Truly skilled tricksters don’t need to disguise themselves. They can accomplish whatever they want, looking like themselves, generally using (reverse)^3 or so psychology.
Hmm..I guess the winged lion lady is referring to the fact that Phix’s real shape ccould be easily seen by covering one eye while looking at her…For a trixster a bit of a drag I’d say…
Last panel reminds me of Junior (our younger, but much bigger cat – i’m pretty sure he weighs more than twice what Miss Kitty does), as he stalks off muttering “I meant to do that…”
She just needs to find a good book on advanced transmogrification. As best as I recall, it’s on shelf 88,949,762-T. Should only be a months journey on foot to reach. Best to pack extra batteries for the Interdimensional-GPS and don’t forget your towel. Let’s hope it’s not checked out already.
Hmm, I just did some calculations. If she could pass 2 shelves per second (assuming they are perpendicular to her direction of travel) and did that 16 hours a day, every day, it would take somewhat over 2 years to get there. Perhaps they have an atomic/magic powered, high speed Segway for the purpose.
So she treks forty-‘leven days to get to the bookshelf, and hey, that book has been checked out. By Phix. The hour before she got there.
Or worse yet:
“Hey! Who the hell are you? What’s a monkey doing with my book?”
“Ook?” (Followed by the sound of a large, annoyed orangutan stuffing Nudge’s feet into her ears …)
perhaps, enter the magic wing, starting on the far left, then walking past shelves laid so the ends are visible, it’d take that long… walking down one aisle, somehow popping out of the next one. supposing that walking perpendicular skips by 10 thousand shelves, that’d take walking past 8800 aisles. but then, length of aisle becomes a question. i’d say the library would have been built with comfortable length shelves, a stroll of one minute for each works for me, so, about 150 hours to reach the correct row. there’s where it breaks down for me… i suck at math.
yah, perhaps index cards, finding the index card might take a long long time, then just walk to a shelf like where some libraries have their interbranch loans.
Reminds me of Hitchhikers series 2 where certain nightclubs would hand out business cards that would teleport you into the club. The problem is that any club that was that desperate for patrons wasn’t the club to be seen in…
I never did care for anything in the Hitchhiker series other than the original book. It was brilliant. I started on the sequel, but soon found it to be little more than a rehash of basic ideas of the first with some shock value thrown in to try to make it more appealing/interesting. I stopped there. Didn’t even make it through the first 20 pages or so. He basically channeled the later Monty Python, and, like that crap, it wasn’t very funny either. Seemed to me he put everything he had into the first book.
SoWhyMe: well I grew up with the BBC radio series.. got the LP, and also much later found the *whole lot* on BBC audio!! 🙂
This has 14 CDs, including extended episodes, and bonus CD (behind scenes, etc..) search amazon for ‘HHGTG’.. ( the reviews there explain a lot.. :E )
and yes, If you dont know the above, the movie is ‘ok’, but disappointing, if you liked the BBC TV series…. 🙁
I probably still have the 3 album set of the first series deep within the bowels of my storage. It was a nicely re-done stereo version of the raido plays. Next time I’m home I’ll have to look them up..
No wonder the Library liked Phix as a librarian, she’s got wings after all. No ellaborate transportation devices needed, which means more space for books!
Although i figure it is more like the library of Unseen Academy, where the sheer pressure of knowledge warps the time and space in unexpected ways. Phix and Nudge are still a billion times sexier as librarians than an orangutan 😉
That would be a real opportunity to cause mischief. Damn, Jin with a dog’s tail. You know she’s still gonna be working out the bugs in her transformational magic practice. She shouldn’t feel too bad the Kitsune screw that one up a lot too.
What will be interesting is when she strolls into Tina’s place. Will Tina instantly recognize her, regardless of outward appearance? Will she “accidently” spill coffee on Nudge, or will she thank her for making her what she is now (as opposed to being dead and rotting away)?
Well nudge has been librarian before although the library has most likely grown since she has been there the last time she still should know her way around.
Ooohhh. I’m getting “big sister flashbacks”. Give the kid an idea in an off-handed way, a casual suggestion and let ‘er get herself in a mess. Wasn’t MY fault. I can’t be responsible for just sayin’ somethin’, Mom!!! Wasn’t MY idea, Mom!! She did it all herself, Mom!
