Subject: (urth) Possession in the New Sun books?

From: Dave Tallman <davetallman at msn.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:18:10 +0000

In the BotLS, people and animals are frequently "possessed" by the gods. 
The technology to do this existed in Typhon's time. In the BotNS, there 
are hints that the something similar could be happening.

In Claw XXIV: "Not only your Universal Mind, but many lesser powers wear 
our humanity like a cloak when they will, sometimes only as concerns two 
or three of us. We who are worn are seldom aware that, seeming ourselves 
to ourselves, we are yet Demiurge, Paraclete, or Fiend to another."

Typhon himself seems to have such a power in his domain. He makes Sev 
see places that are impossible to view from the eye of his mountain 
statue in Sword XXVI. "Fool," he said. "You see through my eyes."  Sev 
senses that even a temporary loyalty oath will give Typhon permanent 
control: "It is the truth that binds men."

Miles is a clear case of possession, though in this case the old host 
mind is gone. Jonas must have used Heirogrammate-level technology to do 
this after he used the mirrors to get back to the Ship.

My question is this: can we find other places where characters might be 
"possessed" by the Heirogrammates or other high-tech beings? Cases where 
the possessed people are still "seeming ourselves to ourselves"?  This 
could be used to explain sticky plot points where certain actions or 
words have to be forced (like Sev's sword stroke during his elevation 
ceremony). I'd like to use it sparingly, since overuse would make 
everyone a puppet.