Peace talks spoilers: Thomas... Metamorphosis???

[huangjimmy108]

Why do I feel that what happened to Thomas in book 16 is Thomas's metamorphosis?

Book 12 and book13 is Harry's metamorphosis. Your friendly neighbourhood wizard private investigator is gone, replace with arcane winter knight Harry.

I feel Thomas is going through the same process. The chance that Thomas taking up the sword of love has risen from about 30% to about 80% if my guts can be trusted.

[KurtinStGeorge]

I agree with your analysis.  That could be exactly what Jim is setting up.

On another, darker subject, Thomas has to feed.  In his condition he might even be dangerous to a creature that more or less shrugs off his feeding, like a swartalf.  Plus, at the moment there aren't any swartalves that would want to do Thomas any favors.  Who does that leave?  A female bigfoot?  I'm not seeing that happening.  How about a Titan?  I suppose after she was subdued, but even with Thomas doing his incubus thing, that has a real creepy rape element to it.

I tried thinking about how taking up the Sword of Faith might alter things but I think Thomas has to physically heal first, and that requires that he has to feed.     

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Depends on what Thomas becomes, his hunger feeds on life force, repelled by love  what if instead it fed on love and repelled by eating lifeforce? From incubus to outccubus (yes I realise if this applied to a succubus they would become a bloccubus), a cupid in effect. This would solve Thomas’s problem with Justine, power his hunger and allow him to heal.

[Mira]

   The Hunger dies out or it doesn't happen.   

[morriswalters]

Assuming he doesn't die, this would seem to be his redemption arc.  Maybe his cell buddy will know how to cure him.  But Thomas as a vampire, can't survive. And who knows, maybe the demon will starve to death.

[Mira]

Assuming he doesn't die, this would seem to be his redemption arc.  Maybe his cell buddy will know how to cure him.  But Thomas as a vampire, can't survive. And who knows, maybe the demon will starve to death.

  That could be, but supposedly it is in stasis as well.  Didn't Harry stipulate to Alfred that no one was to communicate with Thomas unless they were in the same boat?  So unless there are other severely wounded vampires with a Hunger Demon inside of them, no one is going to communicate.  Now Harry set the "punishment" as contemplation of the harm he has cause for Thomas.  Now while Thomas early in the series tried not to feed, but that didn't work and Shaggy totally erased that, and Lara convinced Thomas he is what he is and not to feel guilty etc...  Before he went unconscious, Thomas was screaming because he was being confronted with the harm he had caused all these years, maybe that will ultimately burn out the Hunger?   Or it won't, and that is one of the reasons Harry is weeping on Christmas Eve., in spite of all his efforts and intentions, Thomas is either dead, or has to remain where he is forever.

[Bad Alias]

@Mira: I believe he can't communicate with anyone who isn't under the same protocol.

Speaking of a metamorphosis, the first time we saw Thomas, he was wearing butterfly wings and "posed like some bizarre post-chrysalis incarnation of Errol Flynn" with a crystalline sword.

[Mira]

I believe he can't communicate with anyone who isn't under the same protocol.

Which means no one, so he is in solitary with the nightmares of his own making to contemplate.

[raidem]

I believe there was one other under that protocol.

[Monkez]

Maybe if Thomas *chooses* to pick up Amoracchius (sp?), it would kill the weakened Hunger Demon within him.  I mean, the demon is susceptible to true love, Thomas is truly in love and Amoracchius is the sword of love.  I mean, that's a whole lotta lovin' for a demon that is susceptible to love.

The question i have is if that does happen, then does Thomas age to his real age, or does he just age from that point on?

[Mira]

I believe there was one other under that protocol.

   I don't think so, but even so he isn't allowed to communicate with anyone.

Maybe if Thomas *chooses* to pick up Amoracchius (sp?), it would kill the weakened Hunger Demon within him.  I mean, the demon is susceptible to true love, Thomas is truly in love and Amoracchius is the sword of love.  I mean, that's a whole lotta lovin' for a demon that is susceptible to love.

The question i have is if that does happen, then does Thomas age to his real age, or does he just age from that point on?

Thomas is only about eight years or so older than Harry, but if he loses his Hunger Demon then he ages at the same rate as any other vanilla human, because that is what he then is.  Remember the vision Harry had of him in the soul gaze back in Blood Right, kind of a bespectacled nerd.  However since he does have wizard blood from his mother's side, I guess he could age a little slower.  I don't see him wielding the Sword of Love in Battle Ground though.

[Second Aristh]

   I don't think so, but even so he isn't allowed to communicate with anyone.

Maybe because before there was no one else in the same security level.  Now there is.
(I'm assuming it's British voice from before)

[ClintACK]

Re: Contemplation Protocol

There was one prisoner held below in a kind of unique stasis, something that could most closely be considered sleep, though he could also awaken and perform limited communications for short periods of time. It was, as best as I could understand, the only protocol with sanity-saving sleep built into it.

...

"Contemplation," I responded quietly. "He is to be shielded from any communication with other prisoners not enduring the same protocol."

It seems likely that the "one prisoner" is the British prisoner from the start of Skin Game, and that Harry, for some reason, wants that prisoner to be able to speak to Thomas. Otherwise, he could have just said "He is to be shielded from any communication with other prisoners."

[Mira]

Re: Contemplation Protocol

It seems likely that the "one prisoner" is the British prisoner from the start of Skin Game, and that Harry, for some reason, wants that prisoner to be able to speak to Thomas. Otherwise, he could have just said "He is to be shielded from any communication with other prisoners."

  It is a little confusing but I don't think he can.  Harry talks about the different protocols.  Then he mentions the one held in stasis [who we call the British prisoner] he was to sleep all of the time, with occasional communication, all for his sanity. 
But then he goes on to say that the prison was never meant to hold someone as fragile as Thomas was at present.

"Contemplation," I responded quietly.  "He is to be shielded from any communication with other prisoners not enduring the same protocol."

In my opinion the protocols are very close, but not the same at all.

[Bad Alias]

Which means no one, so he is in solitary with the nightmares of his own making to contemplate.

No.

The various Wardens of Demonreach had tinkered with the cells.
...
There was one prisoner held below in a kind of unique stasis, something that could most closely be considered sleep, though he could also awaken and perform limited communications for short periods of time. It was, as best I could understand, the only protocol with sanity saving sleep built into it.
...
"Contemplation," I responded quietly. "He is to be shielded from any communication with other prisoners not enduring the same protocol."

Pg. 322

The protocol has a name. It's strongly implied other Wardens had come up with it. There is a prisoner held under the protocol. Contemplation is the only protocol that has sleep. The final bolded portion would be surplusage if there wasn't at least one prisoner sharing the protocol.