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Message no. 1
From: GKoth2258@***.com
Subject: A (long) careful analysis of "Ambrose" and IT.
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 14:05:56 -0500
Here's my take on things:

First, I very seriously doubt the term "pops," as used by "the Laughing
Man"
(aka Harlequinn) refers to age at all. It is clear that Ambrose is old
enough to have been around to know poet and mystic William Blake (1757-1827)
and that Ambrose knows what is coming, having been there the last time (the
Horrors, the Scourge, the Fourth World. It seems clear that "pops" refers to
the comments made later about children.

>From previous comments it is clear that Ambrose does not embrace technology
as whole-heartedly as most. But this tells us little of who he really is.
His comments about children are a wealth of information however.

It is clear that at least once Ambrose sent "...an infant to grow far from
home, ignorant of it's parentage"(Harlequinn). He defends himself by stating
that he had paid for what he did, and that he "...was there, almost all the
time, caring for him." This statement alone eliminates Ehran's daughter.
Besides, is it not Harlequinn that is caring for her? In addition, this
could very well be the source for the irony of pops. A child born to other
parents grows up believing that Ambrose is his father.

The next several comments are critical. To quote them, mostly, in full:

Ambrose: ...What kind of being uses infants that way?
Harlequinn: You ask that tonight, of all nights of the year? "For
unto us a child is born..."
Ambrose: Don't blaspheme.

>>>>>Clearly this reference to Christ could refer to several things. One
is
Ambrose's belief in a higher being. The other could possibly mean that
Ambrose himself played some role in the life of Christ. A child ignorant of
his parentage, growing up far from home could possibly refer to Christ.
Admitedly, not a strong possibility, but a posibility none the less. There
at, at the minimum, certain parallels.

Harlequinn: ...You see the hope of the world in the birth of a child unlike
any other, which you remember on this night. You once put the hope of your
land and its people in the birth of another.

>>>>>This shows that Ambrose led, or at least played a role in the
leadership, of a nation, almost certainly a Fourth World nation.

All these factors indicate two possibilities. One, that Ambrose is a
character unheard of before in Shadowrun. Very possibly an elf, but not
guaranteed. The other possibility is that Ambrose is Brightlight, mentioned
in Aztlan. Brightlight would appear to have some kind of connection with the
Vatican, and Brightlight appears to be at least friendly with Harlequinn,
based on the Laughing Man's reactions. This is indeed the explanation to
which I am currently leaning. Perhaps more light might be shed upon this
matter if we knew the identities of all the Fourth World and more about it's
history.

The question of "IT" would appear to be easier to answer. IT has not been
around very long, at least not since the Fourth World. Harlequinn "It wasn't
around last time."

IT also appears to be new, a mystery. Harlequinn wonders about what
resources it has. And both he and Ambrose wonder why IT needs children.
Ambrose offers an intruiging possibility.

Ambrose: "Two native tongues, more profound imprinting than mere fluency.
What shall we call these then? Bicosmic?"

and later

Harlequinn: "How this new cosmos (referring to the Matrix) will combine the
powers of the old, I don't know." "Maybe the wall between them will stay up,
maybe it won't."

A wealth of inferences. Based on further information in Virtual Realities
2.0, there exists the distinct possibility that there are spirits, of some
fashion, within the Matrix. Whether this means true spirits or Artificial
Intelligence, it is unclear. What can be inferred is that with AI, UV nodes,
and the otaku, the Matrix is becoming more than "virtual reality." Indeed,
it may become just as real as "normal reality." The otaku being
"bicosmic"
is a key element of this statement. Based on Harlequinn's comment, the
Horrors could very well manifest within the Matrix, which leaves open the
possibility that other spirits might.

Given the above, it would appear the IT is some sort of entity, whether
spirit or AI (perhaps that might mean the same thing?). Regardless, it is
living is some sense of the word, and has a purpose. What it is, however,
remains unclear.

Whew. Sorry if it's a bit long, but I wanted it to be careful. And
remember, none of the above is gospel, only what my analysis has resulted in.

Erik
the Analyzing Stranger

Further Reading

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