Q. Names have power in their world, but what if a person (human) doesn’t have a name? It’s clear that they’re still capable of making a contract using a pseudonym (as with Timothy), but what if that human doesn’t have a name that they can identify themselves with? Would something like that make a contract somewhat difficult to make or at the very least make it easier for the Being to say their master’s name?
A. Anything you identify with can be your True Name. Camellia chose a name she’d decided on that nobody had ever actually called her, and it worked. Jany could conceivably have entered the Contract as Saturn39, the username she answers to online. If everyone addresses you by a certain nickname, that’s perfectly valid, even if it isn’t the name on your birth certificate or the one you sign your checks with.
Q. I know they don’t have a “kryptonite” (short of being away from their masters), but what exactly gives them strength? It’s clearly not just their physical limitations or the amount of practice they have. Is it their personal happiness (as measured, by how well they please their masters), or some other set thing?
A. It’s mostly from having a Master, being loved, following their Master’s commands, and fighting. Not necessarily in that order.
Q. Is “I, [your name here]” really the whole of the Contract, or are we-the-readers just not seeing the fine print?
A. Yes, there’s a lot more to the Contract. It’s a whole program, and humans who enter it are just filling their names into the “____ is the person you answer to” slot.
Hm. I wonder if not all masters are created equal, vis a vis power generation for Beings. And now I’m thinking of Beings in terms of digimon. Anyway, it seemed that Pat had previously been beaten regularly in Battles, from the way several other Beings reacted to the Dog, but has had a much better record now, implying Cohen was a weaker Master, and didn’t give as much energy, even though he was much more pleased with and order-ish with Pat than Bianca seems to be (though the difference of “pleased with” and “caring for” might also explain some of the difference, if such emphasis matters) [Cohen gave a lot of orders, and they were easy to follow out, and he was happy to have Pat available to to do all the things, and be a test subject. Bianca tries not to give orders, gives orders that are not simple to follow, and is occasionally distressed by how Pat decides to follow through with them [bad Patrick, no propositioning your master with hedonistic bliss that she’d really enjoy and would be hard pressed to get in the traditional way!])
I’m excited for a new storyline – hopefully in the present. The flashbacks provide some great development, but I miss Sparrow :)
Wasn’t the first question already answered in Chapter 17 Q&A?
Whoops, you’re right. Fixed ^_^;