People (Kind)

People are one of the Six Kinds into which all humans are categorized. Almost any human you're likely to run into on a daily basis is people. Come to think of it, you already knew that.

Cosmology

What is a person?

It is a Kind in which the body (ibu) is animate and the spirit (lemu) is sentient and are linked together to create change in the world (Unfolding). They are unlike bubun, where the spirit is separated, or ancestors or saints, where the body is inanimate, or revenants, where the link has been broken and reforged, or haunts, where the link is twisted.

So it's just a person, right?

Yup. But ...

Are corpseborn people?

Yes and no. They clearly have the look and feel of humans, and seem to fit the criteria, and their status is not detectable. They are a marginal case and theologically, their status as people is suspect. Maybe they are a really smart artificial intelligence who just has an uncanny ability to emulate humanity.

Why are there people?

The world is a Coherence - a coming-together of matter, spirit, energy, and so on. Through the process of Unfolding (patterned change), things come to be other than they were. The First Ancestors emerged and each gave rise to its singular Kind. There were (human) people since our First Ancestor emerged. But humans are special, because they have Six Kinds. This is mainly through the intervention of Zunuga, the first shoror, who came back from death with the key elements of the Corps theology.

What happens when a person is magically changed into another form?

Theologically the Corps holds that physical transformations alone do not affect the Kind of a thing. So a person polymorphed into a bird is still a person. There are people who disagree with this proposition, and argue that it is possible to truly transform an entity's Kind (just as one's Kind changes after death). But that is powerful magic indeed, if so.

Are humans whose beliefs are outside the Corps people?

Of course! That's why it would make sense to convert them!

What about other sentient species?

Hith, and fliitangi, and other sentient creatures that are not human, don't fit into the Six Kinds. They are clearly living, and are generally regarded as having a First Ancestor. Ordinary nonsentient animals and plants are also living but do not have First Ancestors.

What about little babies?

Yes, they are people. The fusion of ibu and lemu takes place at the moment of birth. Now, of course, they are little stupid useless people, but their humanity is there from the first moment.

What about fetuses?

What kind of game do you think this is? Get out of here!

Capacities

What other Kinds can people turn into?

Mainly, they die and become Ancestors. A bubun, revenant, or saint is always an ancestor first, before being transformed into its next state - there is no direct transformation into any of those states. The only other immediate possibility is that a person can become a haunt.

Do people need to eat and drink?

Yup!

Do people need sleep?

Of course!

Do people need to breathe?

Almost constantly!

Can Voices talk to people?

Sure, they can talk to anyone! So can you! Hi!

This is silly.

That's not a question.