On dream travellers

Lee Berman · 13 Feb 2011, 11:55 · from 2011-February.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2011 06:55:27 -0500
Subject: (urth) On dream travellers
Message-ID: <SNT123-w213767C3AAFCEED7043FDBCFD10 at phx.gbl>

>James Wynn:  We know nothing about what "powers" an astral body. To do all it does and 
>still remain solid would require far more energy than a single physical body could
>provide.

>Roy C. Lackey: I don't know what that last sentence is supposed to mean, but solid bodies
>cannot walk through the Curtain wall as Silkhorn and Hoof did. Ghosts and
>spirits are reputed to be able to do that sort of thing.

>James Wynn:  I disagree. It is not possible that physical weapons would harm a pure
>> spirit. The spirits in astral travel assume NEW bodies during that
>> period that operate according alternate unexplained physical laws.

>Roy C. Lackey: Rigoglio's spirit was sure as hell harmed. The spirit body is linked to the
>natural body; why else were Rigoglio's hands still tied when he got to Urth?
>Some of the mercenaries from Soldo died and were buried on Green but were
>alive and mindless on Blue.

There seems to be a bit of talking past each other here. James seems to be saying that beings
in dream travel take on a new form of existence, where some physical laws apply and others don't.

Roy seems to be saying beings in dream travel are pure, unsubstantial ghosts or spirits because
they can walk through walls. But I don't see how he explains why such beings can be harmed by
physical weapons.

(I still think the answer lies in folktales/mythology etc. How can a poltergeist throw things 
around if it has no physical existence? Same for other mythological-type beings- they must 
have some physical presence in our world or we'd be unable to know anything about them. Yet
they don't follow the physical laws of our universe either. Perhaps a "half in-half out" 
sort of existence.)

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