Welcome back to another entry in the Soul Shift production blog, this time we will take a closer look at another very significant technology from the world of Soul Shift – the incarnation wheel!
Incarnation wheels have a very basic, but important function in a soul’s workday: They decide what creature they will incarnate as in their next shift. After clocking in for the day, souls line up in queues around their assigned planet’s incarnation center and wait for their turn. Once they’re up, they can go for a spin and the wheel will shuffle between all lifeforms available on the planet, essentially like a wheel of fortune. Whatever species it lands on will be the souls’ incarnation for their next shift.
Why biodiversity matters
Similar to our own planet, biodiversity is kind of a big deal. You see, as the incarnation wheel has a segment for each existing species on a planet, a soul’s work becomes increasingly more interesting and varied the more critters are roaming around on the surface. To the contrary, a streamlined and less diverse planet could be compared to a very mundane 9 to 5 office job. No surprises, no fast-paced work environment, and no mass extinction events.
Totally random, we promise.
Some might argue the incarnation wheels randomness in selection is unfair, but on the other hand it ensures a more balanced ecosystem on the planet. Since the souls keep a lot of their personality traits during incarnation, this unpredictability ensures that all lifeforms get an equal opportunity to flourish with hardworking souls or perish through lethargic ones.
But as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Incarnation wheels might normally select by chance, however there are two ways a soul might be able to influence the results. One is granted by the planets’ operation center in the form of a trophy for outstanding evolutionary due diligence. This means that souls with a great work ethic get a coupon, so to speak, and can freely choose their next incarnation – even attributes such as gender! The other, lesser known way, is that apparently evolution managers can temper with incarnation wheels to influence and shape a planet’s future to an extent, but shhh, you haven’t heard that from us.
Now you know everything about incarnation wheels. All there is to do is spin the wheel and hope it doesn’t land on a tapeworm… Unless you’re into that of course, we won’t judge.