Author Topic: 2 Questions on Bob. Number 2, The Big One, Did He Reveal Mirror Mirror Plot?  (Read 5100 times)

Offline Yuillegan

  • White Council
  • Posty McPostington
  • *****
  • Posts: 1371
  • Forum Moderator
    • View Profile
Or, this will be the one where he breaks the time travel law by sending a message back to his younger self to ensure he doesn't make the bad choice, aborting the mirror timeline entirely.
I don't think that can work without removing the choice that spun off the mirror timeline. Which would violate Free Will. For Free Will to mean anything, and to work the way Jim seems to have set it up, the Choice must always exist. Otherwise it wouldn't mean anything if you could force the best possible outcome every time.

And the only way to remove such a choice would be to kill Harry before he made it (and deal with that horrible reality) or compromise his will to such a degree that the choice was made for him. I am not sure what would happen then, but I suspect then only one universe would exist from that particular moment, rather than the several possibilities that might have followed (as far as we know, there are only two but I suspect there might have been more).

It feels like Jim is setting this up as Lucifer's goal: a universe without Free Will. Which...doesn't really make sense. Why would the Archangel that rebelled because he didn't have [enough] Free Will want a universe that followed some predestined path? I hope Jim goes a more interesting route myself. And perhaps I have jumped the shark here, so perhaps I shouldn't be so worried.

Ultimately, Uriel said it best. The distinction between Good and Evil is meaningless unless one has the freedom to choose between them.

I suppose then, for choices to still be free, Harry will just have to ride out the consequences. And so will MirrorHarry, wherever they lead.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 12:14:00 AM by Yuillegan »

Offline Mira

  • Needs A Life
  • ***
  • Posts: 24056
    • View Profile
Quote
It feels like Jim is setting this up as Lucifer's goal: a universe without Free Will. Which...doesn't really make sense. Why would the Archangel that rebelled because he didn't have [enough] Free Will want a universe that followed some predestined path? I hope Jim goes a more interesting route myself. And perhaps I have jumped the shark here, so perhaps I shouldn't be so worried.

Except I think Lucifer would argue that his universe is the one with the true free will, because he wants free will without rules, so chaos..

Offline morriswalters

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2547
    • View Profile
@Mira
By definition Free Will implies no rules.

@Yuillegan
Jim may have a story line doing something very close to what Snark Knight suggests. Isn't this the nature of the Archive's purpose as revealed by Jim. The difference is that the purpose is not to destroy the Old Gods, they would continue to exist but there would be no path between that reality and Dresden's.

Offline Mira

  • Needs A Life
  • ***
  • Posts: 24056
    • View Profile
Quote
By definition Free Will implies no rules.

I disagree, everything has rules, limitations and the consequences, free will is more about your choice of limitations.

Offline morriswalters

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2547
    • View Profile
I disagree, everything has rules, limitations and the consequences, free will is more about your choice of limitations.
Everything you mention are exercises of Free Will or attempts to restrict it, but Free Will itself is the absence of any rules.  In the sense that there are no predetermined paths.  In a deterministic universe there are no consequences since there are no choices. If you murder then you were meant to murder, you don't have a choice.

Offline Mira

  • Needs A Life
  • ***
  • Posts: 24056
    • View Profile
Quote
In a deterministic universe there are no consequences since there are no choices. If you murder then you were meant to murder, you don't have a choice.

Why should it even be called murder?

Offline Arjan

  • Seriously?
  • ***
  • Posts: 13235
    • View Profile
Why should it even be called murder?
Because it is an unlawful killing. It is part of the script. And according to those who believe in a deterministic universe you are also predetermined to go to hell for it. Before you decided, not decided, to kill.
WG+++: The White God is Mister.
SH[Elaine+++]

Offline morriswalters

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2547
    • View Profile
Why should it even be called murder?
And you go straight to the crux of the matter.