

I get it's all equivalent exchange ,but logic dictates that to bring a soul
you must lose a soul (Al's) and to make the materials into a body you would
need to destroy a body (Al's again) but why was Ed's leg taken?

I mean if it was about the size of the person they should both be
disintergrated and there mom alive. But it seems arguably more than enough to
bring her back. And I get that the point of human transmutation is that it is
impossible to bring someone back from the dead, but shouldn't Ed be unscathed?


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question
fullmetal-alchemist-series
Why does Ed and Al's mom cost so much to transmute?


What happened to Al and Ed's Leg was the result of the Rebound

> Since the alchemical forces being manipulated are not human in origin, but
> of the world as a whole, the consequences for attempting to bypass the Law
> of Equivalent Exchange in transmutation are not merely failure and
> cessation. When too much is attempted out of too little, what occurs is
> called a Rebound, in which the alchemical forces that are thrown out of
> balance on either side of the equation fluctuate wildly of their own accord
> in order to stabilize themselves - taking or giving more than was intended
> in often unpredictable and catastrophic ways such as accidental mutation,
> serious injury or death.

Source: [Alchemy - Rebound](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Alchemy#Rebound)

what happened was that Ed and Al had all the Materials collected for an
average adult body, whether or not this matched Trisha's body isn't the
problem but what they gave up for the Soul, a couple drops of blood.

This is hinted on when Ed is talking to Rose about what makes a human and how
Cornello's "miracle" to bring the dead back to life is no act of god.

> Ed: Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5
> kilograms. Phosphorous, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Saltpeter, 100 grams.
> Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, 7.5. Iron, 5. Silicon, 3 grams. And trace
> amounts of fifteen other elements.
>
> Rose: What's that?
>
> Ed: **It's all the ingredients of the average adult human body, down to the
> last specks of protein in your eyelashes.** And even though science has
> given us the entire physical breakdown, there has never been a successful
> attempt at bringing a human to life. **There's still something missing,
> something scientists haven't been able to find in centuries of research.**
> So what makes you think that hack-job priest with his parlor tricks is going
> to be able to? And in case you're wondering, all those ingredients can be
> bought on a child's allowance. Humans can be built on the cheap. There's no
> magic to it.
>
> Rose: Well if there's no magic, then you bring someone back to life!
>
> Ed: Just a matter of time, Rose. Science will find a way. Science is the
> answer to everything. If I were you, I'd drop the scriptures and pick up an
> alchemy book. We're the closest thing to gods there are.

Source: [Fullmetal alchemist >01. Those Who Challenge the
Sun](http://animetranscripts.wikispaces.com/Fullmetal+alchemist+%3E01.+Those+Who+Challenge+the+Sun)

What Ed is referring to is the Soul. while scientists in Fullmetal Alchemist
can measure all the stuff needed to make a human body the problem arises that
there is no equivalent for a soul. even in real life the existence of the Soul
is debated because there is no way to confirm it's existence or even measure
it to determine what would be of equal value.

Even Ed wasn't sure when they did it

> Ed: Just hold out your finger, okay? What's a soul, really? When you take
> out the myth, it's just the spark that starts life. This is our blood. From
> her blood. That's a fair trade.

Source: [Fullmetal alchemist >03.
Mother...](http://animetranscripts.wikispaces.com/Fullmetal+alchemist+%3E03.+Mother...)

so anyway, back to the rebound. It wasn't a fair exchange as a couple drops of
blood wouldn't equal a soul so Al's entire body, soul included, was taken
along with Ed's leg by the wildly fluctuating equation taking more than it
should in it's attempt to stabilize.

we can even call the end result to be a cause of the rebound, Trisha was given
_"life"_ but her body wasn't properly reformed as her organs outside her body
not to mention there is no way to confirm if Trisha's soul has been brought
back. in the 2003 Anime we learn that this Trisha did continue to live but as
a Homunculus didn't have a soul and was missing parts of her memories while in
Brotherhood and the Manga, Ed exhumes Trisha's body which Pinako buried and Ed
learns that what it wasn't Trisha as her hair colour and bone structure were
different.


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