There is no equal exchange when it comes to love, life or each other. In any type of relationship, you can never really pay someone back. There is no convenient currency to exchange with those who love us. Ed and Al give up everything for each other – and they end up where they started, albeit with a truer sense of what it means to be human and love. In the circle are specific alchemical runes. These runes vary greatly depending on ancient alchemical studies, texts and experiments, but correspond to a different form of energy, so that the concentrated energy in the circle can be released in the way most conducive to the desired effect of the alchemist. In basic alchemy, these runes often take the form of triangles (which, when positioned differently, can represent the elements water, earth, fire, or air), but are often made up of different polygons constructed from different triangles. For example, the hexagram is a basic rune commonly used in transmutation circles because it produces eight multidirectional triangles when inscribed and can therefore represent all four classical elements simultaneously. Other more esoteric runes (including astrological symbols, symbolic images, and different lines of text) are widely used and represent a variety of other specific functions for the alchemical energy released. The punishment for human transmutation is severe, not only because it violates the law of equivalent exchange, but also because ignoring this law means that a human has actually tried to play God, God in Fullmetal Alchemist is the truth. Anyone who attempts to effect human transmutation is teleported through their own personal gate of truth (which allows alchemy to be practiced) and brought before the being whose door bears the name. Truth is God in the sense that He possesses infinite knowledge, including knowledge of alchemy, world history, and much more.
When this infinite knowledge is pushed through the door of truth, it is shown to the targeted alchemist and absorbed by him. Along with this knowledge, entering the realm of truth also allows the alchemist to practice alchemy without using a transmutation circle (the basic laws of equivalent exchange still apply). Moreover, because the initiating alchemists entered the kingdom of God with human transmutation, they are essentially called to enter the gate of truth to confront God Himself. Being pulled through the door gives alchemists great alchemical and universal knowledge – in exchange for paying physical tribute, which usually takes the form of body parts “taken” by the bounce – and the ability to perform circleless transmutations. Are the quotes cited in the articles translations of the Japanese version? It seems strange that all the quotes refer to “equivalent trading” when the title is Equivalent Exchange (which was in the English version of the TV series). Can we assume that the second law of thermodynamics could correspond to the second tacit law of alchemy? The first law of alchemy can already be considered similar to the first law of thermodynamics or conservation of mass/energy. –Xavier Valentine 22:58, July 26, 2005 (UTC) The only other case of successful human transmutation is Edward Elric`s latest transmutation, in which he offers truth its own door to truth and thus its ability to use alchemy in exchange for Alphonse`s soul and body. Given that current values are initially incalculable, it is questionable whether this is a real equivalent exchange or not. However, it is undeniable that Edward is sacrificing absolute power at this time, an idea that, if realized, has infinite value in favor of saving his brother. The truth is an omniscient being as well as the reflection of the alchemist before him and as such can recognize what that person considers most valuable.
For Edward, chemistry is what makes him who he is and was his most precious possession. His willingness to sacrifice what was most precious to him was more than enough to satisfy the truth and thus the law of equal exchange. Another terrible form of human transmutation is the manipulation of human souls. Although they do not appear in any official documents, there have been experiments of human transmutation that involved the extraction of souls from their bodies of matter and the alchemical attachment of these souls to inanimate objects, usually by a rune drawn in the blood on the object itself. Although not all the details of soul bonding have been clarified, it has been explained that iron in the blood is alchemically bound to the iron in the object (as most cases of soul binding have used metal armor as a vessel) and the blood itself remains related to the soul of the person from whom it was taken. The blood runes themselves differ due to the theories and style of the alchemist who performed the binding, but the three different blood runes that have been revealed show a spark or flame (probably a soul) surrounded by other symbols in a transmutation circle taken from the blood suggesting a soul trapped in a vessel. Essentially, these souls exist on the mortal plane without their bodies, are able to manipulate the objects to which they are attached, and communicate verbally with the beings around them, but of course, there are caveats. Alphonse loses his body and Edward loses a leg when he tries to revive his mother, Edward also loses an arm when he attaches Alphonse`s soul to armor and Izumi Curtis is stripped of many organs after trying to revive her baby. Tribute is demanded even if the taboo is committed unintentionally or against his own will, because Roy Mustang is deprived of his sight, even though he has been forced by his father and homunculus to perform human transmutations. This is the law of equivalent exchange as defined at the beginning of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
It governs the laws of alchemy, the highest form of science in the series, and much of the series: energy cannot be destroyed or generated, only transformed or replaced by something of equal value. This is the version of the story of the “price of magic,” their way of allowing the characters to do what is effectively witchcraft in an otherwise almost realistic turn-of-the-century setting. Power must obey this rule. Fullmetal Alchemist states that the value of a human soul is not quantifiable, and since something cannot be created without losing an object of equal value, something that has infinite value can never be exchanged equally. However, this does not stop alchemists from trying, because sometimes the pain of losing a loved one outweighs logic. When human transmutation is performed, the alchemist in charge pays a high price, because bartering for a soul of infinite value with materials of finite value causes the alchemical equation to become unbalanced, resulting in a rebound. Equal exchange is the way Edward Elric, after a botched alchemical experiment, exchanges his member for the soul of his brother Alphonse. (But not his body.
Certainly, the meaning of “equivalence” throughout history is elusive.) Ed and Al had tried to transform their dead mother with the physical components of a human and their DNA, and it backfired catastrophically – depriving Ed of his left leg and Al of his entire body. The price had not been paid. From the first moment I saw the first episode, the whole concept of FMA`s “equivalent exchange” seemed like a blatant reference to the concept of karma; The idea that in the end good is rewarded and evil is punished. In addition, the reference Ouroboros and “One is All;” Everything is One” also seems to remind karma – that ultimately one person`s pleasure comes at the expense of another`s pain, one person`s luxury at the expense of another`s misery (i.e. “equivalent exchange”). Maybe there is no link and I imagine so, but it might be worth mentioning in the article. Hello. I am someone who regularly and daily browses Wikipedia and has decided to help with the article. Perhaps some (general) examples of equivalent exchanges in the FMA would also be good here. I forgot my nickname –Xavier Valentine 02:59, 24 July 2005 (UTC)Reply[reply] You can`t stage what you`ve done. Nor will they be rewarded for it, not in an equivalent form.
There is only the way forward. The desire to keep learning, to do better, to endure the clutter it takes to keep going, and to collect the sorrows and small miracles you encounter along the way. The sunsets, the wind on your skin, the damage you do and the good you`re going to do, the risks you`ll take, anyone you`ve ever held, abandoned, or who makes you feel alive, that`s kind of magic in itself.