed to go...) They chose to evade death, but apparently they were unable to prevent the death of their physical bodies, and so they ended up as a disembodied spirit. They had been allowed free will, but, since they made the choice to rebel and to disobey the divine will and to violate the natural order, they were cursed by the divine will. They were cursed to be disembodied spirits for eternity. They have to exist somewhere, but I think that they have basically lost all control of WHERE it is specifically that they are at any given time. They may be somewhere in the realm of the living, or somewhere down in the depths of the underworld. Where they happen to be at any given time is predominately determined by factors external to themselves. (I theorize that when they are in the realm of the living, they exist primarily in areas of multi-dimensional space where they cannot usually be seen.) Regardless of where they happen to be, since their existence is a cursed one it cannot be a comfortable one.
Desperate to live, and suffering under their cursed existence, the ghosts become angry at the one who cursed them, envious of the living, and all around angry and resentful. And the ghosts are also DESPERATE to find some way to escape from their plight. So, (as may be implied by the quote up above) pretty well any ghost will present a potential threat to anyone who should encounter them - the ghost likely could try to possess them, or could try to drain their energy, or could try to do anything else that the ghost could do to further the ghost's desire to somehow become truly alive again. If a person should somehow end up in the same place as a ghost and that person for some reason happened to be in a state that made them vulnerable to a ghost, the ghost would be a legitimate threat to them.
Now... What significant character do we know of that tends to be rebellious in nature (e.g.
[606], [307], [920]) and apparently has always had an incredibly strong desire to live ([1454], [1484])?
But in the particular case of Miho, it appears that there was more than one bizarre situation that occurred. Miho experienced what was for someone in her situation an incredible stroke of luck. People heard of the compelling story about the things that had happened at the end of her life, and their desire for her story was somehow so powerful that it caused Miho to be yanked completely back into the realm of the living, and given a physical body again, even. Apparently she didn't have to exist as a disembodied ghost for very long.
Now, if the nature of ghosts is actually as was previously described, she would of course not be the only ghost that ever existed. Potentially, at least, it could always be the case that, lurking in the background behind currently living humanity, there would be a large number of ghosts...
Hey, wait a minute...
[1070]: "This store is full of characters that want to live. Why does she deserve life more than they do?"
Oh, my...!!!
Well, well... So what would be the ONE thing ([1034], [1035]) that would be most likely to invoke significant empathy from Miho?
I guess that, even as far back as comic [219], there's always been something a little suspicious about this "Kotone" thing, hasn't there?
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And now, an attempt to explain a likely important but rather complicated point regarding Miho and her life.
This discussion concerns the way that things apparently were for Miho for a long time, up at least until the events at the end of the previous chapter.
Let us consider an individual human being. That person will only exist in the mortal realm for a limited period of time.
Conversely, there are plenty of other things that can exist for far longer than the time span of a human lifetime. Certain physical objects such as rocks and land can persist for millennia. Things that are made up of multiple people - such as organizations, companies, governments, and nations - can persist for generations, if there is a continuing influx of new people to replace the people who depart or who pass on. Similarly, some intangible things, such as ideas and philosophies, can persist for numerous generations as long as there continue to be new people that embrace them.
Something else that would be classified as being one of the “intangible things” would be a story.
There are some stories that can persist for generation after generation, as well. A story can manage to survive for a very long time if it happens to significantly resonate with people. (The story "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is still going strong after 150 years, for example...)
Now, regarding (again) the case of a human being… a human being will be present (and exist) in the mortal realm for a finite period of time, and then they will die, and pass out of the mortal realm.
