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When Father sacrifices his five subjects—the five who have all seen the
portal—why is it that they are all fine right after? I would have expected
them to be gone, or dead, or something.


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fullmetal-alchemist-series fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood
In FMA: Brotherhood, why do Father's sacrifices remain alive after the sacrifice?


**Short answer:** There is no canonical reason for this.

**Long answer:** In English, a sacrifice is defined as:

> an animal, person, or object offered in an act of slaughtering to God or to
> a divine or supernatural figure

However, a sacrifice in the _Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood_ (and manga)
canon is simply a being which has attempted Human Transmutation, and thus
passed through the Gate of Truth. This sort of "activates" their Gate, so that
someone with the right knowledge and setup (read: Father) can access it.

I think the [_Fullmetal Alchemist_
Wiki](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Human_Sacrifice) says it best:

> Contrary to what the name suggests, the Human Sacrifices don't actually die
> and survive with no ill effects. In fact, the Sacrifices were some of the
> few humans to not have their souls dragged from their bodies.

So, why are they called sacrifices? It's really anybody's guess. In a way,
they line up with another definition of the term:

> an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded
> as more important or worthy

In that sense, they _are_ sacrifices; just not in the way we would typically
think of a ritualistic sacrifice taking place.

So, no, no particular reason why they don't die, except... well, the author
needed them alive.


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answer


For the same reason none of the people in Amestris die: Van Hohenheim's plot
to reverse the circle. While this isn't specifically mentioned in canon, it
does logically follow.


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