Work Text:
79°: Angel ϱewind
Rewinding Report #141110
Rewinding Report #141110-01
On August 16th, 2021, the Ascended Angel, one Tanzo Kubo, was exorcised. The former Executor had been dismissed his employer, the then-and-current Composer of Shinjuku.
The very same Composer requested the former Executor's rewinding. I was selected to observe with my second sight ostensibly on my previous excellence in meticulously reporting the events leading up to his exorcism.
The former Executor shall henceforth be referred to under his present title, Polyphonist. One of the lesser known Angelic roles in the UG, the Polyphonists primarily serve to guide newly Produced Composers in acquiring knowledge of human cultures and the varieties therein.
It is unusual for a Composer who has overseen a ward for so long to request a Polyphonist.
However, the Composer of Shinjuku was noted for having dismissed his original Polyponist early. This request is therefore in line with the Composer's intent for improvement.
The Composer's reasons for rewinding the Polyphonist are as follows:
1. his Ascended status,
2. his previous capacity to have passed as a Reaper,
3. the Composer's newly acquired belief in reform over erasure, and
4. the Composer's personal amusement.
The Higher Plane saw fit to grant his request. The rewinding therefore began shortly after exorcism.
The rewinding is a notably painful process. Even for a veteran Producer such as Myselves, it is not an easy burden to witness. This purification by fire follows the Higher Plane's benevolent belief that all Souls may change for the better.
Such tempering through agony is not imposed to cause anguish. Rather, not unlike the Games, it is, according to the Higher Plane, a test that spurs self-enlightenment.
Rewinding Report #141110-02
Exorcism, like erasure, involves the agonizing dispersal of one's Soul into the surrounding environment. In erasure, this dispersal occurs randomly. Immediate reconstitution is possible with a powerful Imagination. Reapers use this method to capture erased Noise into pins for later summoning.
This method is not recommended for non-Noise beings, as the chances of whole, complete, and pure reconstitution are low.
Unlike erasure, exorcism allows for complete and pure reconstitution. This is because exorcism disperses Soul towards the Soul's capo in the Higher Plane.
The creation of da capo, dal segno, and similar Soul navigation markers in the lower planes is strictly forbidden.
The sharing of such techniques with lower planes' denizens is Taboo, punishable through limitation of intervention, exorcism, or even erasure.
Theoretically, a navigational marker decodable in the lower planes is possible, although unprecedented. A Taboo of the highest order, it would bring Angelic immortality to the UG.
Fortunately, all known Higher Plane techniques are undecodable in the UG—their vibe frequencies will not translate properly.
Such a navigational marker would require an entirely novel approach, true brilliance, strong Imagination, and a driven will.
Therefore, it is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.
Souls acquire some destructive interference with each exorcism. This is significantly more destructive than minor wear and tear incurred by common actions such as tuning vibes or jumping between parallel worlds. This damage is known as Disharmony.
Angelic Souls are nigh immortal.
The total destructive interference incurred through normal wear and tear to a Produced Angel's Soul is not expected to cause decoherence within the universe's lifespan.
Theoretically, an Angel repeatedly exorcised could incur sufficient Disharmony to decohere prior to a universe's end.
Rewinding Report #141110-03
Few methods beyond exorcism can induce Disharmony in Angelic Souls.
Therefore, exorcisms are typically avoided, but can be used at-will, at a higher-ranking Angel's discretion.
Other codes are significantly less resistant to destructive interference than Angelic Souls. To codes unsuited for the higher planes such as Reapers, Players, and Noise, a single exorcism is sufficient to erasure.
Reapers are significantly more resistant than Players or humans. Reapers are expected Ascend or face erasure before their Disharmony leads to decoherence, and thus erasure.
For this reason, humans have limited chances to play Games. The cumulative Disharmony even over enough repeated Games would eventually lead to decoherence.
Once returned da capo, the Soul remains paused until deliberately played. The rewinding is overseen by a Divine Judge, commonly referred to as the DJ. This involves the Soul reliving records of all contained memories repeatedly at an accelerated pace while self-reflecting on its sins.
Thus, the Soul has repeated opportunities to observe its mistakes, learn from them, and explain why its previous actions were sinful, to not repeat them in the future.
If a sin is insufficiently repented, the DJ scratches the record, forcing a re-reliving of those memories. The vibrations associated with scratching are an exquisite agony.
It is tacitly understood that such scratching, however painful, is necessary for proper atonement.
The less time a Soul has allotted for rewinding, the more scratchings generally occur due to less time given for the Soul to process and learn from its own mistakes.
This leads to an ever-more incredibly painful process.
Rewinding is thus usually requested on the timespan of centuries, but no one has ever accused Angels of being in a hurry.
Rewinding Report #141110-04
The Polyphonist's rewinding concluded one month later, on September 16th, 2021.
Interestingly, on the same day, the former proxy reunited with a thought-lost former fellow.
Although the two events may not relate, the Composer of Shinjuku visited Shibuya shortly before the reunion. He possibly aided the coincidental meeting as an apology to the proxy.
Per Higher Plane protocol, the Polyphonist's new date of Production was thus September 16th, 2021.
The Composer of Shinjuku assigns Noise forms based on suits of a human card game, hanafuda. The Polyphonist's new date of Production should have rendered a Chrysanthemum Cantus.
However, his Noise form remains an Anser Cantus.
This implies that the Composer of Shinjuku has either changed his Noise form selection process, or rejected the Higher Plane's date of Production in favor of the Polyphonist's birthday as a former human.
The former is unlikely given that all other Shinjuku Reapers have retained their Noise forms. The latter would be a potential alarum bell for future insubordination.
However, I have carefully examined the record. I would like to submit a third possibility for review. The current Conductor of Shinjuku already has the Chrysanthemum Cantus form. It is unusual for two Reapers or Angels in a ward to have the exact Noise form.
Thus, the Composer of Shinjuku possibly maintained Polyphonist's form to increase variety, consistent with his Imagination Polyphony education.
Regardless, the Higher Plane deemed the situation due further monitoring. Myselves received the honor despite my existing Producer duties. I shall remain watchful.