Looking at things just from the standpoint of the mortal realm, the following can be stated…
A person lives, and then they die. After the person has died, that person will continue to exist (in some fashion) in people’s memories. But the people who remember the person will all eventually die, as well. After all of the people who had firsthand memories of the person have died, then the person will still continue to exist somewhat (in a very limited fashion) by the means of any photographs or written records (or, more recently, archived video records) about that person that should still exist. Of course, it is the case that a significant majority of the people who have died have never been heard of by the “average” person. Those few people who have died that are widely remembered usually did something very significant (i.e., they invented something, helped start a new government, or so forth), or it may just be the case that they happen to have a good story associated with them.
Whether it is by the means of some sort of unexciting documented account or by the means of an exciting tale, a person who died a long time ago now exists (in as far as they continue to exist) only as some kind of story. And, since they are no longer alive, their story never changes. The past can never be changed.
Okay, now... Let us make a very important assumption.
Let us assume that the fundamental purpose of a person's life in the mortal realm is for that person to CHOOSE. (To choose between being good or evil, for instance.)
Let us therefore assume that a fundamental sign that someone is alive is CHOICE. And, furthermore, let us assume that CHOICE is a privilege of ONLY those who are currently alive in the mortal realm.
So, if a person dies, and then by some strange occurrence they somehow end up back in the mortal realm with a physical body, it is still the case that they died. When they died, they lost their ability to make choices. Since they no longer have the privilege of choice, then, if it is somehow the case that they are existing in the mortal realm in human form, then the only way that they are able to exist is if they are re-living their previous life over again. They have already made their choices, and, so, if they exist, they have to live their previous choices over again. Basically, if it was the case that they were allowed to do something new, then it would have to be the case that they had the ability to choose.
A ghost is a person who decided to attempt to keep living beyond their allotted span of time. And, that person (ghost) has a huge problem, because such a thing goes significantly against the natural order of the world.
Remember, though, that a character in a fantasy story can continue to live, for (human) generation after (human) generation, if it is the case that the character and story continue to be experienced by currently living people, generation after generation.
And of course (as was previously discussed above), within the natural order of things, an ordinary human being CAN persist in the mortal realm, in a minor, residual way - and the way that they persist is in the form of a story of some sort.
And, so, if ghost Miho is actually to persist in the mortal realm beyond her allotted span of time, the only way that her doing so can somehow fit in AT ALL within the natural order is if she exists as a character in a story.
Even though there is at least a way that she can sort of fit in, her existence is still a violation of the natural order. For Miho to continue to exist isn't easy, and she has complications to deal with that most people don't have. And, for that matter, she is also still cursed.
We previously knew that Miho has apparently been living some sort of cyclical existence for a very long period of time. She lives, dies, is brought back to life, lives again, dies again, and so on, in an ever-continuing cycle.
Apparently, at the most fundamental level, Miho must be living her real life over again. It would seem that Miho is actually able to live life substantially like a normal human. She can go places, see people, and participate fully in the world as it currently is (so, therefore, it is possible for her to play video games, for instance). Miho can actually make thousands of choices - but these are MINOR choices. Miho is not capable of making a MAJOR choice. When she reaches the point on the timeline of her life at which she originally made a MAJOR choice, she is forced to make the exact same choice that she originally made, and so at that time she must relive that choice again.
Miho, of course, probably attempts to rebel against this and to resist, inasmuch as she is able to do so (and, since she probably had a regular habit of doing gambits during the course of her original life, that fact helps), but of course it is not possible for Miho to actually resist her fate.
Now, has the fact that Piro “saved” Miho at the end of the previous chapter somehow caused some major change to the things that have just been discussed? I don’t know…
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DARKNESS
In the latest of the light novels (The Great Underground Empire) we see some shadowy creatures that are not able to stand the slightest light.
Let’s take that idea and apply it in a much greater fashion…
It would appear that human beings have some sort of primal fear of the dark.
Human beings are attuned to the regular cycle of day and night, and of course during some part of that cycle we have to sleep. In order for a person to be able to sleep, it is helpful for them to be in a darkened room.
