Al & Human Alchemy

[Mr. sickVisionz]

In the movie, FullBody Al says that he can easily transmutea portionof his soul into other objects and does it a couple of times in the movie. Technically, isn't that human alchemy which is illegal? Or is the only illegal form the type that deals in resurrection? Cuz technically, doesn't the Crimson Alchemist do this as well?

[Stef Kelsey]

From what I recall, The Crimson Alchemist doesn't transmute his own matter, or his soul...he rearranges the chemical compounds of the human body to make it explosive. Standard alchemy.

I haven't watched the movie yet, though I have it, so I'm not sure about the semantics you speak of.

[Rydis]

I think transmuting a soul to armor like al is, and actually transmuting someone is a bit different. He is not changing any aspects of himself, just detaching part of him temporary to control something else.

[Mikadzuki Tatsu]

From what I've gathered, soul transmutation - whether it's transferring a portion of one's soul into a suit of armour, as Alphonse did in the movie, or binding someone's soul to a suit of armour, as Edward did with Alphonse's soul - is not quite the same as human transmutation. Rather, soul transmutation is one of the factors in the human transmutation equation.

Think of a soul transmutation as analogous to classical necromancy or the shamanic practice of calling forth the souls of the dead. Transferring a soul requires two things: a soul and a body to house the soul. The soul already exists; it's just floating in the netherworld, waiting to be reincarnated.

However, human transmutation - which, to continue my analogy, is like modern necromancy (raising the dead) - requires more than that; it also requires the body of the person, which needs to be made from scratch. And not just the skin and bones and internal organs, but also the nervous system, the circulatory system, and all those other intricate nuts and bolts that make us humans work.

I think the primary factor that makes human transmutation forbidden is the process of transmuting the body itself. Even now, in the 21st century, we still don't completely understand all the intricacies of the human body and how they work. How can we create something we don't understand?

[Rydis]

Not just creating a body. What Tucker does to Nina is just the same. However when you compare what Ed did to Al, what Al does in the movie, and what Tucker does to Nina, its a clear difference.

[CyberNinja5]

In the movie, FullBody Al says that he can easily transmutea portionof his soul into other objects and does it a couple of times in the movie. Technically, isn't that human alchemy which is illegal? Or is the only illegal form the type that deals in resurrection? Cuz technically, doesn't the Crimson Alchemist do this as well?

I don't think its illegal because he is just possessing things and creating life but I have to watch the movie.

[Stef Kelsey]

I finally watched the movie, and I think what Al does with attaching the soul is more like astral projection than human transmutation.

[Kali-chan]

I agree with everything