[Lalwendë]

Since reading of osanwe I have often thought that there could be a link between thought transference and the palantiri.

The palantiri come from beyond Westernesse, from Eldamar. The Noldor made them. Feanor himself, maybe, wrought them, in days so long ago that the time cannot be measured in years

They have allegedly been made by the most infamous craftsperson in Arda, a long time before the Rings of power, and by one of those who would have known of osanwe, and known the uses of it. Whether the palantiri themselves were made to aid osanwe or simply to record memories is debatable, but they certainly were capable of both these things. Then they were given to Men, and Men who would have known about and no doubt had some skill in osanwe themselves.

The evidence that they were used for osanwe is stated by Gandalf and earlier, by Pippin:

"To see far off, and to converse in thought with one another,"

Then he came. He did not speak so that I could hear words. He just looked, and I understood.

Pippin also seems to have been trapped by the use of osanwe, something the Hobbit is unaware of, and he certainly would not know of unwill, let alone how to exercise it, so it is indeed good fortune that he does not reveal more than he ought.

Osanwe does involve conversing in thought, and it is a skill which all sentient beings are capable of, if they are not necessarily aware of. And the palantiri possibly showed more than mere osanwe could allow, as they were also visual, and they appear to have stored memories. One factor in osanwe is that deception can come into play, and unwill, the closing of one mind to another. The palantiri could have solved some of these problems, a benefit to the user with good intentions no doubt, but also ultimately a failing, as one user with bad intentions could spoil the effective working of the other stones. Which is what happened when Sauron managed to get a palantir.

After being saved from the drowning of Numenor, they appear to have been sited with some kind of 'network' in mind:

Each palantir replied to each, but all those in Gondor were ever open to the view of Osgiliath.

This has then been lost to time. Perhaps the 'network' ceased to be safe to use once some stones had gone missing, and this is why the remaining stones were then kept secret. From what Gandalf says in this chapter, they were certainly not to be used lightly in any case, let alone when some had gone missing. It seems that the 'wise' knew and understood the potential failings of the stones.

But alone it could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dur. Then he was caught!

'Easy it is now to guess how quickly the roving eye of Saruman was trapped and held; and how ever since he has been persuaded from afar, and daunted when persuasion would not serve. The biter bit, the hawk under the eagle's foot, the spider in a steel web! How long, I wonder, has he been constrained to come often to his glass for inspection and instruction, and the Orthanc-stone so bent towards Barad-dur that, if any save a will of adamant now looks into it, it will bear his mind and sight swiftly thither? And how it draws one to itself! Have I not felt it? Even now my heart desires to test my will upon it, to see if I could not wrench it from him and turn it where I would--to look across the wide seas of water and of time to Tirion the Fair, and perceive the unimaginable hand and mind of Feanor at their work, while both the White Tree and the Golden were in flower!" He sighed and fell silent.

Saruman must have looked into the stone to see the memories stored within, surely something which would tempt anyone, even Gandalf, who dreams of looking at the golden days of Valinor, maybe going back to times which he personally remembers. These would have been fair things to look at through the palantir, but Saruman sought more and so looked deeper. Perhaps, at first, Saruman sought only that which Pippin dreamed of:

"The names of all the stars, and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas,"

Knowledge, a noble enough aim, surely. But knowledge can indeed be dangerous, as proven by Saruman, who sought to forge his own path within Arda, who sought to break the Light. Perhaps in all innocence, Saruman sought deeper knowledge and opened his mind to what was within the palantir, and did not exercise unwill, and so Sauron caught him there. This has echoes of Faust.

How sad it is that these palantiri which contain so much potential, knowledge and memory cannot be used. Saruman must have used it at first through curiosity, and who would not think that one of the Istari could not safely look into a palantir? Even Aragorn who by right is entitled to use this stone, is urged not to use it hastily by Gandalf. Perhaps in the end it is Pippin's innocence which saves him, or does it teach him a valuable lesson in unwill?