In complete darkness, a person cannot see anything. Therefore, a person cannot be absolutely sure what is there around them. Even if you previously saw everything that was there… theoretically, at least, anything could be there (because theoretically someone else could have silently changed something). If you are in pitch darkness and you let your imagination run wild and you imagine that there are scary things hiding in the darkness, then you can really scare yourself (or allow yourself to be scared)…
Let us assume that there really are creatures that exist in the darkness. Let us also assume that these dark creatures exist in the “imaginary” or “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
If you are in complete darkness but you have a light with you and then you turn on the light, that light can have a very comforting effect. (Well, at least it feels that way to me…)
If there is some sort of light that is even dimly lighting up the room that you are in, then you can see for sure what is there and what is not there. Perhaps the light allows the rational mind to override the imagination, since if a person can see then they KNOW what is there and what is not there. Since the light allows the rational mind to dominate, perhaps it could be the case that the light really does protect us against dark creatures…
These “dark” creatures would be such that they could only exist in complete darkness, and so they would be driven away by the slightest light. Assuming that it is the case that these creatures exist in the “fantasy” (or “imaginary”) area of multi-dimensional space, then, in a place where there was complete darkness, perhaps these creatures would be able to attack a person by means of that person’s imagination…
Let us assume that these creatures of darkness would somehow have their power increase (to some extent) during the part of the day/night cycle that is dominated by darkness, and would have their power decrease during the part of the cycle that is dominated by the light.
Again, the time of day that is dominated by darkness is usually the time when we sleep, and when we dream. And dreams are not real – so, basically, they are fantasies. And, as was previously theorized, perhaps when we dream we are capable of sensing things that we are not able to sense while we are awake – and perhaps this would include sensing things in the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
So, based on this, we could say that darkness is associated with fantasy and light is associated with reality.
Let us assume that in the middle of the night when a person’s energy is low, a person’s defense against certain forms of attack (emotional? imaginary? spiritual?) is decreased. At such times a person can experience such things as nightmares, a racing mind, worries, muddled thinking, and so forth. And also at such times – while conscious or while dreaming - a person may be more open to sensing things in the imaginary/fantasy (or the spiritual?) realm.
I can see angels and demons fitting into all of this as well, maybe.
So, taking the previous speculation and trying to add in demons:
Demons would be some of the dark creatures that existed in the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space. They would be non-corporeal creatures, and so they would be unable to attack a human being physically. But they would be able to attack a human using non-physical means such as emotions (with fear being a very significant one of these). They would do things such as attempting to hold a human being back from what the human being would otherwise be capable of doing, or trying to trick the human being into doing something unwise.
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REGARDING TOKYO
The Tokyo that we see in the MT world is an interesting, exciting, chaotic place. 'Zillas and giant turtles periodically rampage through town. Corporate agents perform sinister deeds. The buildings that are damaged or destroyed as a result of this activity are almost instantly rebuilt. Magical girls and ninjas exist, and they exhibit impossible leaping skills, super speed, and other types of super powers.
There are a large number of people in Tokyo. And some of these people are otaku. And so… there are a large number of otaku. We have seen large CROWDS of otaku form, multiple times.
[466]: "we, the remaining members of the 'Hayasaka Erika Fan Club' vow to find the truth you died so valiantly to reveal!!"
That sounds pretty serious, doesn't it?
From the numerous instances that we have seen, it is clear that the otaku are often VERY serious as far as things related to their preferred fantasies are concerned.
Not just very serious… TOO serious!
The lengths that we have seen the otaku go to for the sake of their preferred fantasies are… rather concerning, really. I’d say that it is often the case that they are going too far.
They care too much.
I think that it could be said that these people are simply putting TOO much emphasis on fantasy in their lives. And there are a large number of otaku about which this could be said.
I’m going to speculate that it’s not just the otaku for which this is the case, but there are in general a significant number of people in Tokyo whose lives are focused too much on fantasy. And that this situation is so widespread that it is becoming a real problem.
