nature-of-books-and-knowledge
The Nature of Books and Knowledge
In the Cosmos, knowledge is more than mere information—it is a form of energy, an artifact of consciousness. If not maintained, this energy diffuses, like the heat of a candle that has met the end of its wick. As knowledge fades, so too do the vessels that once held it. Books, though useful, are imperfect containers of true knowledge, and their deterioration marks the inevitable loss of understanding. The struggle to maintain vast troves of knowledge is immense, requiring systems so intricate that their very construction demands an existing repository of wisdom and the cooperation of an unlikely number of beings.
The Farfield Cosmos is unlikely to advance significantly on its own due to the elusive nature of knowledge. Knowledge, once unbound, is always in decline, and those within the Cosmos who seek to preserve it face an uphill battle against entropy itself.
When a book of great meaning is left untended, its structure weakens, and as it collapses, bursts of energy emerge from its failing form. These bursts can manifest as Ink Monsters, not as expressions of knowledge, but as the final chaotic remnants of its dissolution. Some take the form of page swarms, fluttering masses of disjointed parchment, while others become biting books, snapping hungrily at intruders in mindless hostility. These creatures do not preserve knowledge—they are echoes of its death throes, mere specters of what was lost.
The Weight of Meaning
Not all books undergo this transformation. A cheaply printed story, mass-produced and abundant, holds little intrinsic meaning as a singular object. Such books simply degrade over time, their knowledge dissipating harmlessly into the void. However, when a rare tome of profound significance is destroyed, the knowledge’s energy does not vanish—it coalesces into the remaining copies which have become more meaningful. Much like air rushing through a flute becomes more forceful as note holes are closed, the destruction of copies forces the knowledge into the last surviving versions, intensifying them until even they, inevitably, succumb to the same fate.
The Book of the Three Titans
One tome that circumvented this natural cycle—The Book, the fabled text collected by the Three Titans. Despite its immense significance, it did not decay or spawn Ink Monsters because its pages were scattered, and its language remained unknown to all living mortals. Each page was meaningless.
Only as the pages were gathered and the language was understood by the Three Titans did it truly become meaningful.
Maintaining Knowledge
To prevent the decay of knowledge and the spawning of book creatures, books must be read and reread to distribute the knowledge’s energy they contain.
Examples of Knowledge
Books Oral Tradition Language Runes Conscious Beings - This form of knowledge also decays as people forget. The negative effects of knowledge decay eventually kills the creature, putting natural lifespans on their bodies.
Do Souls Remember?
Do they forget?
They do not. They are the absolute core of a person. They are a cosmos without time within the framework of all of life.