It may be that Phix figured out and is rubbing in the fact that Nudge would like to return to Earth, but can’t figure out how to disguise herself well enough to do it. I can imagine a big sister doing that, too.
BTW, where was Nudge between escaping and occupying Tina? She made it sound as if she had no opportunity to observe Earth, except through Tina.
Oh Phix. You and your, “I am not going to hurt you, but I am not going to help you either”, attitude, is going to make their working relationship…interesting, to say the least.
It seems that Phix already knew that Nudge wasn’t a good shape-shifter. Phix must have studied all the information about Nudge so she could catch her and haul her back to The Library. I wonder what other stuff Phixy knows about Nudge?
The Universal Library has this quality: it often is easier to develop an understanding of your problem and answer it yourself than to spend the time researching and finding the book that already has the answer.
Kind of like a computer that could predict exactly what the future will bring: it would be bigger than the universe, and no faster (at best)–so it’s really quicker and easier just to wait and see.
If that were the way it was, we would still be in caves since we would have to re-learn everything every generation. Sounds like a useless library. It also brings up the point that a workable search system is indispensable to a really large library.
This is only a problem with a universal library, or an absolutely precise predictor of the future. A working model is not so precise, but still gives useful information, and in a reasonable time.
It is impossible to fully describe a system from inside that system – Goedel’s Completeness Theorem, i believe; definitely Goedel.
This is why non-Euclidean geometries are possible; some of the postulates/axioms of geometry cannot be proven and must simply be accepted – for instance, it is impossible to prove that parallel lines do meet if extended to infinity, or that there is only one possible line through a given point parallel to a given line.
That seems to be the way it is, but you can’t prove it (by a rigourous logical/mathematical proof).
And you can construct an entire, self-consistent (“non-Euclidean”) geometry by assuming that parallel lines do meet, or that there are an infinite number of lines through a given point parallel to a given line.
This is the fundemental difference between Knowledge and Wisdom. Telling one right out isn’t as much fun as trial and error. Like how Eddie Van Halen can do things as a self-taught musician that might never occur to a Properly Trained one. It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t know what’s impossible.
Hasn’t this idea been the inspiration of some cartoons, where one character tells another (about a third, obliviously doing the impossible), “Shhh, don’t tell her she can’t be doing that!)
I can’t recall any specific examples, unfortunately. 🙁
Hahahahaha! Buuuuurn!
Ka-ZING!
I know, Phix is great.
Cool icon there, fellow EGS fan.
I agree, best Phix wings ever.
@Paul
Does Nudge have freckles, or just really bad acne?
I’m guessing freckles (like Jacqui, for instance).
And she’s a bad shape-shifter? That IS odd for one known to be a “trickster”.
Truly skilled tricksters don’t need to disguise themselves. They can accomplish whatever they want, looking like themselves, generally using (reverse)^3 or so psychology.
At the least she could become part of a new cycle of jokes. “This turtle, eagle, and goat walk into a bar …”
Hmm..I guess the winged lion lady is referring to the fact that Phix’s real shape ccould be easily seen by covering one eye while looking at her…For a trixster a bit of a drag I’d say…
Oops..meant “[i]Nudge’s real shape[/i]” Ugh..not enough coffee yet..*pours a fresh one, burns mouth, curses for a bit, continues drinking*
I get the impression that she has very ‘textured’ skin.
Textured skin was my impression, too.
Yes, as I recall from the color pin-up Paul made her skin is kinda bumpy.
Color pinup? I missed that somehow, is there a linky I can get pleeeeeease?
I remember an Ebay drawing. But that was in grey-tones.
Oh, was it? OK, well, that’s what I was thinking about anyway.
Now, with my memory, I could be remembering it in grey tones…
I think that it’s supposed to represent very fine fur on her face. She IS furry…
Last panel reminds me of Junior (our younger, but much bigger cat – i’m pretty sure he weighs more than twice what Miss Kitty does), as he stalks off muttering “I meant to do that…”
First panel suggests that Phix’s tail is lashing and she’s wiggling her butt to loosen up before she pounces…
She just needs to find a good book on advanced transmogrification. As best as I recall, it’s on shelf 88,949,762-T. Should only be a months journey on foot to reach. Best to pack extra batteries for the Interdimensional-GPS and don’t forget your towel. Let’s hope it’s not checked out already.
