From:	Mike Elkins <MikeE@*********.COM>
Subject:	Opaque glass on the astral? (was Re: [SR3] Area Spells)
Date:	Tue, 29 Jul 1997 08:34:04 -0500

-Reply

I wrote:
> Yes, thats in the rules. However, having glass
be opaque in the astral
> makes things so much more consistent that I
use it as a house rule.
Gurth Replied:
>How does it make things more consistent?
<snip>
>IMHO. Astral space doesn't use light,
>so there's no trouble with wavelengths etc.

But transparency is COMPLETELY a function of
the energy states of the molecules and the
frequency of the photons. Astral space doesn't
use light, it follows completely different rules.
For astral beings such as spirits, or spells to
have a limitation based on the peculularities of
human perception seems inconsistent to me.

>It appears to me that astral space, like totems,
>is to some degree formed by peoples' ideas
>about it, but at the same time it also forms
>those ideas.

In my interpretation, astral space is the place
where consciousness, thoughts, concepts,
dreams, magic and essence come from. Our
perceptions of it may be colored by our ideas,
and our ideas are its inhabitants, but its rules are
its own. If a thousand people start believing Elvis
lives in the astral, he will show up there
eventually. But there is a big difference between
discovering new pieces of astral space, adding
inhabitants etc. and imposing universal
limitations. Why should an ancient free spirit
care whether mankind can see through glass or
not?

So here is my simple, universal rule: solids are
opaque, gases are transparent, liquids are
somewhere inbetween. It's due to the
cohesiveness of their auras :)

Double-Domed Mike