Coherence

Coherence (falangai, literally 'form-ongoing') is the concept in the cosmology of the Corps that aims to explain why things have form, and how they can be separated from other things. It can also be glossed as 'solidity' or 'inertia'. Coherence gives pattern to the world as it is on an ongoing basis. Without it, no two objects could be distinguished from one another. Kinds (in general) are instances of coherence - they have stable properties across space or time. That does not entail that they are unchanging - if Kinds did not change (person into Ancestor, Ancestor into saint, etc.), the entire Corps would collapse into nonsense. Coherence is not stasis - it is a process of continuous restoration of form through preserving stability. Coherence tells us that there are patterns in the universe and that by observing what is the same, we can come to a better understanding of what to expect. Coherence is not conscious in itself. But the existence of coherence, as a process, is evidence of the universe having a pattern greater than human comprehension. Coherence is like the pulse - steady, bearing witness to a totality that cannot be fully comprehended.