The Innocences seem to be the catalysts for switching to new forms of production - instead of Slavery -> Feudalism -> Mercantilism -> Capitalism, you instead have eras embodied by a figure that introduces a new form of production then disseminates it both by religion and at the point of a sword.
They seem to be simultaneously the outcome of a self-interested political system and also genuine prophets with mystical abilities. There’s a sort of scale where people can have innocent-like abilities (this is made explicit in the question about Pasternak in the Greatest Innocence), with two very good candidates for potential Innocence’s in the story being Raphael and Egghead, but it’s still fundamentally the guys at the top who pick who gets to be one. The implication with Sohla being unwilling (or possibly unable) to change anything, despite revolution being an Innocence’s job, seems to indicate that capitalism is now no longer able to reform itself, instead choking off any avenue of advance (her ascension coincided with the Centennial revolution).
Edit: Also, as opposed to the rest, Dolores Dei may be an actual time-travelling robot. Her mystical abilities (glowing center, golden filaments, becoming incredibly hot) are very similar to how radiocomputers seem to work.
The Innocences seem to be the catalysts for switching to new forms of production - instead of Slavery -> Feudalism -> Mercantilism -> Capitalism, you instead have eras embodied by a figure that introduces a new form of production then disseminates it both by religion and at the point of a sword.
They seem to be simultaneously the outcome of a self-interested political system and also genuine prophets with mystical abilities. There’s a sort of scale where people can have innocent-like abilities (this is made explicit in the question about Pasternak in the Greatest Innocence), with two very good candidates for potential Innocence’s in the story being Raphael and Egghead, but it’s still fundamentally the guys at the top who pick who gets to be one. The implication with Sohla being unwilling (or possibly unable) to change anything, despite revolution being an Innocence’s job, seems to indicate that capitalism is now no longer able to reform itself, instead choking off any avenue of advance (her ascension coincided with the Centennial revolution).
Edit: Also, as opposed to the rest, Dolores Dei may be an actual time-travelling robot. Her mystical abilities (glowing center, golden filaments, becoming incredibly hot) are very similar to how radiocomputers seem to work.