Other Ways to Say Darkness

Whenever a theme or a topic pops up three or more times in a short period I tend to get very interested in that topic. So when the word 'darkness' popped up in two books and a video game, I of course started thinking.

It started about two weeks back, when I picked up the game, Kingdom Hearts 2. For those of you who aren't tapped into the gaming world, KH2 is the sequel to the milestone collaboration between Square-Enix and Disney in which classic Disney characters play out a grand adventure to vanquish the Heartless. The Heartless are beings of pure darkness that steal the hearts of people. In the second game, one of the main characters becomes an incarnate of darkness but despite his ties to the Heartless and the realm of darkness, he remains good.

The second occurrence was in the book “Thud!” by Terry Pratchett. In Thud, the darkness takes the form of a kind of Dwarfish religion. Down in the mines of the Dwarfs, a kind of sentience has welled up around runes of darkness. While the “Summoning Dark” is a creation of pure evil, the ultimate solution to the problem turns out to be another kind of darkness, “The Guarding Dark.” The book also took a look at the world from the possible perspective of the underground, mining society that the Dwarfs had. Because they lived their entire lives in darkness, the Dwarfs had a different view of it than any creature that lived above ground. They felt at home in it and embraced it, even going to the lengths of fearing the light and the surface world. It is an interesting point of view.

The third book was a new novel by L.E. Modesit Jr., a favorite author of mine for his Spellsong books. In the new book, Espers (from the term ESP or Extra Sensory Perception) act as gods on a paradise world until an newcomer, wrapped in darkness arrives to bring justice to the gods. I haven't quite finished this one yet but the book clearly has the new god of darkness as the protagonist.

All this boils down to the traditional role reversal of light vs. dark. Throughout fiction and even history, the Light has typically been the champion and Darkness the villain. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and even the contrast of the “Dark Ages” to the era of “Enlightenment,” the world is swimming with examples of Light = Good, Dark = Bad. To see so many reversals of the typical order in such a short span of time indicates a huge reversal of the world's thinking. Sure, most people will still link light with good but as we drift further from the era of blind religious faith and delve further into the mysteries of the world as science sees it, it is clear that the trends of culture will look to darkness.

One possible explanation is the human appreciation of the unknown. I am referring specifically to the depths of space that have yet to be explored. There is a fascination with the dark beyond that is drawing our imaginations to darkness. Ultimately, I think we have become sick of the safety of the light and we now seek adventure in the dark. While I don't think we can predict where this trend will take us, I think it is clear that the Enlightenment is over and we can now begin the “Endarkenment.”

As a final thought, it can also be said that abandoning light and embracing darkness is a bad thing. I submit that even though we may not be able to see in the dark, at least we cannot be blinded by a shadow.

Muah!
Lyrinoir