[OOC Board] - All the World's a Game

What actually makes up a heart is a mystery in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Much research has been done to try and unravel the mystery, most notably by Ansem the Wise and his apprentices. However, this research only served to lower the barriers between worlds, set up the events for Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II, and cause many worlds to be plunged into darkness. It is known, however, that the heart is primarily made up of light and darkness, the latter of which formed due to people's greed.

The heart appears to be responsible for the composure of memories, will, goals, and ambitions, as is the case in the transfer of Master Xehanort's heart into Terra and the internal struggle of wills inside Terra-Xehanort. Of course, this is not to say that a being without a heart cannot have these things, as Nobodies inherit them from their original selves.

The heart is also responsible for emotions, as beings lacking one, such as the Nobodies, cannot feel emotions.

"Once, my master, Ansem, found an old system and made a copy of its Master Control Program... and used it to serve his own ends. This is the original data of that system. Here, data can be copied. Memory can be changed and easily manipulated. Tron is a digital entity, so why would he be any different? He obeys the rules of this world. Sora - what about you? Your heart, memories, your data, and your dreams. The bits and bytes that have made up your life so far - can you say for sure they are not just copies of someone else's?"

"You may think this is the realm of sleep, but there you are mistaken. Data does not dream. Cannot dream. You don't even have the slightest idea of where you are. This world is real"

"Sora, he's a program programs don't have hearts."

"No, you wrong. The Tron I knew had at least something."

The heart appears to be responsible for the composure of memories, will, goals, and ambitions

"Sora, he's a program programs don't have hearts."

Quorra:"He's a program Sora. Programs don't have hearts."

Sora:"That's not true. The Tron I remember he had something."

...

Sora: "Tron... Why?"

Young Xehanort: "That's what we do. Put the most precious things in the back of our mind where they are safe. Or in you case ... The most precious hearts?

Sora: "Not you again"

Xemnas: "The memory and heart is tightly linked."

Sora: "Xemnas!"

Xemnas: "Rub a few memories together, and you get a spark of emotion, a feeling. But in the digital world, memory does not work like that. Nothing is ever felt. You can hold a thousand, a million times the information, but there is still no heart with which to parse it. Once, my master, Ansem, found an old system and made a copy of its Master Control Program... and used it to serve his own ends. This is the original data of that system. Here, data can be copied. Memory can be changed and easily manipulated. Tron is a digital entity, so why would he be any different? He obeys the rules of this world. Sora - what about you? Your heart, memories, your data, and your dreams. The bits and bytes that have made up your life so far - can you say for sure they are not just copies of someone else's?"

Sora: "Yes! My memories and feeling belong to me."

Xemnas: "You had better check. Make sure the box's contents match what's on the label... Since you have been chosen."

Sora: "Choosen for what?"

Young Xehanort: You think this is the realm of dreams, but there, you are mistaken. Data does not dream, cannot dream. This world is real. You haven't the slightest idea where you are- that you have already wandered off the path

Xigbar: "Oopsy daisy. Wasn't easy putting you into a second sleep, and he almost woke you up."

Sora: "So then, all that stuff that I just saw - did you put that in my head?"

Xigbar: "No, that wasn't "stuff", it was a dream. The falling asleep part was definitively our bad. But we can't put stuff in you head. Hey, I got an idea. Ask your heart. See if it's got a clue."

Sora: "Well... my heart was aching. That's why I kept going."

Xigbar: "Thank you, Sora's heart, for pushing him right into our clutches. Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong every time."

Sora: "You know right, because you all have hearts! Axel and Roxas and Naminé and that other girl. I felt what Roxas felt and ... they laughed together, got mad, and they grieved. You have to have a heart to cry."

Xigbar: "It's about time you noticed."

Xemnas: "Indeed, a heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless, were attempts to control the mind and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it, the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes. And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobodies, it was just a temporary separation."