Assuming that the previously stated things are accurate… an important question is, have things always been this way in Tokyo, or was there a particular time when this situation started? I’m guessing that things have not always been the way that they currently are.
It would seem that if someone is to get significantly involved in fantasy, they have to have plenty of available leisure time. And a person will not have a lot of available leisure time if circumstances are such that they have to spend almost all of their time on doing things that are necessary in order to simply survive. So, people as a whole will only have a good amount of leisure time available to them during eras when things are generally peaceful and stable.
I think that a statement that Miho made during the "t3h b34ch" omake must be extremely important. Whether or not the events that Miho mentioned actually happened in the mainline MT story, I think that her statement must definitely give us some insight about the situation that currently exists in MT Tokyo.
[1375]: "In 1954, Tokyo residents reported bright flashes and loud rumblings off the coast from the direction of a series of small islands remarkably not that far offshore."
[1376]: "Initially there were reports of a secret nuclear test gone horribly wrong." "Its excessive yield opened a crater into some sort of eldritch underworld."
Okay... so, let's think about the year 1954. In America, the Korean war had ended the previous year, and the end of World War II was then nine years in the past. In Japan... presumably things had by this point become stable after the years of war followed by a disruptive period under American occupation? So, perhaps it would be the case that we could say that Japan was entering into a period of peace and stability?
Let's assume, then, that this could be the point in time at which a significant number of people in the Tokyo area started putting too much emphasis on fantasy in their lives.
As for the current-day situation in MT Tokyo…
We can see that there are a lot of interesting things going on in Tokyo. Periodic monster rampages are just one of the many things that are going on.
What if we take everything that we are seeing literally? (And why shouldn’t we do so?)
Let me attempt some speculation about the actual causes of the things that we see going on…
Kimiko feels things intensely and wants to somehow live what she feels ([528]). There's probably a large number of people in Tokyo who feel the same way and have the exact same desire.
Apparently a lot of these people want to experience excitement. They would like to live like a character in an exciting fantasy story. And it would seem that their desire for such a thing is extremely strong.
Is it the case here that peoples’ collective emotions give power to stories? ([1240]?) Can peoples’ collective desires warp reality? Whatever the exact reason may be, it seems that something is causing the things that these people desire to actually happen in reality. Exciting events – like the events in a fantasy story – are actually occurring.
Apparently there must be a significant number of people who would actually like to live in a world that is like the world that one would see in a Japanese “giant monster” movie. And so, because of the collective desire of a good number of people, somehow a number of actual large monsters have been drawn (from somewhere) to the Tokyo area, to serve the purpose of being the antagonists in a fantasy-type monster story.
Let me speculate that the people (in Tokyo) who have an excessive desire for fantasy basically fall into two categories. The first category consists of the "adventurous" types. These are the people who actually want to be the person who is experiencing the exciting events of the fantasy story. They want to be the hero, for instance. The other category would consist of the more passive types of people. These people don't want to have the exciting experiences themselves, they just want to watch someone else participating in the exciting events.
So, if we are assuming that people’s desires or emotions are actually affecting reality, then it would be the desires of the adventurous types that would cause exciting events to actually occur (such as 'zillas rampaging through downtown), and it would be the desires of the passive types that would empower the stories of the Character Analogues. And, perhaps it is possible that some of the people who fall into the "adventurous" category are people who actually end up becoming Character Analogues.
Again, it would seem that there are a good number of people who desire to live in a world where there are 'zillas or other giant monsters regularly rampaging through the city. But if that is the case… Wouldn’t a person who had such a desire tend to also desire to actually be the person who is piloting a giant mech-
...oh, right.
So, that would seem to shed light on the problem that Masamichi had in Chapter 3. There was no other unit "available" to help Masamichi take on Gameru because...
...Because everyone wants to be the one piloting the 'mech, but no one actually wants to do the difficult and painful work of actually fighting the giant monster! No wonder Masamichi was so grateful to Largo for his help...
