Story Friday April 7, 2017

[Scotty 1,061]

Just now, CritterKeeper said:

Isn't it set for a week, not a month?

It might be a few months before we see it though.

 

I re-read the part you were referring too. The griffins are supposed to return to see if Elliot found out anything new about the energy clog in 4 weeks.

[CritterKeeper 1,102]

3 hours ago, Scotty said:

I re-read the part you were referring too. The griffins are supposed to return to see if Elliot found out anything new about the energy clog in 4 weeks.

Darn, you're right.  Wishful thinking on my part, I guess.

[showler 14]

12 hours ago, Darkxemjas said:

Just are rare are Seers anyway.

If they are needed for a reset, Magic may only create one if it foresees the need for a reset.

How far back does Pandora's plan go, anyway?

[Don Edwards 548]

29 minutes ago, showler said:

If they are needed for a reset, Magic may only create one if it foresees the need for a reset.

How far back does Pandora's plan go, anyway?

My suspicion is that there are always a few... but most of them are never in a situation to notice that they are seers.

[hkmaly 490]

8 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

38 minutes ago, showler said:

If they are needed for a reset, Magic may only create one if it foresees the need for a reset.

How far back does Pandora's plan go, anyway?

My suspicion is that there are always a few... but most of them are never in a situation to notice that they are seers.

I'm quite sure about that because seer seem to be BORN as seer but only usable when older. So, either magic is really good in foreseeing or it keeps several around every time there is some risk, which means always.

Also, notice the complete lack of "What, seer was already been born? We are in trouble." from Heka. Either he's that phlegmatic, or existence of seer at given time is no reason for worry.

(Granted, he also might be unaffected by magic reset and not care about others, but his "entwined in mortal destiny" and worry about seer being morally good suggest otherwise.)

[Scotty 1,061]

2 hours ago, hkmaly said:

(Granted, he also might be unaffected by magic reset and not care about others, but his "entwined in mortal destiny" and worry about seer being morally good suggest otherwise.)

He's aware that Immortals used to be called Fairies, how long ago was that, before the last system change, or within Pandora's current lifetime? Did she refer to herself as a Fairy or an Immortal when she met Blaike? The name Heka may be more a title rather than a name and not an indicator to this person's age so who knows how old he is, he could very well have lived through at least 1 system change.

[showler 14]

He's old enough to be freaked out about how big humans are getting.

[Scotty 1,061]

Just now, showler said:

He's old enough to be freaked out about how big humans are getting.

I'm thinking he meant the human population, not individual humans.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

I'm thinking he meant the human population, not individual humans.

Did you see how short he was? I think he might have been referring to individual humans.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

Yes, people were generally shorter back in the day.

One example, the Slam Dunk was never even attempted by any player in the NBA (Nile Basketball Association).

[hkmaly 490]

4 hours ago, Scotty said:

6 hours ago, hkmaly said:

(Granted, he also might be unaffected by magic reset and not care about others, but his "entwined in mortal destiny" and worry about seer being morally good suggest otherwise.)

He's aware that Immortals used to be called Fairies, how long ago was that, before the last system change, or within Pandora's current lifetime? Did she refer to herself as a Fairy or an Immortal when she met Blaike? The name Heka may be more a title rather than a name and not an indicator to this person's age so who knows how old he is, he could very well have lived through at least 1 system change.

Just because he's aware doesn't mean it was during his lifetime. While it SEEMS he speaks from personal experience, it's possible it's historic information he got with the rest of library.

Also, what, you think last system change went so well he thinks it's no big deal?

Pandora and her Horde would definitely disagree.

2 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Yes, people were generally shorter back in the day.

Although it was less caused by any actual genetic change and more by malnutrition. Because people actually started getting taller only in last two centuries, and that's certainly not enough time for evolution.

2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

4 hours ago, Scotty said:

I'm thinking he meant the human population, not individual humans.

Did you see how short he was? I think he might have been referring to individual humans.

The comparison to weeds suggests he speaks about population, as weeds are not exactly known for being tall.

[Scotty 1,061]

Just now, hkmaly said:

Just because he's aware doesn't mean it was during his lifetime. While it SEEMS he speaks from personal experience, it's possible it's historic information he got with the rest of library.

The fact that he mocked the use of Immortals as the current name for Fairies "as though they were the only ones" and his refusal to call them Immortals does heavily imply that he is immortal himself. Pandora herself is proof that a magical being can live indefinitely given the right circumstances (keep a low profile, play within the rules, try to not go insane too quickly, etc), the last system change was in her previous life, which would have been between 150-350 (give or take a few) years before she met Blaike, a true immortal could easily have lived through that.

