Experiments on Object Identity Introduction:

Purpose: These experiments were conducted to identify what characteristics of a duplicated pair of objects governed which of the objects remain. I will refer to this trait as object identity.

Background: As far as my research has shown, there has been no examination of the underlying phenomenon of the disappearance of magically created objects. Many Fonts of magic can be used in the creation of objects, but without access to the lost Font of Creation, none of these summoned objects are permanent. It has long been accepted that manifestations of Fonts seek to return to the Font they came from, and do so when their manifestation ends. A Firebolt will dissipate into nothing after striking a target, and a shard of ice from the Font of Cold will disappear instead of turning to water as it warms.

The Grand Midlothian Empire[1] and the Age of Heroes era wizard Tankred[2] both documented a phenomenon in which conjured items did not fade from existence, but instead turned into a black dust cloud and then faded away. These black dust clouds were observed when two objects, seemingly identical, existed together. In the case of the Empire, a new soul stone being formed would cause the original to disintegrate, and any attempt to duplicate an existing stone resulted in the same for the duplicate. For Tankred, a duplicate object would disintegrate if he did not fill it with Will. If the original was damaged or destroyed, the duplicate would remain instead.

Procedure: I have performed a series of experiments to determine the key characteristic that makes up object identity.

Definitions:

Object Identity: the aspect of objects we are looking to quantify that allows an object to be the primary.

Primary: the object that remains after a duplicate disintegrates.

Duplicate: the object(s) that disintegrates when there exists more than one.

Experiment 1:

Procedure: For two resets I collected the same rock from outside the Dahn and placed it on the floor inside. The third time I left it outside untouched. I labeled them A1-3.

Results: A1 was brought inside the Dahn and remained unchanged through the length of the experiment*. A2 was brought inside and lasted for approximately six hours after the reset before disintegrating. The next day A3 was left untouched outside while A1 was inside the Dahn. A3 disintegrated after three hours.

*At some point later after I was done observing it, A1 disappeared. A new A was present outside when I checked.

Analysis: Duplicates are unstable. Touching an object appears to stabilize the object some amount.

The eventual disappearance of A1 implies that the primary is not unaffected by the mechanism that causes the duplicates to disintegrate. At some point the primary loses enough identity to be supplanted by a new duplicate. When I brought the new A in, it disappeared with minutes of the next reset.

Experiment 2

Procedure: The same rock was repeatedly chosen and labeled C1-2. C1 was broken in two with a hammer and C2 was left alone.

Results: Within a minute, the two halves of C1 disintegrated.

Analysis: When an object is damaged, its identity is weakened and the newer duplicate supplants it as the primary object.

Experiment 3:

Procedure: The same rock was repeatedly chosen and labeled D1-2. D1 was left on a shelf and D2 was carried on my person.

Results: D1 disintegrated after ten hours.

Analysis: Non-destructive human interaction with an object increases object identity enough that a duplicate can supplant the primary.

Experiment 4:

Procedure: The same rock was repeatedly chosen and labeled E1-2. I held each rock in a hand and infused E2 with Will as if powering a ward and put the rocks down.

Results: E2 became the primary and E1 disintegrated after nine hours.

Analysis: A duplicate with Will imbued will become the primary.

Experiment 5:

Procedure: The same rock was repeatedly chosen and labeled F1-2. I held both rocks on my person.

Results: F2 disintegrated after ten hours.

Analysis: Holding an item will delay a duplicate's disintegration but if the primary is also held, it will not supplant it.

Experiment 6

Procedure: The same rock was repeatedly chosen and labeled G1-2. Holding both rocks on my person, I cleaned and polished G2.

Results: G1 disappeared after twelve hours.

Analysis: Actively interacting with an object in a non-destructive manner will allow it to become the primary, even if the current primary is being held.

Conclusion

My experiments led me to develop the theory that the primary driving factor in object identity is the amount of Will infused in an object. If that is true, I have made the following secondary discoveries.

When a person interacts with an object, they imbue it with some amount of their own Will.

This passive Will transfer to an object is driven by the amount of thought put into the object during the interaction. Holding an item will pass a small amount of Will to it. Constructive interaction adds additional Will.

Changing an object constructively fills the object with additional Will, while changing an object destructively causes the object to lose Will. These together suggest the Will in the object is tied to the imbuer’s view of the object at the time the Will is imparted into it. The further the object is destructively altered from that state the more Will it loses.

Each object in the world has some level of Will inside it. This Will is stable and does not decay. When an object has a duplicate, both objects start to lose Will at a constant rate. When there is none left in an object, it disintegrates. Duplicates created from the reset mechanism are created with a small amount of Will. I have no theory at this time as to where this Will comes from.

When I died in the Dahn fighting the golems, the body inhabited never disintegrated, always the dead ones did—thankfully. If Will is what gives an object identity, this makes sense as a person is full of it. I wonder what would happen if I infused a corpse with Will until I had none. I will not be testing that.

The Empire’s experiments suggested a soul stone cannot be duplicated, so the only difference between you and the copy I woke up with each reset was the soul stone. Extrapolating on this, I theorize that the reason you, Spellbook, never degraded in the Dahn once you were trapped here is that soul stones are their own source of Will. Is there a way I could draw Will from you? I will have to run this by Dagmar and see if he has any insights into my findings.

[1] Deckard's Compendium of Ensouled Artifacts by Deckard the Scholar

[2] Lesser Lost Spells by Wilstun Aberfon