Okay, now, there is a quote from Chapter 3 that is somewhat related to this...
[355]: "The Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division schedules 'events', cleanup, and reconstruction. We're proud of the fact that we can facilitate 30% more disasters this year than last year."
Generally an organization does not get a large increase in personnel and equipment without some legitimate rationale...
Good grief, that's an alarming rate of increase of the fantasy-addicted population of Tokyo...!
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There are plenty of old stories... most of which are from LONG ago... that feature strange creatures, such as dragons, nymphs, leprechauns, fairies, (and kitsune), and so forth.
However, as far as I have seen, in our real world we don't currently have any evidence that would prove that any of those creatures ever actually existed.
If you think about it, all of that is... kind of suspicious, isn't it?
In MT Tokyo, at least, we see that there are actually some of those fantastical creatures hanging around.
As has been previously stated, it would seem that peoples' emotions (or desires) are apparently having some kind of actual effect on the world. It was also previously speculated that it might be possible for people (at least some people) to sense certain things that are outside the realm of what can be sensed using the normal five senses.
Let it be hereby theorized that sometime in the fairly recent past, the people in Tokyo (collectively) changed their outlook in a significant way, and so they now desire fantasy much more than they had desired fantasy in earlier times.
There is thinking, and there is feeling. Human beings do both. Perhaps one could say that logical people think a lot and emotional people "feel" a lot. I am also reminded of the idea (whether it is valid or not) that people are "right-brain" or "left-brain" dominant.
But, anyway, whether it is "emotions" or "attitude" or "aura" or "intentions" or "desires" or "essence", let us theorize that humans are usually constantly broadcasting something outward into the area around them that is not directly perceivable by the five senses. (One example that is possibly relevant to this is how you occasionally can walk into a room and sense a "vibe" that is reflective of the collective emotional state of the people that are in that room.)
The people in the Tokyo area changed their outlook in such a way that they now desire fantasy to a significantly greater degree (than they used to), and something associated with that change in outlook has caused a significant change in what is being broadcast outward by these people.
I am not sure of exactly what the change is. Perhaps the change is a shift toward more emotionalism and a reduction in logical thinking? Or it is something else?
Regardless, whatever it is that people are broadcasting outward apparently has an effect on the surrounding "environment". This effect is not directly perceivable with the five senses, but it does have ramifications from a multi-dimensional perspective. Basically the change in what people are broadcasting outward has caused the area of land (or space) that is the Tokyo metropolitan area to be “shifted” to some degree, from a multi-dimensional perspective. Specifically, the Tokyo area has been partially “shifted”, to a degree, out of “reality” and into the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space.
We now see that giant turtles, 'zillas, and sea monsters are present in the Tokyo area. There's probably nothing that would prevent dragons from showing up as well ([760]?).
All creatures have their own "habitable range", which is the range of environmental conditions that the creatures can exist in, comfortably.
Let us assume that the fantastical creatures (such as 'zillas and sea monsters) usually have to exist in a slightly different environment than humans exist in. This is because the habitable range of these fantastical creatures is such that they have to live in an area that is shifted into the “fantasy” area of multi-dimensional space to a certain significant degree.
It is hereby theorized that what has been going on here is as follows: Long ago, it was possible for the humans and the fantastical creatures to live in some proximity to each other. (Whether or not they were able to get along with each other is a different subject.) But, at some point in time, there was a significant change in the human outlook. What the humans were broadcasting out into the surrounding environment changed significantly. Also (over a long period of time) there was a significant increase in the number of human beings that there were. The change in what the humans were broadcasting out caused a significant change in the surrounding environment, and the result was that the areas where the humans lived were now no longer in the habitable range for the fantastical creatures. (Those areas had shifted more into "reality".) So, the fantastical creatures could no longer even exist comfortably around humans, and so they had to go elsewhere, far away from humans.
