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The Old Hack

Story Monday December 2, 2019

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I said magic might have a surprise for Tedd & Co., and it looks like I guessed right.

But what about that click from the doorknob of the door with the mirror? Is someone about to make a surprise entrance?

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What I love most about Dan is how he thinks. If someone is told, this magic shrinks you to half your size, they would probably assume you meant half-height and proportionately less volume. A half-sized human who was 5 ft tall would be 2.5 ft tall. The fact that this is 1/8 their original volume means nothing to most people. Given the way Tedd thinks, I'm surprised he doesn't ALWAYS use the more precise term "half-mass" or "half-volume" for what he expects the "shrink" magic does. I hope Diane points out to Tedd that he could use a more precise term rather than the generic "size" to describe the wand.

That, and Dan loves that 79.4% number which is the actual height changes for a half-mass change. It is probably in every comic commentary where someone changes size.

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I'm sure Tedd will want to talk more about the mystery of the unexpected size change, but let's get back to that darned doorknob and the door it's part of. Gee, think this door hanging out in the basement of a wizard's home might be some kind of magical artifact?

 

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4 hours ago, jmucchiello said:

What I love most about Dan is how he thinks. If someone is told, this magic shrinks you to half your size, they would probably assume you meant half-height and proportionately less volume. A half-sized human who was 5 ft tall would be 2.5 ft tall. The fact that this is 1/8 their original volume means nothing to most people. Given the way Tedd thinks, I'm surprised he doesn't ALWAYS use the more precise term "half-mass" or "half-volume" for what he expects the "shrink" magic does. I hope Diane points out to Tedd that he could use a more precise term rather than the generic "size" to describe the wand.

That, and Dan loves that 79.4% number which is the actual height changes for a half-mass change. It is probably in every comic commentary where someone changes size.

I don't think Dan has ever stated that the mass of the reduced nor expanded person changes; with Susan in the Fable sequence, her weight was shown to not change (may not relate as canon).

Assume for a second that mass does change. Does it change at the cellular level, fewer cells? Does it change at the organelle level inside the cells? Presumably, you can't reduce the mass at the molecular level, you'd be changing the chemistry of the person. Presumably, you can't change the mass at the atomic level, the atoms would be different materials. Subatomic, your atomic components are heavier? How does breathing work?

Assume a change at the cellular level. You suddenly have more or less brain cells. Do you loose the ability to think clearly? Do you loose memories? Do you get them back when you recover your size? Where were they stored? Is you visual acuity changed? It should be. What about the range of your hearing? Assuming you are half size, did 7/8 of your sperm or eggs just disappear? Do they come back from magic storage when you recover?

I'm going to guess that in a sense, nothing really changes, that the space around the person compresses or expands as well. When observers look in, you're a different size, when you look out, the environment is a different size, but within your bubble, you're still 1:1.

 

 

 

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Tedd has been so certain for so long that there is a hard limit to how much shrinkage magic can cause that seeing someone exceed that limit just because they didn't know it was a limit must be a startling revelation

And Tedd's life has been little besides a series of startling revelations over the last few years

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49 minutes ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Tedd has been so certain for so long that there is a hard limit to how much shrinkage magic can cause that seeing someone exceed that limit just because they didn't know it was a limit must be a startling revelation

And Tedd's life has been little besides a series of startling revelations over the last few years

I'm not sure about that.  The person holding the wand is, after all, what amounts to her apprentice,  and one who knows the limits of magic.  Unless it was the fact that the target did not know the limits and  wanted the change caused the "violation" of the rules, I'm not seeing it being based on someone thinking "half size" meaning "half scale".

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Considering how long Tedd has been studying how the duration of transformations seem to have been subjective before Magic's "minimal" changes, he seems to be unduly surprised that "size" isn't as limited as he assumed it was.

Grace, however, does know that Rhoda did increase the size of that wild boar by far more than the size increase limit imposed by the TG gun and has known more than six months, long before either MV5 and Playing With Dolls.

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In hindsight, Tedd really should have tested these after magic was changed.

6 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Tedd has been so certain for so long that there is a hard limit to how much shrinkage magic can cause that seeing someone exceed that limit just because they didn't know it was a limit must be a startling revelation

And Tedd's life has been little besides a series of startling revelations over the last few years

It's a combination of that, and that since the rules for magic have changed, that includes older rules that did not have the limitations of the old new system.

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That click seems rather ominous. So, is this a magic mirror - or a magic door? Is it responsible for the wand being able to shrink Ashley more than expected, and if not why did it "click" now but not when Diane cast the hair spell?

I must say, I was not expecting there to be more to this story than character interaction and development with a side of transformation fun - and over ninety strips into the story seems like an odd place to introduce a major new plot element. Maybe this will be like Magus' attempt to possess Elliot back at the start of Grace's Birthday Party and be over quickly?

At any rate, yay for sunburst-like starburst background in panel one!

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Just now, Tom Sewell said:

But what about that click from the doorknob of the door with the mirror? Is someone about to make a surprise entrance?

