"In simpler times, Hell would take a soul on the death of the body. Death is more complicated in Fallen London, though not unknown. So it's not terribly uncommon to meet someone who's short a soul. Some of them become mumbling, dead-eyed husks: some of them simply turn to occupations where soullessness is a professional advantage."[1]
A Jumble of Undistinguished Souls.
Souls are an inexplicable, metaphysical, and sometimes valuable facet of almost every living thing.
Buoyancy?[]
"Souls, they say, exalt the body upwards, but there are other buoyant substances, also. Swamp gas, for instance. The breath of the Wax-Wind. When we see the soul in its proper company, is it so very enviable?"[2]
Souls are a very important component of life, present in almost every living creature - even plants, animals, and many otherworldly beings.[3] They can affect one's mentality and livelihood,[1] and when exposed to certain experiences or emotions, a soul can become more valuable in the eyes of certain patrons.[4] No one's quite sure where souls come from, but in the Neath, souls are ferried to parts unknown by the Boatman after death if the deceased still possessed one,[5] and in the High Wilderness, they go to the Blue Kingdom to be judged by the vast celestial bureaucracies there.[3]
An unremarkable soul.
Such a crucial part of one's identity can be removed with surprising ease,[6] and stored in a bottle for easy transport and sale.[7] Devils from Hell, as part of a partnership of sorts with the Echo Bazaar,[8] run the soul trade, and are responsible for the vast majority of incidents related to soul loss in Fallen London.[9] It's indeed possible to live without one's soul; the consequences may be dire, such as losing aspects of one's old personality,[1] or the side effects may be barely noticeable at all, aside from a feeling that something is missing.[10] In fact, certain professions are even said to benefit from soul loss, strange as that may seem.[1]
It is also possible, through the right means and a little ingenuity, to get one's soul back.[11]
Losing a Soul[]
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"An otherwise tedious anarchist pamphlet gained some notoriety when it claimed that eleven per cent of the citizens of Fallen London had traded, lost or otherwise mislaid their souls. An exaggeration, certainly. But the Bazaar does not permit the publication of the real number. Look around you when you next take a seat on a crowded omnibus. The girl sitting next to you could quite easily be one of the soulless."[12]
The Neath, unsurprisingly, is home to many strange ways to lose one's soul; indeed, between 8 and 11 percent of Londoners lack theirs.[12][13] Spirifers are soul-thieves who use strange, fork-like tools to wind a soul out of a person's body, often while the victim is incapacitated.[14] The Pentecost apes of the Empire of Hands, home to monkeys that seek to absorb souls into themselves, strap donors to machines that prick people in the back with unseen metal instruments, while sedative-soaked rags are stuffed into their mouths. Once the process is complete, the hosts might awaken with a headache, a bruised body, and an unmistakable, inexplicable feeling of loss.[15]
An infernal contract.
But above all of these cases, devils are responsible for the vast majority of legal instances of losing one's soul in Fallen London. They refer to the process as Abstraction, which is sold as an enviable, sometimes beautiful thing;[16] they hold seminars and presentations about why souls aren't strictly necessary or valuable to their human hosts.[2] The devils may also form personal relationships with certain exceptional Londoners, and may monitor them through "dates" to gauge their personality type and traits.[17]
Devils appear to use a metallic handheld tool to extract a person's soul,[18] and the process of Abstraction may leave a scar or mark on the person's wrist after it's conducted.[19] They also use Infernal Contracts as a form of verification that a soul was extracted legally, and these documents disintegrate should a signer obtain their soul once again.[20]
Soul Properties[]
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"The soul pops and flares. What cheery blue sparks! Wait a minute - blue? You snatch up a toasting-fork and fish the soul from the fireplace. It was more valuable than the label had indicated. Back into the bottle with you, soul."[21]
A valuable Brilliant Soul.
Souls are an extremely esoteric and mysterious substance, even by the Neath's standards. They're often held in transparent containers,[22] even non-specialized ones like milk bottles;[23] depending on the value of the soul, the receptacle and presentation may be improved to match its price.[24] Souls also tend to glow faintly within their bottles,[25] valuable souls much more so,[26] and a soul of a particular flavor may emit a certain color, such as blue[21] - or several colors.[27]
Should a soul be removed from its body, it can be reinserted into its host with relative ease,[28] and a person can theoretically live with a different soul than the one they were born with,[29] though this is considered highly risky.[30] Inserting a soul into a dead body, however, is extremely taboo, even for the rogues of the soul trade.[28]
Physically, souls seem to resemble an extremely cohesive, viscous fluid; this is primarily concluded from the fact that souls can be manipulated by and lifted with forks, and seem to be affected by gravity when released from their bottles.[21] According to certain academics, souls also resemble a thin gas.[31] Each soul has a unique weight,[32] with valuable souls apparently lighter than others.[33] Souls also have certain optical properties, and diamond lenses can be used to study and distinguish them individually.[34]
A Selection of Immaculate Souls.
