I thought this might be a good topic to post about, since it's hasen't been talked about before. One of the epitaph fragments in .hack//MUTATION reads:
"When a finger points to the yonder moon, the fool does not look at the fingertip."
I know what the metaphor means, I'm more curious as to how it relates to the plotline and what it represents storyline wise. There's another epitaph fragment that is kind of cryptic also, I'll post it when I get time.
Epitaph
Well, my best explaination of it's meaning would be that the "fool" is not paying any attention to the sorce (fingertip) of the idea (moon) that the "fingertip" is suggesting, the fool is blindly beliving what the idea without questioning the sorce. It could be making a reference to maybe the system administraters trying to cover up the coma victims and the players beliving them, but I would have thought since it's part of epitaph that it would be descibing something bigger. I'm not even sure where it would fit in the epitaph as a whole, as it doesn't have a self explainitory meaning like the other fragments do.
(I'll try to get the other epitaph fragment up tomorrow.)
(I'll try to get the other epitaph fragment up tomorrow.)
hmm, I could probably figure this out, um, manshjj, that theory is awesome! but hmm, maybe your theory is right, because the players could be equivelents of the sprites that are being wiped out (put in comas) but have no idea of what is destroying their race? I dunno, man, Mannshjj, your topics really make people think
Rectos Dominos
I would think not looking at the fingertip would be bad on the fool's part because it describes him as a "fool" for not looking at the fingertip. In most cases looking toward the future is something positive (even though ignoring the present isn't a good thing to do either) the fingertip is trying to destract the fool from the main issue by pointing at the moon, and the fool is foolish by looking at the moon without questioning the fingertip in any way. But the epitaph fragment is vague, so there's really no definate way of telling what it symbolizes.
Moving on, here's the other epitaph fragment:
Epitaph 04: Over the keel mountains, Meets an ape with human speech, The ape asks. "What clings to you? Bear it - you cannot. Accept it - you cannot. But hidden - it is from you. Recite it's name.
The way it says "Bear it - you cannot." and "Accept it - you cannot." almost sounds like a metaphor for death or falling into a coma, or perhapps the cursed wave? "But hidden - it is from you." could be refering to Morganna as she can't be seen and being 'the unknown force behind all the coma victums.' But I'm not sure what the "ape" represents.
Moving on, here's the other epitaph fragment:
Epitaph 04: Over the keel mountains, Meets an ape with human speech, The ape asks. "What clings to you? Bear it - you cannot. Accept it - you cannot. But hidden - it is from you. Recite it's name.
The way it says "Bear it - you cannot." and "Accept it - you cannot." almost sounds like a metaphor for death or falling into a coma, or perhapps the cursed wave? "But hidden - it is from you." could be refering to Morganna as she can't be seen and being 'the unknown force behind all the coma victums.' But I'm not sure what the "ape" represents.
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thedudewhosadude
- Legend
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- Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 8:13 pm
hm.....the way I'm seeing that one is that the Ape is Aura or Helba and the 'cling' is the bracelet or book of twilight. For the Ape, I'm leaning more toward Aura, as an ape is the under-evolved form of a human. An AI is also under-evolved to humans, and Aura would be the highest of them. Kite didn't choose to accept the book, it was basically pushed on him. Kite obviously can't wear the book, but it's not hidden from him. Perhaps the 'clinging' is Data Drain? To use it, he has to say its name (it's a skill, after all) Or maybe it's Cubia?
You're only young once, but you're NEVER too old to be immature.
Yea, I'm going with Dude on this part, that sounds about right, but for what the Ape SAYS, I think it's that he can't bear the fact that his friend is in a Coma, and that he can't accept it, and that the solution to saving him is hidden from him, and Kite often recite's Orca's name before boss fights, like "Orca, I'll save you..." and whatnot, anyway, that part of the Epitaph is pretty obvious anyway, back to the main issue, Mannshjj makes some sense, maybe the old man distracting him from the main issue is, um....uh.....Wiseman? I dunno
Rectos Dominos
But Wiseman wasn't trying to destract Kite from his goal, he was gathering information about the cursed wave, and how to fight it. Maybe it's refering to Lios blaming Kite for the data corruption with ignoring the true issue of Morganna. (since Lios first showed up in .hack//MUTATION, the time that you get the epitaph fragment.)
