====== Core ======

(Namespace: [[plural glossary:start]])

^ Type of term | Possible type of [[headmate]] |
^ Synonyms or near-synonyms | [[Original]], [[self]] |
^ Antonyms or near-antonyms | [[Alter]], [[facade]], [[facet]], [[fragment]] |

The core of a [[system]] is the [[headmate]] who serves as the system's centerpiece. They are the one who feels the most like a personification of the entire system, or the most like who the system is "supposed" to be.

The core may be, but is not necessarily, the same headmate as the [[host]] and/or [[original]]. Many systems, perhaps even most systems, do not have cores, or have more than one core.

===== Controversy =====

"Core" is terminology originating from the therapeutic model of internal family systems, which was implicated in the Alsana Castlewood tragedy. For this reason, even some systems who have headmates who //could// be called cores still choose not to use this word.