05/16/09 [DMFA #1002] - Understanding

[Amber Williams]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

[inuhanyo]

I wonder if anyone has thought about trying to clone Cubi.   

I did.  I'm assuming that you get just the genetic parts, or in other words, a Being.

There are three ways to become a member of a human clan

• Be born into it
• Marry into it
• Be adopted into it

The first obviously works for Cubi clans, the second probably doesn't.

As for the third...  I recall mention of there being a magic ritual or techique for transforming a Being into a Cubi.  Not much used, because seldom needed, but for a clan nearly wiped out ... Especially with the tri-wing still surviving...  A form of adoption might be possible.

[Shachza]

Um, guys? I think there's a much simpler reason for Cyra not being in contact with Destania.
After a while, 'Cubi in general don't need to sleep.
No sleep, no dreams.

I think you may be getting the cause and effect backwards there.

'Cubi don't need to sleep, but they can.  Abel does, for example, and it's likely that virtually all 'Cubi who choose to live as Beings will also do so purely to keep up the disguise.

However, the ability to dream fades with time.  We don't know how long that takes.  When they can no longer dream, Cyra's trick is not going to work for them.  They also tend to stop bothering to sleep at this point.

I was thinking it has more to do with an individual 'Cubi's mindset.  Cyra is dreaming at this time, and she's got to be far far older than Destania.  I'm guessing that should Destania choose to sleep, Cyra doesn't want to make direct subconscious-to-subconscious contact with a psychopath of Destania's implied magnitude.  That's a very fast way to mess up your own head.

[insidexml]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

Science is the boot that kicks Magic square in the nuts.

[Rambon]

maybe she's chatty becuase she hasn't spoken to anyone in so long. but that could get annoying really fast.

Or because she's a grandmother. 

statistically the older you get the less physical/emotional contact you receive, so the argument still stands.

But isn't dan considered a 6 year old by cubi standard?

[Jairus]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

Magic views science as a "suggestion" rather than a law, I take it? I believe my exact expression was something along the lines of "magic violates science in so many ways it's not even funny."

To be fair, eventually magic has to become a science. Studying of magical laws, which ingredients work best in which potion, how to say the worlds and construct the magic circles... all of that is science in its own way. But from what you're saying, magic is too chaotic to nail it down like that? But then we know that science can be brought in: Jyrras has combined magic and science at least once, and created a (limited?) mass-production computer-controlled shapeshifting/illusion spell that anyone - regardless of magical talent - can use. Is that unique in Furrae, and no one has ever attempted/successfully done that before?

[Tapewolf]

There are three ways to become a member of a human clan

• Be born into it
• Marry into it
• Be adopted into it

Right.  This is going back to 2005, so it's possible Amber has rethought it since.  But:

"Clans can be switched over through a particular marriage process or being adopted, but the ties behind it to the individual being adopted are often weaker. However any children born under that clan title would get full benefit. Meaning if Cubi A who is from a weak clan marries Cubi B who is from a living-founder clan. Cubi A gets more power though not as much as if they were a natural. However children from Cubi A and B will be passed onto full benefits. "

Though this is straying a little from Alondro's question

I was thinking it has more to do with an individual 'Cubi's mindset.  Cyra is dreaming at this time, and she's got to be far far older than Destania.  I'm guessing that should Destania choose to sleep, Cyra doesn't want to make direct subconscious-to-subconscious contact with a psychopath of Destania's implied magnitude.  That's a very fast way to mess up your own head.

Dan's dreaming, but I doubt that goes both ways.  Cyra's most likely wide awake.
That and we simply don't know whether she considers Destania to be completely bugnuts, well-adjusted or a bit of a tearaway...

[Ganurath]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

Bah! Chaos is just order too complex for you mortals to understand! There is a method to madness, and it is far too sophisticated to be summarized with a meer "giant frog."

