We see with Peabody and Lucio that the brain manipulation actually needs maintenance. The mind will fight back, the locks won't hold forever.
Also I do not think that Justin, even with Bob's guidance, was as skilled as Peabody. If he just went for loyalty and violence then the loyalty bit would have become quite meaningless by now even if it held which I think is unlikely.
That's interesting, as Bob actually says the opposite when discussing it with Harry in Blood Rites:
"A fine thrall is so controlled the might not even know that they're a thrall at at all, and it lasts long term"
"Like what DuMorne did to Elaine"
"Uh, I guess so, yeah. Like that. That kind of thing takes a subtle hand, though. Enthralling someone also requires a lot of time and a certain amount of empathy, ..."
Blood Rites, chapter 27, p161.
So I bolded the relevant bid, and underlined the hint (imho). So it seems according to Bob's magical theory, Elaine could have become enthralled and still be one, and may not even know that she is. What Peabody did smacks of a different flavor, something more overt and nasty - not far off what the Black Court Vampires do. He did something cheaper and nastier, a potion rather than a series of spells (which is how Elaine describes enthrallment in Summer Knight), which allowed him to achieve a similar outcome without the requirements of empathy etc. Even though it was small amounts and over a long period of time - he wasn't actually trying to enthrall the senior council. He was merely trying to nudge their decisions. As for Luccio, if memory serves me the reason he actually forcefully controlled her was that she might have stumbled on to him and forced his hand AND that she was now in a younger body (which overcame the limits of her age, whereas an older brain would probably have just broken). Luccio's reaction was FAR more similar to Nelson (Molly's boyfriend in Proven Guilty) and Molly's friend Rosy.
And I can't remember where I read it, but I am sure that Justin was a skilled psychomancer or mind mage. I think it was in the Paranet Papers. Something about Simon's apprentice (referring to Justin). In any case, I would be willing to bet that Justin ticked enough boxes in order to create a fine thrall (he genuinely did seem to empathize with Harry at least on one occasion) so he quite likely did care about them, he had the knowledge and skill (at least to some extent, especially with Bob's help), and whilst we know very little of his magical style I would say it was a good mix of Harry and Elaine (if only for the fact that he taught them quite a bit, and if he was a mind mage that does suggest more subtle magical depth).
Infection and possession are really overlapping concepts. You could say that Harry was infected by Lasciel's shadow. Or possessed. To be possessed by Nemesis the outsider power has to get in and mingle with your own spirit. Using the power of the dagger probably triggers that.
The dagger is a safer carrier than a person and Mab keeps it on her person to guard it.
Hmmm I get what you are saying here. I think though generally when people refer to possession (in the magical sense) you can be fully or partially. Either the entity possessing the victim is in the driver's seat fully, or there is a struggle for control. Whereas when people talk about infection (at least in the medical sense) you either are infected or you are not. There is not such thing as a partial infection, more about the degree. And you have to remember, whilst Nemesis may be old, lots of those who see the change currently in the supernatural world see it as new and dangerous. Which Nemesis at least as a partial role in. It seems to be of a different nature to the regular sort of dark magic/evil. At least that is how it is written.
I am not sure then that Harry was "infected" by Lash. What Harry experience is pretty much a straight-up demonic possession. In terms of literary prose, you could say infected, but the reality is that possession works best. He wasn't always in control of himself, he was constantly influenced (even subconsciously), saw things that weren't "real", gained unnatural powers etc. Nemesis might also do those things too of course. One similarity is the ability to spread to multiple targets. We don't know the limits of this for Fallen or Nemesis, but Lasciel was simultaneously affecting Harry via Lash and Hannah Ascher (through the Coin).
Mab did keep the Athame on her person for a book or two - but no mention of it is made after that. Perhaps she contained or eliminated the threat. It was interesting that she did that considering she would have known what it was, and what it had carried. I do agree, using the power of the dagger could well be the trigger. Seems like a good fit. Although in fairness only the Choice to even touch the Coin is enough. So there is that.
But your point doesn't really answer my question which was that if Black Magic does taint the user or whatever, why then are so many more people not infected by Nemesis - including Harry? The answer to my mind is that Nemesis is not so easy to summon or infect someone with. It has to be summoned (likely by Mortals), and then probably put into a vessel (potentially a person, but at the least an object that likely is magical in nature). And perhaps once it spreads to a Host, then it can spread itself to another Host (it is implied to be able to do this), except we have no idea how it does that or the length of time required etc.
I think we have to be careful when trying to equate the Coins to Nemesis infection. Harry is unique because yes, Sanya rejected the coin, but that has happened before, but before Harry, no one had ever been able to reject the Shadow of one of the Fallen once it had taken up residence in the brain of the potential host, that is what sets him apart, Uriel even said that and why Michael had such a hard time believing that Harry had thrown off the Shadow. Point is Cat Sith failed.
Didn't Harry speculate to Michael that likely the Church wouldn't know if no one had
ever rejected a Shadow? Especially as they are so compromised, and that Nicodemus makes a point of destroying records about him and the Fallen every few hundred years? I don't remember Uriel saying that Harry was the only person to ever reject a Coin...do you mind finding where he said that?
As for Cat Sith rejecting Nemesis...apples and oranges. Harry is a Mortal with the full-range of Free Will. Cat Sith is not. Not to mention, Harry already seems to be exceptionally strong at resisting and self-aware enough to achieve what most Mortals might not. Not to mention we have no idea how the possession of Nemesis differs to that of a Shadow of the Fallen. Nemesis could well be FAR stronger. Or not. Who knows. Not to mention that Maeve and Aurora couldn't beat Nemesis, even though they are Faerie Queens (even if they are the least of them, still Immortals). Even Lea (who's only superior in the Winter Court is Mab herself, excluding the Mothers of course) failed to beat Nemesis. It is even implied that Mab wouldn't have been able to do so. Part of rejecting such a thing might include being Mortal. We have no idea how Mab freed Lea of it (assuming she did...) but Lea stated that even
thinking about what had happened to her would make her vulnerable again to it. So perhaps once touched you are never truly free. Like Harry's mark on his Soul left by He Who Walks Behind.
Harry didn't reject Lash, she chose to die to protect him and she was burned out of his brain.
Edit
That sounds ugly. Maybe better this. Harry resists Lash's plea's, even at the end when she acts to her nature, and tries to get Harry to summon the coin. But she commits an act of love to preserve both him and their child, and makes a choice to be free. So rather than cast her out, he learned to care about her.
A nice sentiment Morris, and of course Lash and Lasciel are different beings especially by that book. Immortals cannot change as easily as mortals and doing so effectively robs them of their identity. As Lash had tried to change Harry via his subconscious, it changed her right back to the point where she became a being able to make that sacrifice out of love, to protect Harry and free him from the psychic assault - which had the (not necessarily unintended) consequence of a child and Jim has also hinted that Harry's suicide in Changes was influenced by that decision (they don't call her the Webweaver and Temptress for nothing).
But I am not so sure they are mutually exclusive things. He had certainly been resisting her power up until that point. Perhaps ridding oneself of the Shadow requires such a thing. The only other method that is known to work in the canon is giving up your powers. And one wonders if things like sacrifice, love, faith etc are the keys to rejecting a possession. I always found it interesting Harry never went to get an Exorcism. Perhaps that would have killed his powers too, perhaps Harry secretly didn't want to.
