Necessary Eagle she/her Posted October 13, 2020 Posted October 13, 2020 (edited) Quote You're getting into things that are subject to debate among people in the cosmere. Most shadows would insist that they're the same person. Others would dispute this, saying they're essentially a spren--a bit of the power that came alive like you said, taking on the personality of the person when the person themselves died. Quote A Cognitive Shadow simply means a copy of the Cognitive side made by a deep amount of Investiture. And everybody has a Cognitive side. Basically it's a fake soul. Or, fake is the wrong term. Fake is the wrong term. Even in-world they don't know if it's really them or not. Quote Recognize that the term cognitive shadow is an in-cosmere theory, which I'm not going to comment on as the creator of the setting. The theory is this: Investiture seeks sapience. It looks for someone to control it or, in some instances, spontaneously adopts personality. A mind (cognitive aspect of a person) can become infused with Investiture. This acts a little like minerals with petrified wood, replacing the mind and personality with investiture. When the actual person dies, this investiture imprint remains behind. A copy of the soul, but not the actual soul. Others disagree with this, and think the soul itself persists. Still others reject the theory in its entirety. Vasher believes he's a copy and not the original soul. Some people would agree with him. Some people would disagree with him. He is stating his opinion the matter, and that's all it is-- an opinion. EDIT: for that matter, given that 'cognitive shadow' is an in-universe term, they don't necessarily all work the same way. Even if Vasher is really a copy, that doesn't mean the Heralds are. Edited October 13, 2020 by Necessary Eagle 3
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