Dan's description in Wednesday's commentary doesn't outright say what Heka is, but it leaves it open to interpretation. Heka isn't an "Immortal" so he's obviously not bound by "Immortal" law and the 200 year reset suggestion wouldn't apply to him either. While it is possible that he hasn't been the only one to be Heka, the amount of time one person can be Heka could still be greater than Pandora's current lifetime. It's also possible Heka takes very long naps as well, only waking up when there's a visitor or a significant event.

[ProfessorTomoe 1,308]

7 hours ago, hkmaly said:

The comparison to weeds suggests he speaks about population, as weeds are not exactly known for being tall.

They are around here (Texas and the Midwest). Johnson Grass, Jimson Weed, etc.—a common thing to say to a fast-growing child is, "You're just sproutin' up like a weed, aren't ya?"

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

Any plant can be a weed.
This is another "certain point of view" situation.

Once a landscaper approached me while I was mowing the grass.  He handed me a business card and a checklist he filled out.  He told me that his service could get rid of the Clover and African Violets in my yard.

I like the way Clover, African Violets, and other Wildflowers look on the lawn.

[Scotty 1,061]

Why would you want to get rid of African Violets anyway, we have a pot of them in our kitchen window that produces a pretty large cluster of flowers within a week of the previous cluster dying off and has been doing so for about a year now.

[Pharaoh RutinTutin 1,586]

Apparently this landscaping guy was someone who thought natural grass should look like Astroturf.

[ijuin 572]

9 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Although it was less caused by any actual genetic change and more by malnutrition. Because people actually started getting taller only in last two centuries, and that's certainly not enough time for evolution.

Also better medical care--spending a significant fraction of one's childhood ill with traditional childhood diseases such as Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox, etc. stunts a child's growth because resources are being used to fight the infection instead of for growth.

[Tom Sewell 268]

On 4/7/2017 at 3:10 PM, Sjmcc13 said:

Yup, and the dialog seem to imply that Luke saw Noah but did not really interact with him. Definitly not enough to be a Friend. Which is supported by his terrified fleeing at scanning Grace

 

On 4/7/2017 at 1:12 PM, Scotty said:

If you're referring to this exchange, they were talking about Noah.

I stand corrected. I didn't start reading EGS until the middle of So a Date at the Mall and going back through them to catch up I didn't always read Dan's commentaries.

That said, no General Shade Tail in our Tedd's universe kind of supports my Big Deal hypothesis further, don't it?

Speaking of Noah, why would he and Grace have similar auras? And prehensile tentacles? The obvious answer is they are both part-uryuom. Since Noah's father was one of the mad scientists who created Damien, that's pretty easy to justify. But does Noah know this? Noah's been going to the same school as Grace for nearly a year and we know they had the same gym class for at least one semester.

[The Old Hack 2,448]

2 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Apparently this landscaping guy was someone who thought natural grass should look like Astroturf.

So your lawn doesn't look enough like plastic to him. That is kind of sad.

[Tom Sewell 268]

On 4/7/2017 at 3:10 PM, Sjmcc13 said:

Yup, and the dialog seem to imply that Luke saw Noah but did not really interact with him. Definitly not enough to be a Friend. Which is supported by his terrified fleeing at scanning Grace

 

On 4/7/2017 at 1:12 PM, Scotty said:

If you're referring to this exchange, they were talking about Noah.

I stand corrected. I didn't start reading EGS until the middle of So a Date at the Mall and going back through them to catch up I didn't always read Dan's commentaries.

That said, no General Shade Tail in our Tedd's universe kind of supports my Big Deal hypothesis further, don't it?

Speaking of Noah, why would he and Grace have similar auras? And prehensile tentacles? The obvious answer is they are both part-uryuom. Since Noah's father was one of the mad scientists who created Damien, that's pretty easy to justify. But does Noah know this? Noah's been going to the same school as Grace for nearly a year and we know they had the same gym class for at least one semester.

[Sjmcc13 42]

7 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Apparently this landscaping guy was someone who thought natural grass should look like Astroturf.

To be fair allot of people think that way, believing the only there should be any flowers of any kind is in a flower bed. 

[hkmaly 490]

9 hours ago, Scotty said:

The fact that he mocked the use of Immortals as the current name for Fairies "as though they were the only ones" and his refusal to call them Immortals does heavily imply that he is immortal himself. Pandora herself is proof that a magical being can live indefinitely given the right circumstances (keep a low profile, play within the rules, try to not go insane too quickly, etc), the last system change was in her previous life, which would have been between 150-350 (give or take a few) years before she met Blaike, a true immortal could easily have lived through that.

Dan's description in Wednesday's commentary doesn't outright say what Heka is, but it leaves it open to interpretation. Heka isn't an "Immortal" so he's obviously not bound by "Immortal" law and the 200 year reset suggestion wouldn't apply to him either. While it is possible that he hasn't been the only one to be Heka, the amount of time one person can be Heka could still be greater than Pandora's current lifetime. It's also possible Heka takes very long naps as well, only waking up when there's a visitor or a significant event.