But, recently, the human outlook has shifted again, and now it is possible for the fantasy creatures to exist comfortably near humans again.
(Perhaps it could be the case that the humans have forgotten the things that they did in the distant past in order to "protect" themselves...)
Since the environment of the Tokyo area has changed and it has shifted more into "fantasy", that shift has caused the laws of physics in the Tokyo area to change somewhat. So, things that would not have been possible before are now possible, and so it is now possible to create things that could not have been created before. So, we are seeing the appearance of things like robot girls, plasma cannons, and large spherical mobile cannons that are capable of climbing up to the top of tall buildings. The entertainment companies (gee, why would they be the first ones to catch on...) have taken full advantage of these changes in the laws of physics.
Apparently the makeup of human beings is robust enough that humans can exist comfortably in a good range, with respect to how much the area where they live is shifted into “fantasy” space. But to really thrive, humans need to be located in an environment that is significantly in reality. Otherwise, humans can exist at a location, but they will not do as well.
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There would seem to be another point related to this regarding the large monsters, and, again, the statement from Miho would seem to be relevant:
[1376]: "Initially there were reports of a secret nuclear test gone horribly wrong." "Its excessive yield opened a crater into some sort of eldritch underworld. But the citizens of Tokyo were soon busy dealing with the first attack by a very large zilla. So the story was easily covered up."
Again, this quote comes from the omake… but, still, it would seem that the best information that we have suggests that these large monsters have emerged from some sort of underworld.
I theorize that, sometime in the distant past, both human beings and these large monsters roamed the face of this planet. But the monsters and the humans were fundamentally incompatible, and so they could not peacefully co-exist together. Therefore, the humans and the monsters battled, and eventually the humans gained the upper hand. The monsters were killed or violently driven away. In order to survive, the monsters were forced to retreat to places where there were no humans. But, eventually, humans covered the entire face of the planet…
If we assume that humans covered the entire surface of the planet but the monsters still managed to retreat to some place where they could survive… It would seem pretty unlikely that the monsters could have somehow gone up into the sky, and so it would be likely that the place that the monsters retreated to would have had to be underground.
Presumably the various races of monsters managed to survive for ages, away from humanity, underground. But now it seems that a few of them have emerged, and have been drawn to the Tokyo area…
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What people are “broadcasting out” is certainly important here, but I think that is only one aspect of something broader.
It is hereby theorized that the way that things work (in the MT world, that is) is as follows:
Technically, the kinds of things it is that a person likes are not entirely determined by the decisions that the person has made (at least not early on). But the person can specifically choose what they focus on, and what they spend their time with, and what they seek out. In the end, a person chooses their outlook, and they choose the things that they spend time with, and so they choose the things that they have an affinity with, and what they are attracted to.
I theorize that (the way that things work in the MT world) in choosing their outlook, a person essentially determines what they are able to see.
So, presumably, it would be the people who are very heavily focused on fantasy who would tend to be the type of people who could see the ‘zillas and other fantastical creatures that periodically roam through Tokyo.
Conversely, a person who was heavily focused on reality would not be able to see the fantastical creatures. However, in the rare event that something caused that person to see something fantastical (say, for instance, a ‘zilla was about to step on them), the person would then notice the fantastical being (or thing) and would attempt to take the appropriate actions. However, once the unusual event was over and things were back to “normal”… Since the person was heavily focused on reality, their brains would tend to end up categorizing what they just saw as a fantasy – In other words, their brain would categorize what they just saw in the same way that their brain categorizes a dream – and so, they would tend to quickly forget the strange thing that happened to them.
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A person’s outlook (which is something that they choose) would determine what that person was “broadcasting out”. And it would determine what that person can see. A person’s outlook (and what they choose to be attracted to) would also end up determining what that person would tend to ATTRACT. And, it would determine what kinds of beings would be able to see THEM.
