From: jburdo@capricorn.kent.edu () Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.storyteller Subject: Re: On the Mnemosyne (was Re: Bindusara and his pursuers) Date: 16 Jul 1996 03:05:31 GMT In article <31E509F0.167E@astro.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>, Clemens Schmitz writes: |> In the following article I will present arguments showing that the so-called |> bloodline of the Mnemosyne is an offshot of the Malkavian Clan. Several |> Clans have been mentioned earlier, but none make as strong a case as Clan |> Malkavian. |> |> The first hint that has been made was refuted by several other scholars. It |> is conocerning the easiest Disciplines for the Mnemosyne. Aristotle de |> Laurent, author of the best-known copy of the Book of Nod (1993) writes in |> the Preface: 'Barely a night goes by that I do not thank our founder for his |> foresight in providing me with the secret ways of hiding, the way to see |> beyond sight, and the voice of command that seems to come so easily to our |> line...' This is a clear descreption of Obfuscate, Auspex and Domiante |> respectively, known since the Convention of Thorns as the Clan Disciplines |> of Clan Malkavian. Pick three Disciplines from the main book that are better for gathering information. |> The second argument is concerning the mindset of the Mnemosyne. Again I base |> my argument on Dr. de Laurent, 'My sire and his ire before him, followed |> this great and glorious work. Indeed, our very nature has been shaped by |> this quest; we are unable to stop searching for knowledge.' If this isn't a |> typical description of a Malkavian's obsession, what is? |> In other paragraphs he speaks of 'being commanded to search for the Book' |> and 'it is in my nature to report it, it is as they say, in the Blood'. He |> also wites that he 'cannot fight the brunig desire for more knowledge.' Malkavian's aren't typically obsessed. Judging from the clanbook and most people's PC's, they fall into the happy madman category. Their derangements also usually aren't the same from sire to childe. The group the author most closely resembles is the scholarly Ortiz ghoul family of the Sabbat, created by the Tzimisce, who all have a Derangement, usu. Obsession. |> The third argument is the fate of the former Mnemosyne. Dr. de Laurent |> reports: 'My sire and his sire seem to have fallen under a horrible curse. A |> madness, dark and quiet at first, but soon growing to a terrible loss of |> coherent thought and communication, has seemed to strike them.' This might |> be interpreted as the gradual descent of those elder Mnemosyne deeper and |> deeper into the Malkavian Madness Network, separating them from the 'real' |> world. Since when do Malkavians *go* insane? Or fear madness? If the author is a Malkavian (or his bloodline is an offshoot of them), shouldn't he know about the Malkavian Madness Network? Don't Malkavians have to know variants of Auspex to access it? |> The last point I wish to make is the growing paranoia de Laurent is showing |> throughout the Preface. He feels watched by others and it culminates in the |> threat 'if any of my brothers and sisters come near it, I will... I will |> send them to the death of Fire!' Surely de Laurent is on the edge of madness |> himself. He's researching a subject that has similar fanatic adherents (among the Sabbat and others) to Islamic fundamentalism. Remember Salman Rushdie's death sentence for a work of fiction? He's also poking into the origins and secrets of the most powerful beings in the world, the Antedeluvians. He's probably crazy not to be more paranoid. |> Another interesting point is the relation between de Laurent and the Gangrel |> Becket, to whom de Laurent refers to as his childe. Becket himself never |> refers to de Laurent as his sire, and in the deuterocanonical works of the |> scholars of the White Wolf it is mentined that he studied under Aristotle de |> Laurent, not that he was sired by him. |> |> Literature: |> |> The Book of Nod (White Wolf, 1993, translation of Aristotle de Laurent) |> White Wolf Homepage |> (http://www.white-wolf.com/Sig%20Characters/Beckett.html) |> |> Clemens |> Kindred Researcher, Clan Malka^H^H^H^H^HTremere -- Jim Burdo jburdo@scorpio.kent.edu "We are the Hollow Men. We have always been here."