Souls are flammable,[35] and are said to burn rather slowly.[36] Should a soul catch on fire when it is still within the body, it may result in a dangerous disease called animescence, which is endemic to the Elder Continent and can be highly contagious should the patient die without receiving proper care.[37][38] Souls are highly reactive to low temperatures as well: when exposed to the Neath's best impression of snow, they explode violently like a block of sodium in a bucket of water;[39] apparently, this is because "sufficient grief destroys a soul."[40] Furthermore, souls that belonged to hosts exposed to the Discordance may become extremely cold to the touch; these unique specimens are called Discordant Souls.[41][42]
Soul Stories[]
"A relic. I parted with that soul before my first death. It hasn't been with me through anything that matters."[43]
"Mmmm, yes. Quite acceptable. Overtones of forbidden lusts, and a long, desperate finish. I know just the patron for these. I think a tiny bonus is in order."[44]
The Infernal Sommelier
Perhaps the most interesting property of souls is the unique way they tend to age, like a fine wine or an old journal. Souls appear to retain certain aspects of their host's mental and emotional state at the time that they were removed; for example, souls may give off airs of resentment, unauthorized lust, depression,[44] or even unsubstantiated hope.[45] The Infernal Sommelier is capable of reading into these auras,[44] to the extent that he can even deduce the possible identity of a soul's original owner just by studying it.[46] He manages the Brass Embassy's cellars,[47] and trades in souls and infernal wines with others for his many mysterious patrons.[44]
Certain powerful souls may also exhibit a degree of sentience despite lacking a body, with a tendency to peer from and rattle in their bottles as if trying to escape.[48][49] For example, a soul originating from an agent of the Great Game still retained knowledge of the host's codes and ciphers, and tapped those codes against the bottle it was imprisoned in;[46] furthermore, exceptional souls may share their stories and secrets when they're released from their bottles, though where they go when released remains unknown.[50]
Symptoms of Soullessness[]
"Specialist surgical trusses for the soulless are sold in Fallen London. Do they work? Well, they don't return your soul. But the soulless are martyrs to bad posture. They might help with that."[51]
Upon losing a soul, a person's demeanor may change significantly. According to rumor, they may become "mumbling, dead-eyed husks",[1] who are "dispirited, callous, dead to pleasures and prone to viciousness".[52] Or, they may find no warmth in art or company, and suffer a feeling of low spirits.[53] Or, they may not be affected very much at all,[1] except with an inexplicable feeling of personal loss.[10] The soulless are infamous for their poor posture, however, and trusses for back support are specially designed and sold to assist with this issue.[51] The soulless are also unfortunately banned from Summerset College; conversely, the soulless, and the soul trade, thrive at Benthic College.[54][55]
According to the Bishop of St Fiacre's, snuffers also universally lack souls, resulting in envy of their human counterparts.[56]
Soul Flaws[]
It is possible to "damage" one's soul without losing it; the various types of damage to a soul are called soul flaws. The devils of Carillon are self-proclaimed experts in gauging and curing soul flaws,[57] and have as such devised... unique ways to heal them.
The Soul Trade[]
"Souls are traded to Hell for brass, hydrogen, devilbone, earthly delights, rare coins and other things difficult to find in a department store. Trade without a license is punishable by - well, I don't want to upset you. Nothing you'll need to worry about. After all, you wouldn't be daft enough to engage in spirifage: the unlicensed trade in souls."[58]
The soul trade is the legal, healthy, and widespread trade of extracted human souls. Legally speaking, souls are actually classified as light sources,[59] and any imports of souls coming into Wolfstack Docks from around the Unterzee are taxed and must be appropriately stamped with an Imperial Customs seal.[60][61] Like all trade in Fallen London, commerce in souls must be conducted through the Bazaar,[62] and any business that is conducted in souls without an appropriate license is punished extremely harshly.[63] Such business is called spirifage.
Given the moral dubiousness of the soul trade, it makes sense that certain groups and individuals would try to campaign against it.[64] One of these groups is the Committee for Vital Restitution, or C.V.R., who seek to return souls to their rightful owners regardless of the costs or risks.[65] However, interfering in the soul trade in this manner is illegal, and the Church does not publicly approve of such activities either.[66] As a consequence, the C.V.R. often has to meet in secret.[67]
Devils and Souls[]
"Do you happen to have a case of souls for me? No I'm not going to eat them! We don't eat souls, usually. I'm not clear how that story got around. I just - I told you that I miss London. I miss Hell. I'd like a keepsake. And all souls are ours, you know, by right."[68]
A Devil.
Devils have an interesting relationship with souls; contrary to popular belief, they do not eat the souls they receive from the soul trade. What they actually do with the souls they obtain, however, is currently unclear. That said, devils seem to have an emotional response when receiving souls after being deprived of them for an extended period of time,[68][69] and they also possess the ability to appraise and identify souls just from their bottles,[70] identifying a soul's "flavor" with relative ease.[71] In fact, certain devils use designations that are very similar to real-life brandy designations to grade souls; for example: the designation of "V.S.A.H." apparently indicates a valuable soul.[72] Devils also do not seem keen on obtaining souls tinged with Rubbery Essences, which may occur if the host obtained a... peculiar personal enchantment .[73]
Devils have souls of their own, which are known to be quite different from human ones. According to the Presiding Deviless at Carillon, devil souls change "on their own", meaning their properties can warp significantly without being part of a host, unlike human souls.[74] Furthermore, devil souls are apparently "changeable" and can alter the behavior and personality of their hosts in an erratic manner; for example, a devil-turned-spirifer once had a very different soul when he still worked at Carillon, as the Presiding Deviless's mentor, no less.[75][76]
A Law Furnace.