[inuhanyo]

Dan's dreaming, but I doubt that goes both ways.  Cyra's most likely wide awake.
That and we simply don't know whether she considers Destania to be completely bugnuts, well-adjusted or a bit of a tearaway...

We don't even know how current Cyra's knowledge of her daughter is.  Destania disappeared and was thought dead over twenty years ago.  Cyra undoubtedly knew her daughter was still alive, because of the connection between them, but that would not tell her much else. 

[Tapewolf]

We don't even know how current Cyra's knowledge of her daughter is.  Destania disappeared and was thought dead over twenty years ago.  Cyra undoubtedly knew her daughter was still alive, because of the connection between them, but that would not tell her much else. 

Tricky.  That could go either way.  I was thinking more of Destania's behaviour in the academy, rather than the last 25 years.  Being in the Academy might itself disrupt the comms link, owing to the magical barrier and all.  Then again, we have the idea of a Siar-Cyra alliance so the clan leaders presumably knew what was happening then.  Also, Destania seems to have a reputation even outside the Academy, not least because she's been teaching people how to commit atrocities.  Though if Cyra's in hiding, she isn't necessarily going to get much gossip.

I was going to say that Cyra knew Dan existed, but looking at the strip again, that's completely wrong.  In 1002 she actually has gone "OMG!  Grandson!" though in a rather more flowery manner.  So at the end of the day, it would seem her knowledge of Destania is at least 25 years out of date.

[inuhanyo]

I was going to say that Cyra knew Dan existed, but looking at the strip again, that's completely wrong.  In 1002 she actually has gone "OMG!  Grandson!" though in a rather more flowery manner.  So at the end of the day, it would seem her knowledge of Destania is at least 25 years out of date.

She did know Dan's name, though I suppose she could have picked that up from his dream before she made her entrance. Still, "Hello Daniel.  It is good to finally meet you." suggests she's known of at least his existence for a while. Perhaps her link with Dee allowed Cyra to sense that her daughter had a successful pregnancy?  So she knew that she had a grandchild, but no more.

"A grandson!  At long last!  It has been so long since I have felt the presence of one of my descendants!  So long have I ..."

Yeah "OMG! Grandson!" covers it.  Grandma needs a hug.

[Shachza]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

Bah! Chaos is just order too complex for you mortals to understand! There is a method to madness, and it is far too sophisticated to be summarized with a meer "giant frog."

"Pure Chaos does just flout the laws of nature, it flouts them insanely.  This is part of what drives onlookers mad: nothing can be relied upon, nothing follows logically.  ...  Worst of all, it almost, almost makes sense, and the viewer is left feeling that a moment longer would allow her to understand.  That understanding, of course, is the first sign you are going mad."

I got my eye on you Ganurath...   

Yeah "OMG! Grandson!" covers it.  Grandma needs a hug.

And I would like to give her a hug.  A big one.  For a very long time. 

[Ganurath]

I got my eye on you Ganurath...   

*looks at title* Still disciple of Slaanesh, Chaos god(dess) of pleasure and excess...
*looks at sig* Still a daemonette born of the Warp followed by Slaaneshi dogma...
*looks at avatar* Still a demon-warped psychotic demideity of sadistic cultists in the form of a child with an unhealthy passion for plushies...
*looks at undertext* Still villainous laughter...

...I need to be less subtle. I'll start with the manner by which I bring this post on-topic: I do not believe that Cyra will prove to be a sympathetic character, because she is the mother of all pain.

[!KCA]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Science is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Magic's organized spellbooks and runic circles. 

Fixed.

[Alondro]

Magic and Science have never been the best of friends. Magic is just too chaotic and wacky and keeps leaving its socks all over Science's organized spreadsheets and pie-charts. 

But isn't that what makes it fun to try?  No way to know the outcome!  It's a mad scientist's dream come true!   

[mopman]

I just love the expression on Dan's face in the last panel , I swear you could enjoy this comic even if you did not read a word of english .