In all honesty, I never even thought of if as not being literal; I just assumed the number was actually of significance. Hearing what you both said was actually quite the revalation (har har)
Lol - for me it's a question of evidence. A lot of analysis has made reference to "144,000" bloated. WLW contains all three instances where it appears; a random reference by Achamian that the drug-addled Skin Eaters are running across the Istyuli (sp?) like the "144,000 of legend," Wutteat's mention that the Inchoroi have reduced world after world to that number, and an epigraph by Ganus the Blind. I'm undecided on what they mean.
Also, I just realized that the Inchoroi are actually contrasting the narrative in
Revelations, wherein 144,000 are saved and then the rest of us have to live through a certain number of days while Hell runs free on Earth and those of us that survive that trial without being taken to Hell are allowed into Heaven as well.
Also, also, be wary of any TGO spoilers in this subforum until Orbit UK's release next month.