Since fantasy is out of sync with reality… then a person who places too much emphasis in their lives on fantasy is trying to live out of sync with reality, and that is a kind of rebellion…
I theorize that the change in the outlook of the residents of Tokyo (and the resulting change in what they were “broadcasting out”) not only altered the environment so that fantastical creatures can now exist comfortably in the Tokyo area, but the change also ended up causing a lot of ghosts to be attracted into the Tokyo area (from wherever else it was that they happened to be). And of course, the people who place a lot of emphasis on fantasy should tend to able to see the ghosts, and so the ghosts should be able to see them…
So, the upshot of all of this would be… that simply by a person’s choice of outlook, and what they desire, and what they pursue, the person could end up making an opening for significant evil to come into their life. By heavily pursuing fantasy they are inadvertently making themselves vulnerable to all sorts of dark things…
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So, then… here is an attempt at an overall summary of the situation in Tokyo, and the conflict that would seem to be looming…
A good number of the residents of Tokyo are still primarily focused on reality. They don’t really see the unusual things that are going on, and those things usually don’t really affect them…
But an ever-growing number of people have become focused too heavily on fantasy in their lives. And that is gradually having an effect on them. They are gradually becoming disconnected from other people and isolated. They are gradually becoming weakened, as well, as fantasy sucks away their time and energy, and eventually weakens their will. Some people have gone so deep into fantasy for so long that they have become essentially enslaved to it. Their lives are now shrouded in darkness.
Apparently there are a number of ghosts that are now lurking around the Tokyo area. It would appear that these ghosts are somehow causing a slow process to occur that gradually results in the creation of additional character analogues. The extremely powerful allure of a character analogue can attract a large number of people, and so this process tends to cause additional people to be encouraged to become deeply involved in fantasy. Also, another effect of this process is that a few lucky ghosts will end up getting a chance to return to the realm of the living.
[868]: "I still can't believe you managed to scare so many of them into giving you their memory cards. I guess deep down they really are all just a bunch of pathetic cowards."
The people of Tokyo have been at peace and have had things pretty good for a long time. They are not used to fighting. Those who are focusing on fantasy are distracted and are not expecting to face any kind of attack. But, as more and more people are drawn into fantasy, the populace gradually becomes more and more weak, in various ways. I am going to assume that a good percentage of the populace is rather weak and not likely to engage in any significant resistance.
I am assuming that the population of Tokyo is weak and unprepared enough that, if it happened to be the case that some powerful and tyrannical entity wanted to launch an attack that was both strong and sudden ([314]) that entity would most likely win easily, quickly, and decisively. Then the victorious entity would have their way with the residents of Tokyo - whatever it is that they wanted. For the residents of Tokyo, life as they had known it would be over.
Even without any sort of attack, it would seem that the current situation is beneficial to the governmental and corporate authorities that exercise structural control over the city. A relatively weak populace would tend to be fairly easy to govern. If the powers that be can manage to keep things fairly balanced and stable in the city, then they will likely maintain the status quo and preserve their controlling positions. It is likely that they would look askance on anyone who threatens to significantly disrupt things.
And then, there are the large creatures – ‘zillas, giant turtles, sea monsters, and so forth – that are roaming around in the vicinity of Tokyo. Apparently the numbers of these large creatures (that are present in the area) have been gradually increasing ([355], again).
I assume that the monsters remember that the humans fought against them and drove them away in the distant past. They would be happy enough to rule the land again, and to give some payback to the humans... For the moment, the monsters respect the power of the human authorities. But they sense that the human population is gradually weakening. If it ever happened to be the case that they thought that the time was opportune for them, it is possible that they would attempt to make a decisive attack on the human population…
Monsters from ancient times... ghosts from the past... Civilization itself now faces a deadly threat from its ancient enemies…
And in the middle of this gathering darkness, there is a small group of strong-willed young people who are at least starting to become aware of what is really going on. Will they decide to try to do something about it?