Being as technologically advanced as they are, devils possess many forms of technology involving souls that may seem completely alien to the average Londoner. In the Iron Republic, beyond a strange brass gate, is a "place not of tormenting, but fermenting" there exists an Infernal Vinification Apparatus:[77][78] a strange mixing apparatus and selection of flasks apparently used to improve and refine souls.[79] Devils also possess machines called Law Furnaces, which can be used to both create and destroy surrounding Law;[80][81] these furnaces seem to use souls as part of their operation for an unknown purpose, possibly to act as a quickening agent, and can be found in both Hell and in the Iron Republic.[82][83][84] Other infernal machines that use souls include deadly clockwork beetles called malebolgic scarabs; the souls within them are also apparently used to "quicken" the contraptions.[85]
Certain infernal engineers have also created the Moloch-Class Liner,[86] a powerful sky-locomotive with the functionality to burn souls of a high caliber as a fuel source in a pinch.[87][88] Devils are also capable of forging souls into valuable trinkets, such as rings, but such transactions come with interest.[89]
The Truth?[]
"Finally, a soul returns to the sky, for the Judgements to absorb and savour and add to their nature. I do not regard this as ascension. I regard it as digestion. But I fear it comes to us all."[90]
"Whose soul was this? A queen? A genius? A prophet? It's like looking into the face of the sun."[26]
Souls are the food of the gods, and no god is higher on the food chain than the Judgements. Stars seem to need souls, and lots of them; not much is known about their table habits exactly, but it is known that they "eat" souls.[91] The Blue Kingdom is actually a massive, sprawling industrial complex specifically designed to weed out souls that the Sapphir'd King would not prefer; it uses Logoi as well as its Yoked spirits to ensure that the process moves smoothly,[92][93] and the facilities of Death's Door administer strict tests on the various spirits that pass through to their eternal reward.[94] What lies beyond Death's Door is a titanic, star-sized machine, where spirits are dissected and fed into the Blue Kingdom's deeper regions, presumably to provide the Azure with his next meal.[95] Another Judgement, the Garden-King, when he was still alive, used Port Avon as a dinner table of sorts to consume the souls delivered from his various servants including several Curators.[96]
The Forge of Souls actually has a means to create souls from scratch: several spirits in the Forge operate on the soul and use sigils of the Correspondence to "quicken" it, resulting in a soul that is often rather valuable.[91] All souls, in fact, may have the potential to become Judgements,[5] though this outcome may have progressed further for certain souls than others.[26][97]
In ages past, certain Grand Devils once served the Judgements as sommeliers, or presumably soul-tasters,[98] and some Grand Devils still serve beyond Death's Door to this day.[99] The Repentant Devil has developed various techniques to improve souls under the philosophy of "matching the soul to its Judgement;"[100][101] his skills are still in demand in the modern day, especially in the Blue Kingdom, much to his annoyance.[102] Despite their effectiveness, he also considers the devils of Carillon rather incompetent.[101]
There's a strange bell located within Low Barnet that steals the souls of those who ring it. Apparently, it was installed by the Admiralty to feed souls to the Dawn Machine.[103]
As an aside, death by drowning can change a soul slightly, and interestingly, some stars seem to find such a change incompatible with their palates.[104]
Historical and Cultural Inspirations[]
The question of the existence and the importance of souls has been pondered arguably since the beginning of philosophy as a discipline. People in real life might not have had the laws of nature work in their favor and likely haven't seen a devil, but the idea of a life-giving essence inherent to all things has been plaguing the minds of humanity for millennia - as has the concept of monstrous, evil creatures living deep underground. So many societies across history have told stories about souls: a divine quantum inside every human, a source of inner strength, a person's real self.
As an example, the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, one of the inventors of calculus, thought that every single object, no matter how big or small, has a soul, and the soul's strength defines this object and brings it existence. Small particles combine into more complex systems, which then also combine, and so on, and sentient souls may develop even further, not by outside influence, but rather by revealing their true potential. And every soul is a reflection of God, as well as a potential divine being in itself, able to create its own universe.[105]
These concepts are reflected in the world of Fallen London, where even tiny human souls are said to possess the potential to become Judgements and slowly grow and change as they gain experience, inanimate objects can become animate given the right push, such as in places like Polythreme, and said ideas are directly referenced in the following passage from the game itself:
"You're writing some notes on the possibility that every thing here has a soul, or a spirit, when your quill twists in your hand and starts scrawling gibberish across the paper. The paper resists the ink, crumpling and creasing, but you salvage what you can."[106]
References[]
Special thanks to Observator42 for developing this page and providing the amazing soul stock ticker GIF.