Worth telling other people, so they have something. Though I guess he could just take that memory.

That's what she said was standard procedure if anyone figured it out. I'll spread it around, anyway.

Did you ask her why she didn't - do - anything? How you could just know that and be like 'well. interesting' -

...haven't asked. Seems out of keeping of the tone of the conversations somehow and I don't have anything much that I'd do with the answer. My guess is that she aligns to power and interesting-things-happening, that this is why she's making nice with me now and why she cooperated with him before.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting the answer to be enlightening. Well.

Shrug.

Angband doesn't exist anymore and never will again. Or else I'm still there. Flip a coin. Fun, isn't it?

On the bright side. Imagine if you'd run into Thauron before you had ice powers.

Would've been bad. Although I might have been able to talk my way out of a fight - I did the first time I encountered him - and then just not gone back. I only did go back because I did have ice powers.

Did Thuringwethil have anything to say on whether it'd be complicated to insert convincing false memories?

No, but I didn't phrase the question to elicit same. I can go back if you like.

I mean, she'll say something and I won't believe her. I'm interested, but won't react too usefully -

Shrug. She might have a coherent explanation for why things work the way she says they do? I don't know. I can save it for next time I talk to her.

What do you mean?

I mean - some of them do more of the 'shepherd' thing and some more the 'collector' thing, but none of them even tried to be whatever you try to be towards Men.

...well, there's Huan, although he's doing yet a third thing.

Yes, Huan avoids that particular trap. By being a dog. Bit extreme, but I suppose I will take it.

I'm intermittently very curious about the sort of high-powered sapient being who goes, 'I guess I'll be a dog'. And then proceeds to be a dog.

I asked Tyelcormo once. The way he explained it was that the Maiar could easily use all of their cognitive processes just on senses, and be utterly aware of the world but less - conscious, in some ways - than we are. Most people find that unappealing and so most Maiar are mostly cognitive and a little bit experiential. But Huan likes it the other way, and - when he has occasion to think about it, doesn't think that him running things for our side would be better, and it would have to be a lot better to justify completely unwriting how he functions in the world...

I guess that explains it.

I don't think him running things for our side would be better. He's smarter, sure, and faster, but the Maiar have a lot of limitations.

Systematically? Like what?

Not systematically, it's generally different ones - they are not very adaptive. They are very slow. They can't tend to read people very well. They cope badly with new or surprising situations.