Or on the restricted list …
Hmm, I just did some calculations. If she could pass 2 shelves per second (assuming they are perpendicular to her direction of travel) and did that 16 hours a day, every day, it would take somewhat over 2 years to get there. Perhaps they have an atomic/magic powered, high speed Segway for the purpose.
Or just poits.
So she treks forty-‘leven days to get to the bookshelf, and hey, that book has been checked out. By Phix. The hour before she got there.
Or worse yet:
“Hey! Who the hell are you? What’s a monkey doing with my book?”
“Ook?” (Followed by the sound of a large, annoyed orangutan stuffing Nudge’s feet into her ears …)
perhaps, enter the magic wing, starting on the far left, then walking past shelves laid so the ends are visible, it’d take that long… walking down one aisle, somehow popping out of the next one. supposing that walking perpendicular skips by 10 thousand shelves, that’d take walking past 8800 aisles. but then, length of aisle becomes a question. i’d say the library would have been built with comfortable length shelves, a stroll of one minute for each works for me, so, about 150 hours to reach the correct row. there’s where it breaks down for me… i suck at math.
Don’t feel bad. L-space is non-Euclidean anyway.
hm, wikipedia problems??
wiki.lspace.org may be better.. 🙂
Why wouldn’t the Library be able to warp your path to the section you are looking for?
Other than the old nut of making you work for your supper…
yah, perhaps index cards, finding the index card might take a long long time, then just walk to a shelf like where some libraries have their interbranch loans.
Reminds me of Hitchhikers series 2 where certain nightclubs would hand out business cards that would teleport you into the club. The problem is that any club that was that desperate for patrons wasn’t the club to be seen in…
I never did care for anything in the Hitchhiker series other than the original book. It was brilliant. I started on the sequel, but soon found it to be little more than a rehash of basic ideas of the first with some shock value thrown in to try to make it more appealing/interesting. I stopped there. Didn’t even make it through the first 20 pages or so. He basically channeled the later Monty Python, and, like that crap, it wasn’t very funny either. Seemed to me he put everything he had into the first book.
I was actually refererring to the BBC radio series.
I recall that much better than I do the books.
SoWhyMe, are you saying that the only five-and-a-third book (plus one) trilogy in existence is really only one book written something over five times?
SoWhyMe: well I grew up with the BBC radio series.. got the LP, and also much later found the *whole lot* on BBC audio!! 🙂
This has 14 CDs, including extended episodes, and bonus CD (behind scenes, etc..) search amazon for ‘HHGTG’.. ( the reviews there explain a lot.. :E )
and yes, If you dont know the above, the movie is ‘ok’, but disappointing, if you liked the BBC TV series…. 🙁
I probably still have the 3 album set of the first series deep within the bowels of my storage. It was a nicely re-done stereo version of the raido plays. Next time I’m home I’ll have to look them up..
Or a cardboard box and a black magic marker…
the library kinda reminds me of warehouse13 in its size and stuff thats possibly in there.
Wonder if there is a swingyrope above to get to the end quicker ^^
One of my favorite shows.
Ah yes – a zip-line would be just the ticket… visualizing Nudge using it, though, is too funny!
No wonder the Library liked Phix as a librarian, she’s got wings after all. No ellaborate transportation devices needed, which means more space for books!
Although i figure it is more like the library of Unseen Academy, where the sheer pressure of knowledge warps the time and space in unexpected ways. Phix and Nudge are still a billion times sexier as librarians than an orangutan 😉
Just realized in Phix’s first word balloon, “taking regular visits to Earth?”.
So the Library IS in a pocket universe…
Well, it’s not on the earth anyway. Could be on Mars or the center of the sun for all we know. Maybe even in a galaxy far, far away.
L-Space.
Ook.
Can’t wait to see what Nudge works out as a human form. Hot? Nerdy? Puckish?
…a twin of Jin’s?
That would be a real opportunity to cause mischief. Damn, Jin with a dog’s tail. You know she’s still gonna be working out the bugs in her transformational magic practice. She shouldn’t feel too bad the Kitsune screw that one up a lot too.
