Mordor Communication

[Bingo]

‘No, I don’t know,’ said Gorbag’s voice. ‘The messages go through
quicker than anything could fly, as a rule. But I don’t enquire how
it’s done. Safest not to. Grr!

This intrigues me. How exactly do the messages go through? I assume he's talking about messages from Minas Morgul to Barad-dûr, or else he'd say they "come through." It seems like it could not be by palantir, unless Sauron secretly has two of them.

What other means of communication could there be? I can't help imagining a secret telephone network connecting Sauron with different parts of his dominion. Or might the Nazgûl be telepathic?

[Mithadan]

Gorbag was the captain of the Morgul patrol that, together with the troops from the Cirith Ungol tower, found the unconscious Frodo after the attack by Shelob. The patrol was apparently sent by the Nazgul in Minas Morgul. So the question is how did Barad-Dur communicate with Minas Morgul "quicker than anything could fly"?

Good question. There are two overlapping answers. Clearly, Sauron did not have to send a messenger to Morgul to communicate with the Nazgul. He could speak to them via "other means." Sauron controlled the Nine Rings, and, therefore, the Ringwraiths. In addition, he could communicate or exercise his will over the Nazgul via Osanwe. Until the publication recently of The Nature of Middle Earth (NoME), a significant essay by JRRT, Osanwe-Kenta, was only available in a limited fashion. It was originally published in Vinyar Tengwar in 1998. This essay addresses, among other things, mind to mind communication, primarily what we see at the end of LoTR during the post-war journey back north, when the bearers of the three Elven Rings converse in this manner after the Hobbits have fallen asleep.

Sauron could use Osanwe to communicate directly with the Nazgul, whom he controlled via the Nine Rings. Such a message would be passed on almost instantaneously. Of course, there may have been more mundane methods of communications such as signals, beacons or flags, but Osanwe is the most likely candidate here. Or, in this case, there may have been no direct communication at all. LoTR discusses the Witch King's "unease" when he led his army from Morgul, because he sensed some other "power" in the vale. His unease may have prompted him to dispatch a patrol into Cirith Ungol. Gorbag may have merely been sent without any explanation why.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I would be careful about overstating the power and utility of Osanwe, although some sentences in the essay could be interpreted that way. More important, I think, are Tolkien's comments about limiting factors, together with the fact that in the only two times in LR we see Osanwe in use, those factors are very much in play.

When the Council members have their last meeting in Many Partings before the party splits, Tolkien makes much of their eyes glancing from one to the other, which ties in to the essays statements about what we migt call "conversational" range. At the other end, we have the incident on Amon Hen, where despite the congruent amplifying factors of affinity, authority and urgency, nonetheless at long distance only conveys a simple imperative, "Take it off!"

I don't think we can treat it, like PJ does in the movies, as if the Noldor and Istari are carrying around mental cellphones with which they can dial up their friends for a chat.*
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Now, wrt Cirith Ungol, Tolkien has set us rather a puzzle. On the one hand, he tells us that messages go "faster than anything can fly", which certainly implies a Palantir- except that for convcersations two palantiri are needed. (Maybe the T.C.U. Orc-yeoman holds up a big chalkboard at Sauron's appointed scanning time?). More likely, the communication would be vis a Nazgul's connection to Sauron, but it's unclear how really that might work, unless it's an inherent property of the Nine. We do know that Frodo was captured on March 13th, but the report only reached Sauron on the 15th - the day F&S escaped; in fact they had to dodge the Nazgul sent to investigate (A BR could fly the distance from B-D in under an hour). Shagrat took two days to reach B-D with the mithril shirt after the escape. Which would imply that, notwithstanding Gorbag's comment, that in this case the messages went to B-D on foot. We also have to take into account the fact that from the 10th onward the Nazgul were busy, and mostly in Gondor.

*To this I would add the observation that if Osanwe worked that way, the Noldor of Valinor - surely the most skilled practioners among all eruhini - would have had no reason to make the palantiri

[Mithadan]

We do not know the "range" of osanwe. We do know from the essay that one factor allowing osanwe to be possible is the openness of the recipient to receiving the message. Another factor is likely the native strength of the sender.

We do know, or can at least assume, that Gandalf employed osanwe when reaching out to Frodo on Amon Hen ("Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!"). William would be better able to quickly determine whether Gandalf was on Caradhras or in Lorien (or being carried by Gwaihir) when this took place, but this transmission was from a distance. We can assume that Sauron, a Maia like Gandalf's message to Frodo, could similarly transmit his thought to a Nazgul at a distance.

Then there is the factor of the recipient's willingness to receive the transmission. A Nazgul, under the control of Sauron who held the Nine, would be entirely open to receiving a message from his master using osanwe.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Acc to Tolkien, the range of Osanwe was in theory unlimited, but in practice was subject to many limiting or attenuating factors, especially among Eruhini and most especially among mortals. At the other extreme, the Valar probably could communicate with one another at will anywhere (I can envision Vana mind-yelling at Orome to get home from his damn hunt right now, we have dinner guests this evening.....)

One wonders if these limitations were among those accepted by the Istari when they chose to became incarnate. It was after all the hroa which was the source of most of the limitations.

[Bingo]

I haven't read Osanwe-Kenta, but I just remembered that there is some kind of long distance communication associated with the one ring.

For in the day that Sauron first put on the One, Celebrimbor, maker of the Three, was aware of him, and from afar he heard him speak these words, and so his evil purposes were revealed.

But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One.

So maybe, if Sauron holds the nine rings (or wears them on his nine fingers?) he might have a mental link with each of the nazgûl.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

We do not know the "range" of osanwe. We do know from the essay that one factor allowing osanwe to be possible is the openness of the recipient to receiving the message. Another factor is likely the native strength of the sender.

We do know, or can at least assume, that Gandalf employed osanwe when reaching out to Frodo on Amon Hen ("Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!"). William would be better able to quickly determine whether Gandalf was on Caradhras or in Lorien (or being carried by Gwaihir) when this took place, but this transmission was from a distance. We can assume that Sauron, a Maia like Gandalf's message to Frodo, could similarly transmit his thought to a Nazgul at a distance.

Then there is the factor of the recipient's willingness to receive the transmission. A Nazgul, under the control of Sauron who held the Nine, would be entirely open to receiving a message from his master using osanwe.

FWIW, Gandalf was "on a hill in Fangorn"