Let's take this baby for a spin, and see what it can do!

[Birdland]

Nobody else could do that except for possibly Gandalf...

You probably are right, Kuruharan, though everyone who was tempted by the Ring seems to think they had a good shot at controlling it. Galadriel certainly seemed to think so: "In place of the Dark Lord, you would have a Queen!" She resisted temptation, not because she would be controlled by Sauron, but that she would replace him, and eventually become just like him.

Of course, that could be just a deceit that the Ring inspired: "Go on. Put me on. You know you want to. If you put me on, I'll be your best friend." And the minute they did put it on they would be snatched up (physically or mentally) by Sauron. But Tolkien really doesn't imply this.

As for Sauron getting it back from whomever had it; when Frodo puts on the Ring at Mt. Doom, it throws Sauron into a panic. Though he must have known that Frodo would not now try to destroy the Ring. And as good as Frodo was, he was in no way capable of controlling such a powerful instrument. Yet Sauron could not reach out himself, either physically or mentally, and reclaim the Ring. He had to call out to his Nazgul to fly back to Mordor lickity-split and fetch it for him.

Now if it was my One Ring, I would have had it "programmed" to yank Frodo back from the edge just as he put it on, and drag him back to the Dark Tower with its own supernatural force.

But nooooo...all it can do is sit there on the finger silently yelling "Hey, I'm here! Come get me!"

See what I mean: glitchy.

[ February 08, 2003: Message edited by: Birdland ]