What will be interesting is when she strolls into Tina’s place. Will Tina instantly recognize her, regardless of outward appearance? Will she “accidently” spill coffee on Nudge, or will she thank her for making her what she is now (as opposed to being dead and rotting away)?
I don’t know, Nudge doesn’t come across as a hockey fan…
Oh, har-de friggen (groan) har.
Well nudge has been librarian before although the library has most likely grown since she has been there the last time she still should know her way around.
Ooohhh. I’m getting “big sister flashbacks”. Give the kid an idea in an off-handed way, a casual suggestion and let ‘er get herself in a mess. Wasn’t MY fault. I can’t be responsible for just sayin’ somethin’, Mom!!! Wasn’t MY idea, Mom!! She did it all herself, Mom!
Haha! Great thought… Not my fault if she looks like Madonna…
In the early years, on a bad hair day, with hair of a color not found in nature.
It may be that Phix figured out and is rubbing in the fact that Nudge would like to return to Earth, but can’t figure out how to disguise herself well enough to do it. I can imagine a big sister doing that, too.
BTW, where was Nudge between escaping and occupying Tina? She made it sound as if she had no opportunity to observe Earth, except through Tina.
Enjoying the comic, really wondering where this is going (maybe a 2013 catastrophe?). Anybody seen Tepoz lately?
Maybe 2012. Paul said this new arc wasn’t going to be as long as the Calendar Machine arc (which lasted years, overall).
Oh Phix. You and your, “I am not going to hurt you, but I am not going to help you either”, attitude, is going to make their working relationship…interesting, to say the least.
It seems that Phix already knew that Nudge wasn’t a good shape-shifter. Phix must have studied all the information about Nudge so she could catch her and haul her back to The Library. I wonder what other stuff Phixy knows about Nudge?
Yep, that’s what I thought too. In a way it’s reassuring for Nudge to be a poor shapeshifter — it kinda says that Nudge is happy just being Nudge.
The Universal Library has this quality: it often is easier to develop an understanding of your problem and answer it yourself than to spend the time researching and finding the book that already has the answer.
Kind of like a computer that could predict exactly what the future will bring: it would be bigger than the universe, and no faster (at best)–so it’s really quicker and easier just to wait and see.
Goedel.
If that were the way it was, we would still be in caves since we would have to re-learn everything every generation. Sounds like a useless library. It also brings up the point that a workable search system is indispensable to a really large library.
This is only a problem with a universal library, or an absolutely precise predictor of the future. A working model is not so precise, but still gives useful information, and in a reasonable time.
It is impossible to fully describe a system from inside that system – Goedel’s Completeness Theorem, i believe; definitely Goedel.
This is why non-Euclidean geometries are possible; some of the postulates/axioms of geometry cannot be proven and must simply be accepted – for instance, it is impossible to prove that parallel lines do meet if extended to infinity, or that there is only one possible line through a given point parallel to a given line.
That seems to be the way it is, but you can’t prove it (by a rigourous logical/mathematical proof).
And you can construct an entire, self-consistent (“non-Euclidean”) geometry by assuming that parallel lines do meet, or that there are an infinite number of lines through a given point parallel to a given line.
So–the Bibliothiki has no book describing where to find the book you need?
No – it has an infinite number.
All of which are correct – or at least, not falsifiable.
So, the real problem is figuring out which one you believe?
It seems some have not read this 🙂
http://www.lspace.org/about/whatis-lspace.html
http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/L-space
and also, the library is magic, and sentient.. surely you just have to think of a subject, to find you are actually in front of the right shelf…
This is the fundemental difference between Knowledge and Wisdom. Telling one right out isn’t as much fun as trial and error. Like how Eddie Van Halen can do things as a self-taught musician that might never occur to a Properly Trained one. It’s amazing what you can do when you don’t know what’s impossible.
Hasn’t this idea been the inspiration of some cartoons, where one character tells another (about a third, obliviously doing the impossible), “Shhh, don’t tell her she can’t be doing that!)
I can’t recall any specific examples, unfortunately. 🙁
Never tell a bumble bee it’s technically impossible for it to be flying.
‘cartoon physics’ – e.g, the character runs off the edge of a cliff, and dos not fall, until he notices where he is!! 🙂
I thought a magical library would work with you.
The book you want is right there.
What?
No magic Kindles?