A Galaxy of Souls
From Zanecorpwiki
Immediately after dying a man wakes up in a far future in which there is a war raging between those that would use the universe's apparently limited capacity to re-incarnate past souls, the Inheritors[notes 1], and those that seek to use that capacity for themselves, the Immortals. The primary action is between these two groups, each a loose federation of various interests spread across the universe.
The Immortals consist primarily of the oldest, non-transcendent souls who, from the standpoint of the Inheritors, have succumb to temptation. Their failure of faith leads them to try and expand their own personal consciousness "at the current level". This results in vastly intelligent and powerful beings which are also selfish and immature in many respects.
The protagonist is a newly re-incarnated soul brought back in part because that's what the Inheritors do, but also specifically to aid in the war against the Immortals. The protagonist is not, and could not, be key in the total struggle--which is trans-universal, but instead provides a bridge to the reader into a world populated by pre-transcendent beings.
The idea of "transcendence" primarily acts as a power dampener on the story. The actors are kept from doing truly devastating things, like destroying space-time, by the presence of just-transcendent beings. There's also the idea that despite it being so far in the future and the idea of transcendence, that individuals "wrapped in the mortal coil" (as it were) can only go so far. At a certain level, you either transcend or descend. Thus, the Immortals have far more experience and theoretical power than the Inheritors, but the latter is ultimately limited in their ability to bring that power to bear by the very thing which garners them such power.
Specific ideas:
- Bodhisattva : souls who descend from the transcendent state to aid the Inheritors; an act of great compassion who's (literally) transcendent tragedy causes much sorrow and inspiration among the Inheritors
- a variation on the above in which the Bodhisattva must naturally appear as the capacity of the universe reaches it's limits; though transcended, they are not of "a level" which allows them to escape the "base reality" completely
- the fighting itself is not physical, but a kind of direct psychological engagement; the Immortals employing fear of the unknown while the Inheritors project faith; "there is a point"
- outside of actual engagements, however, the narrative draws from conventional war, individuals are lost, injured, reports of larger battles come in, etc.
- appearance of the Bodhisattva as potential climax of story? I'd like to avoid a Deus ex Machina, but it may make sense.
- it's necessary to resurrect souls who endured a time before knowledge of at least the possibility--if not the certainty--of resurrection was widely understood, for these are the ones who know how to endure the possibility of death
Anime variation based on earlier idea: after physical immortality is achieved, humans must learn to gather in spirit energy and expand their minds or else they degrade and go insane. The world without death as the great reset ends up being harder. People must move forward or lose their souls entirely.
Notes
- ↑ An earlier idea was that as physical immortality is reached, one goes insane unless one opens oneself to a convergence with others. In a sense, merging with existing souls and "inheriting" those of the past. Hence, "Inheritor".