I took it as Ashley hiding behind the door, because it's just leaning against the wall so there might be just enough space for her to squeeze into but still caused the door to shake a bit.

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18 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

I said magic might have a surprise for Tedd & Co., and it looks like I guessed right.

Yeah. Looking forward for explanation.

18 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

But what about that click from the doorknob of the door with the mirror? Is someone about to make a surprise entrance?

WHO? Waaaaait, is the size difference caused by the mirror door?

17 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

I'm sure Tedd will want to talk more about the mystery of the unexpected size change, but let's get back to that darned doorknob and the door it's part of. Gee, think this door hanging out in the basement of a wizard's home might be some kind of magical artifact?

And did noone though about checking?

13 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Assume for a second that mass does change. Does it change at the cellular level, fewer cells? Does it change at the organelle level inside the cells? Presumably, you can't reduce the mass at the molecular level, you'd be changing the chemistry of the person. Presumably, you can't change the mass at the atomic level, the atoms would be different materials. Subatomic, your atomic components are heavier? How does breathing work?

Assume a change at the cellular level. You suddenly have more or less brain cells. Do you loose the ability to think clearly? Do you loose memories? Do you get them back when you recover your size? Where were they stored? Is you visual acuity changed? It should be. What about the range of your hearing? Assuming you are half size, did 7/8 of your sperm or eggs just disappear? Do they come back from magic storage when you recover?

I'm going to guess that in a sense, nothing really changes, that the space around the person compresses or expands as well. When observers look in, you're a different size, when you look out, the environment is a different size, but within your bubble, you're still 1:1.

Don't worry about losing memories: any change at cellular OR organelle level would almost certainly result in you being DEAD. Living organism is in very fragile balance and doesn't really have any "spare" parts unless you makes LOT of computation about what could be taken out.

Really, despite how weird it sounds, the option with you being resized at sub-elemental-particles level and only capable of interacting with outside world (breathing etc) due to invisible bubble managing resizing of air makes MOST sense.

That is, so long as you want explanation consistent with physical laws. Alternative is that "magic does it" and the question about how it works in terms of physical laws is irrelevant - or, like, it's because the body of shrunk person is full of non-euclidean space distortions and exotic particles.

In short: no, you won't lose any memories because that's not part of the spell.

5 hours ago, weirdee said:

In hindsight, Tedd really should have tested these after magic was changed.

She only MADE this wand after the magic was changed. And I don't think it wasn't tested.

Which makes more likely it's due to those door ... or due to Ashley's dragon magic.

2 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

That click seems rather ominous. So, is this a magic mirror - or a magic door? Is it responsible for the wand being able to shrink Ashley more than expected, and if not why did it "click" now but not when Diane cast the hair spell?

I must say, I was not expecting there to be more to this story than character interaction and development with a side of transformation fun - and over ninety strips into the story seems like an odd place to introduce a major new plot element. Maybe this will be like Magus' attempt to possess Elliot back at the start of Grace's Birthday Party and be over quickly?

Hmmmm .... unlikely. THAT attempt was mostly overlooked. NOW we have everyone seeing it and Tedd certainly wouldn't stop before finding out what happened. And Sarah certainly ALSO realizes something weird happened.

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

I took it as Ashley hiding behind the door, because it's just leaning against the wall so there might be just enough space for her to squeeze into but still caused the door to shake a bit.

That wouldn't click the doorknob. Also, Diane and Tedd are looking at Ashley in last two frames.

 

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11 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

That wouldn't click the doorknob. Also, Diane and Tedd are looking at Ashley in last two frames.

There's not other logical reason for it to click, the door isn't on hinges so it wouldn't even swing open without crashing to the floor on top of whoever "opens" it.

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19 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

Don't worry about losing memories: any change at cellular OR organelle level would almost certainly result in you being DEAD. Living organism is in very fragile balance and doesn't really have any "spare" parts unless you makes LOT of computation about what could be taken out.

Really, despite how weird it sounds, the option with you being resized at sub-elemental-particles level and only capable of interacting with outside world (breathing etc) due to invisible bubble managing resizing of air makes MOST sense.

That is, so long as you want explanation consistent with physical laws. Alternative is that "magic does it" and the question about how it works in terms of physical laws is irrelevant - or, like, it's because the body of shrunk person is full of non-euclidean space distortions and exotic particles.

In short: no, you won't lose any memories because that's not part of the spell.

As Grace said, "It's best not to dwell too much on that sort of thing."

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49 minutes ago, Scotty said:
1 hour ago, hkmaly said:

That wouldn't click the doorknob. Also, Diane and Tedd are looking at Ashley in last two frames.

There's not other logical reason for it to click, the door isn't on hinges so it wouldn't even swing open without crashing to the floor on top of whoever "opens" it.

You don't watch enough cartoons. Just because the door isn't on hinges doesn't mean it can't open. It just means that what will be behind them wouldn't be what's behind them ...

42 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:
1 hour ago, hkmaly said:

In short: no, you won't lose any memories because that's not part of the spell.

As Grace said, "It's best not to dwell too much on that sort of thing."

... that's actually good way how to put it.