Agree. That's what I meant by the "seems". I was just commenting that it's still not sure - just implied heavily.

8 hours ago, Scotty said:

Why would you want to get rid of African Violets anyway, we have a pot of them in our kitchen window that produces a pretty large cluster of flowers within a week of the previous cluster dying off and has been doing so for about a year now.

Looking at image, seems I have one pot of that too, although it's not so active. I suppose it wouldn't be hot enough for it even if I put it directly on heating.

I also like Vinca. Someone was telling me it's weed. I answered "that's one of things I like on it - it's low-maintenance".

6 hours ago, ijuin said:

16 hours ago, hkmaly said:

Although it was less caused by any actual genetic change and more by malnutrition. Because people actually started getting taller only in last two centuries, and that's certainly not enough time for evolution.

Also better medical care--spending a significant fraction of one's childhood ill with traditional childhood diseases such as Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox, etc. stunts a child's growth because resources are being used to fight the infection instead of for growth.

I think I had those three too (and I don't think my growth was so stunned). Maybe the illnesses which stunned growth were more stuff like bronchitis, which, unlike those three, you can get repeatedly. Which I also did, but with antibiotics it wasn't taking so long.

4 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

Speaking of Noah, why would he and Grace have similar auras? And prehensile tentacles? The obvious answer is they are both part-uryuom. Since Noah's father was one of the mad scientists who created Damien, that's pretty easy to justify. But does Noah know this? Noah's been going to the same school as Grace for nearly a year and we know they had the same gym class for at least one semester.

This has been speculated for long time. I think that both him and Adrian Raven are aware, but they don't feel the need to tell Grace (or us). In fact, considering Adrian probably must've explained Noah how to suppress his uryuom power to learn Earth magic, Noah must've been painfully aware.

[Tom Sewell 268]

37 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

This has been speculated for long time. I think that both him and Adrian Raven are aware, but they don't feel the need to tell Grace (or us). In fact, considering Adrian probably must've explained Noah how to suppress his uryuom power to learn Earth magic, Noah must've been painfully aware.

Note that The Shive didn't make that Q&A until twenty-five months after his commentary hints about Noah. Of course, it's also canon that Noah has had a lot of training, and he's been trained by Adrian. And if Noah is a genetic construct like Grace and her siblings, he could have been designed to be free of the usual restrictions on human-flavored magic by crossbreeds. So The Shive has at least a couple of ways to retcon His way out of the apparent contradiction between His 2014 Noah comment and His 2016 Q&A about Grace learning spells, should He care to.

Even the Grace Q&A doesn't say it's impossible for a part-uryuom crossbreed to learn spells, just extremely hard. Perhaps so hard one might consider selling one's soul to get around the restrictions?

[Don Edwards 548]

4 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

And if Noah is a genetic construct like Grace and her siblings, he could have been designed to be free of the usual restrictions on human-flavored magic by crossbreeds.

We have no info on how much control the uryuom have over their genetic mixing, beyond the fact of choosing whose/what's DNA to insert in the egg.

[hkmaly 490]

4 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

9 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

And if Noah is a genetic construct like Grace and her siblings, he could have been designed to be free of the usual restrictions on human-flavored magic by crossbreeds.

We have no info on how much control the uryuom have over their genetic mixing, beyond the fact of choosing whose/what's DNA to insert in the egg.

I would actually object to the "genetic construct". While it's possible they did do some genetic modification before inserting the DNA, it's also possible what there were doing was not so different from uryuom natural breeding.

10 minutes ago, Tom Sewell said:

46 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

his has been speculated for long time. I think that both him and Adrian Raven are aware, but they don't feel the need to tell Grace (or us). In fact, considering Adrian probably must've explained Noah how to suppress his uryuom power to learn Earth magic, Noah must've been painfully aware.

Note that The Shive didn't make that Q&A until twenty-five months after his commentary hints about Noah. Of course, it's also canon that Noah has had a lot of training, and he's been trained by Adrian. And if Noah is a genetic construct like Grace and her siblings, he could have been designed to be free of the usual restrictions on human-flavored magic by crossbreeds. So The Shive has at least a couple of ways to retcon His way out of the apparent contradiction between His 2014 Noah comment and His 2016 Q&A about Grace learning spells, should He care to.

Even the Grace Q&A doesn't say it's impossible for a part-uryuom crossbreed to learn spells, just extremely hard. Perhaps so hard one might consider selling one's soul to get around the restrictions?

Weird, I though the Grace Q&A was SPECIFICALLY explaining how could Noah get the magic despite already existing hints that Grace can't even use the watches. Like, obviously Noah wasn't mentioned, for case someone still didn't get he's part uryuom, but "this information probably isn't related to anything important" is almost lampshade hanging.

So, no retcon needed.

Also, Noah was speculated to be part uryuom way before 2014.