View source for Ananome

'''Ananome''' (pronounced {{IPA|/&#x02C8;&aelig;n&#x0259;no&#x028A;mi/}} or (less frequently) {{IPA|/&#x0259;&#x02C8;n&aelig;n&#x0275;mi/}}) is a process in which one or more [[life form]]s (the parents) change jointly into one or more different life forms (the products) following an interchange of parts and perhaps an [[transfiguration|alteration of form]].  [[Darsis]] and [[henosis]] are special cases of ananome with only one parent and one product respectively, but it is possible for ananome to involve multiple parents interchanging substance and resulting in multiple products.  (Sometimes [[transfiguration]] is considered to be a trivial special case of ananome with only one parent ''and'' one product, but it's more usually considered a separate process... or, conversely, ananome may be considered a special case of transfiguration.)  Other special cases include [[amepsis]], in which the parents exchange only specific appendages or other parts; [[detreusis]], in which the substance (and perhaps mentality) of one parent is distributed among several others; and the opposite process, [[eranisis]], in which bits of several parents are gathered together into one new entity.

The minds of the parents&mdash;their memories and personalities&mdash;may be interchanged along with the bodies.  In fact, many [[etorist]]s consider this a necessary condition for true ananome.  This may mean that the products each consciously share some or (rarely) all the memories of the parents, but it may also be that the memories are too fragmentary to be coherent, or may be completely subconscious.  It's quite common, still, for a product of ananome to suddenly remember something known by one of the parents, especially if triggered by some related event, or for a product of ananome to exhibit one of a parent's character traits, perhaps even without memory of its origin.

The adjective used to refer to a life form that undergoes ananomy, or a process that produces or is otherwise related to it, is "ananomic" ({{IPA|/&aelig;n&#x0259;&#x02C8;n&#x0252;m&#x026A;k/}}).

==Natural ananome==
In some [[species]], ananome takes place naturally, perhaps being a normal part of the individual's development.  A [[True Earth|Euterran]] example is the cellular [[Wikipedia|slime mold]], which normally exists as discrete [[Wikipedia:amoeba|amoeba]]e but which, when food is short, can henose into a slug-like collective [[organism]] called a [[Wikipedia:grex|grex]].  The slime mold, however, has no neural structure, so the mental component of the ananome doesn't apply.  A more intelligent ananomic organism is the [[faskling]] of [[Eidecia]], which can henose into a collective called a [[fask]], which may even be [[noesis|noetic]].

==Magical ananome==
Ananome can be induced by [[magic]]al means even among species that do not go through the process naturally.  Some [[wizard]]s enjoy inflicting ananomic transformations on their enemies, though this tends to be a rather inefficient method of attack.  Others use ananome to [[eidogenesis|create new species]], or at least to reform existing life forms into new entities more congenial to their purposes.  Sometimes ananome can also occur unintended through a [[miscasting]] or a[[spontaneous enchantment]].

==Technological ananome==
On somewhat rarer occasion, ananome can be induced through [[technology|technological]] means as well.  In [[Icathiria]], the [[Clarke chamber]]s sometimes have this effect, at times near instantaneously merging and redividing their living contents into new life forms.  More often, though, technological ananome is a more prolonged and gradual process, that may involve surgery or similarly time-consuming procedures.

==Mental ananome==
Some unusual [[mental transformation]]s may mix and interchange the thoughts, psyches, and memories of their subjects&mdash;their [[soul]]s, if such things exist in the local [[arcanum]]&mdash;while leaving their bodies unaltered.  Such a transformation is sometimes referred to as [[mental ananome]].  Not all scholars are content to consider this real ananome; many require actual physical interchange to qualify.  Still, a fair proportion do consider mental ananome to a true form of ananome, albeit an uncommon one.

==Reversing ananome==
Reversing ananome is rarely a simple process.  While another application of the same phenomena that produced the ananome in the first place (or other phenomena of like effect) may suffice to undo the physical transformation, the mental aspect is harder to repair.  Even if the forms of the parents are resotred, their minds may be hopelessly intermingled, or even if restored to some semblance of their former selves may still be adulterated with vestigaes of each other.

Nevertheless, while it is difficult and rare, it ''has'' proven possible to restore beings ananomically transformed to their former state, if not entirely intact than at least only moderately worse for wear.  The fact of this possibility has led to the question being raised of whether the consciousness of beings ananomically transformed is somehow retained during their transformation, even as their minds are scattered between different products.  While some such beings once restored have reported accurate memories of events that occurred during the transformation, it seems impossible to establish for sure whether these are really indications that he was conscious during this period, or whether they are reconstructed after the fact from the memories of the beings he was transformed into (and later from).  Ultimately, some etorists are content to dismiss the question as purely [[philosophy|philosophical]].
[[Category:Physical transformations]][[Category:Ananome|Ananome]]