BoM/TWS Message Forum

I think I can answer the last one (about anima bands not registering information), but that's probably the most confusing bit about the anima bands themselves.

Anima bands don't "store" information because they're not mind bands. Or rather, because anima bands store anima and not mens, they cannot store information in the same way a processor cannot store memory in the way a hard drive does.

The reason it's so complicated is that anima, while explained simply, doesn't explain what an anima band does in regards to how anima itself is. What an anima band does is capture a snapshot of the donor's anima at the moment of being first used, and to facilitate that process, it makes a one-time storage of the donor's mens. However, once that snapshot is made, it cannot be recorded over, because of two reasons:

1) Its design. Because anima bands also affect the original donor (by replacing their current anima with the snapshot contained within), the anima lays dormant and therefore unchanging. Thus, it cannot replace the contained anima with the original donor's current one - which is exactly what the design intents, since to make it a true snapshot of the donor's anima, it must remain unchanging.
2) Its purpose. As I said, the intention of the anima band is to create a *snapshot* of the original donor's anima, fixated at a point in time. Anima is very sensitive to changes in environment (and by environment, I mean daily life situations), so any new data added will undoubtedly change - and therefore, it no longer becomes a snapshot of the original donor's anima.

To use a hardware comparison - while a mind band copies the mind as if it were a hard drive (thus, allowing you to alter the contents within), an anima band copies the anima as if it were the computer's BIOS. What it does is create a snapshot of the contents within the hard drive and form a "virtual hard drive", but while you can access the contents, you can't overwrite them - just as you can't overwrite the BIOS. Furthermore, while you can store a BIOS in a hard drive, it's useless unless it's stored in the processor - therefore, just as you can't store anima on a mind band, you can't store memories and personalities on an anima band beyond what's necessary to make it operate.

The confusion most likely comes because a mind band lets you copy a person's personality, which lets the user mimic them - and some of these personalities are so strong that can overwhelm the user one way or another - but the user still believes they're the user. Anima bands replace that sense of self, letting the user believe they're the *donor* - if something makes that snapshot change, then they're technically *not* the donor anymore, but a fusion of both. Hence, once removed, the snapshot reverts to its original form, letting the memories created remain within the user.

Hope this isn't as confusing as it sounds, but like I said - anima bands are the most difficult thing to explain because they behave just like, and different than, mind bands.