In standard science research, you are able to guess details of what's happening by applying Occam's razors. In case of magic, it's harder, because what's happening might not be what would make most logical sense to happen - or at least, you can't see the logic without knowing some details about magic most people don't know.

... on the other hand, when you research quantum physics, the logic involved is alien enough your "Occam's razor"-based logic might be wrong too. Take EPR paradox for example: It was experientially proven that quantum mechanics violates either locality, realism or freedom of choice ... Occam's razor is really not good enough to suggests which of those would be most likely to not work.

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Tedd may have been using Seer-vision on the spell, which would definitely explain the "WHAT" reaction--Tedd knows that she programmed the spell into the wand, and that what Sarah cast was not the same as what Tedd programmed.

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20 minutes ago, ijuin said:

Tedd may have been using Seer-vision on the spell, which would definitely explain the "WHAT" reaction--Tedd knows that she programmed the spell into the wand, and that what Sarah cast was not the same as what Tedd programmed.

That would be interesting.

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Maybe the door is just a visual gag.

 

The picture of a locked door is commonly used to indicate a sense of being trapped - which would be an appropriate response for someone who suddenly finds themselves surrounded by giants.

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6 hours ago, ijuin said:

Tedd may have been using Seer-vision on the spell, which would definitely explain the "WHAT" reaction--Tedd knows that she programmed the spell into the wand, and that what Sarah cast was not the same as what Tedd programmed.

This is what happens when Seer programs in metric but the user thinks in imperial. :D

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10 hours ago, ijuin said:

Tedd may have been using Seer-vision on the spell, which would definitely explain the "WHAT" reaction--Tedd knows that she programmed the spell into the wand, and that what Sarah cast was not the same as what Tedd programmed.

She doesn't need the seer vision to see something unexpected happened ... but yes I totally expect she will be using the seer vision.

8 hours ago, detrius said:

The picture of a locked door is commonly used to indicate a sense of being trapped - which would be an appropriate response for someone who suddenly feels themselves surrounded by giants.

It's true that Ashley doesn't look like she's enjoying it but no I don't think it's just visual gag.

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4 hours ago, Scotty said:
14 hours ago, ijuin said:

Tedd may have been using Seer-vision on the spell, which would definitely explain the "WHAT" reaction--Tedd knows that she programmed the spell into the wand, and that what Sarah cast was not the same as what Tedd programmed.

This is what happens when Seer programs in metric but the user thinks in imperial. :D

Starting when I was about nine, through one class or another, my schools spent at least two weeks each year trying to convince us American kids that we needed to know Metric

They never told us it had Magical implications...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the clicking door?

This is the big introduction of the "Surprise" guest star that will explain why Dan has been so reluctant to reveal the real title for this story

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

 - 

It will be a cyborg clone of General De Gaulle carrying the disembodied brain of Cyrus the Great (NOT Billy Ray) in a porcelain urn on which perches a psychic Egret to interpret the thoughts of the Persian Emperor

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2 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

It will be a cyborg clone of General De Gaulle carrying the disembodied brain of Cyrus the Great (NOT Billy Ray) in a porcelain urn on which perches a psychic Egret to interpret the thoughts of the Persian Emperor

That was my second guess.

 

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On 12/2/2019 at 2:23 PM, ChronosCat said:

That click seems rather ominous. So, is this a magic mirror - or a magic door? Is it responsible for the wand being able to shrink Ashley more than expected, and if not why did it "click" now but not when Diane cast the hair spell?

What I'm expecting is that it's the shrink spell triggered the "click", and that someone is about to come through the door.

5 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

This is the big introduction of the "Surprise" guest star that will explain why Dan has been so reluctant to reveal the real title for this story

Since this is Edward's basement, and presumably Edward's spare door, Edward sounds fairly likely to me. Tedd's father may have anticipated something needing his attention at the party.

Or, maybe someone else using the door as a prop to make a flashy entrance from another universe. Perhaps someone Ellen thinks is overdue for a visit?

Tune in Monday, maybe, when Dan's feeling better.

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10 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Or, maybe someone else using the door as a prop to make a flashy entrance from another universe. Perhaps someone Ellen thinks is overdue for a visit?

I feel the Kaoli's appearance in relation to Magus should belong in a separate arc like Sister 4 and maybe finally involve Lord Tedd, and as an added bonus, be when Tedd learns that Van is their half brother (Van knows Tedd's a half-sibling and saw Tedd as female in the meeting with the WoM so Van could consider Tedd a sister and well Tedd being genderfluid would allow them to cover both roles easily anyway)

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9 minutes ago, Scotty said:

I feel the Kaoli's appearance in relation to Magus should belong in a separate arc like Sister 4 and maybe finally involve Lord Tedd, and as an added bonus, be when Tedd learns that Van is their half brother (Van knows Tedd's a half-sibling and saw Tedd as female in the meeting with the WoM so Van could consider Tedd a sister and well Tedd being genderfluid would allow them to cover both roles easily anyway)

You believe Kaoli is from the same universe as Magus? Is there an in-comic reason?

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