Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

L-space

2018-06-25T16:29:37Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

'''L-space''', short for '''library-space''', is the ultimate portrayal of Pratchett's concept that the written word has powerful magical properties on [[Discworld (world)|the Discworld]], and that in large quantities all books warp space and time around them. The principle of L-space revolves around a seemingly logical equation; it is an extension of the 'Knowledge is Power':

<div style="font: bold 260%/1.25em serif; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center;"> Books = Knowledge = Power = Energy = Mass = Matter.</div>
<div style="font: bold 160%/1.25em serif; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center;"> And Matter, as we all know, bends space...</div>

Large quantities of magical and mundane books create portals into L-space that can be accessed using innate powers of librarianship that are taught by the Librarians of Time and Space to those deemed worthy across the multiverse. Because libraries with enough books to open a portal are often large and sprawling, those venturing into L-space may not necessarily know that they have arrived. The floor and ceiling of L-space follow the floor and ceiling of the library used to access it; the best example of this is that the central dome of [[Unseen University]]'s [[library]] is "always overhead" ({{G!G!}} - all quotes in this article come from this book). In every direction and as far as the eye can see bookshelves stretch off, meaning the nature of any walls are unknown.

Alternatively, it can be said that L-space manifests in our world in those obscure, hidden bookstores that, logic and the laws of physics insist, cannot possibly be as large on the outside as they appear on the inside. Somehow, after scraping one's shoulders against the improbably small door, one finds one's self turning one unseen corner after another, seemingly going on forever into further and more obscure sections as yet unobserved by human eyes. The town of [[wikipedia:Hay-on-Wye|Hay-on-Wye]], known for having more bookshops per square mile than anywhere else in the world, contains many examples of this, and may be a substantial access point to L-space. Essentially, all bookstores are potentially infinite in extent; gateways into literary hyperspace: "[a] good bookshop is just a genteel blackhole that knows how to read."

Because L-space links every library, it is possible to reach any one of these throughout space, time and the multiverse. This means that there are potentially other forms of data storage other than books as it represents every library anywhere. Additionally, one can read any book ever written, any book that will be written at some point and books that were planned for writing that were not, as well as any book that could possibly be written. The first [[Reader in Invisible Writings]] was [[Ponder Stibbons]] whose job it was to get [[Hex]] to trawl virtually through L-space (which involved a huge amount of simultaneous spell-casting, beyond the ability of any human wizard) looking for fragments of these possible books.

In order to actually travel through time personally, to see libraries under different skies, one needs the secrets. As this is a form of interdimensional and time travel, there are strict limits on its use, and the Librarians of Time and Space - that is, those who have access to L-space - have developed three simple rules to ensure abuse is kept to a minimum:

#Silence
#Books must be returned by the last date stamped
#Do not interfere with the nature of causality

Senior librarians are also taught how to deal with the dangers of navigating L-space, such as the "''harmless kickstool crabs, large and heavy wandering thesauri, the [[.303 Bookworm]] and the dreaded cliches, which must be ''avoided at all costs''.''" Adventurers may find markings and scribbled notes on the shelves to help them navigate.

The [[Librarian]] moves through L-space back in time to discover when the book on the summoning of noble dragons was stolen and to confirm that it was stolen by the Elucidated Brethren. During his journey he sees himself asleep at his desk and is tempted to communicate, but realises that this would be breaking the third rule and stops himself. He does however leave the library and follow the thief through the streets, demonstrating how L-space can be used for time travel outside of the library itself. It was shown in the events of {{SOD2}}, that L-space can also be used to travel to alternate worlds, such as [[Roundworld]], as well as through time.

After [[Vorbis]] has ordered the soldiers and [[Brutha]] to burn down the [[Ephebe|Ephebian]] library, and the flames start to rise higher, there is a paragraph describing how the Librarian appears with a sack, and then describes how several scrolls appear in the Unseen University Library, which were thought to have been destroyed in the great fire.

The Librarian joins the [[Wizards]] in a [[Lancre]] adventure to stop naughty elves from ruining the wedding, and ending the lives, of the new royal family, which includes former witch Magrat Garlick. Within this we learn "the thaumic mathematics are complex, but boil down to the fact that all books, everywhere, affect all other books." From there the nature of bi-directionalism is revealed to demonstrate that any book ever to be written can be found in any book not yet written. In mathematical terms, as noted in {{SOD1}}, L-Space represents a form of [[wikipedia:phase_space|phase space]]. This made possible the study of invisible writings (also based on a similar theory to do with the infinite nature of Pi, and the ways in which, if one was to transcribe alphabetical values to the numbers of Pi, one could hypothetically find the contents of every book ever written. For more information see [[Bloody Stupid Johnson]] and the New Pie, featured in {{GP}}.

In fact, as the entry on the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]] tells us,

''When mountains of undelivered mail were gathered in one place, all the unread words strove to be read. The words reached out into any mind available in the vicinity, writing themselves across one's inner vision and whispering to one. The letters also created illusions of the good old days – the counters, the chandeliers, the upstairs balconies, the staff, the customers, the postmen, the bustle; the lights, the noises, everything. The Post Office came to be considered as haunted''.

This describes the twenty- or thirty-year-old accumulation of undelivered mail at the Post Office as a powerful focus for the distortion of time and space, which, with the nearby presence of the Sorting Engine, sets up a localised L-space field all of its own which is powerful enough to lure four postmasters, and almost a fifth, into a fatal illusion of the Post Office at the height of its glory. This is as it should be: these are unpublished writings, after all, and are not volumes of letters regularly published in book form? Professor [[Ladislav Pelc]], the [[Prehumous Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy]], has made a lifetime's study of this subject at [[Unseen University]], and is firmly of the opinion that the dead-letter pile at the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]] has over the course of thirty years reached a critical mass and established an L-field all of its very own.

[[Category:Discworld concepts]]
[[de:B-Raum]]

L-space

2018-06-25T16:28:23Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

'''L-space''', short for '''library-space''', is the ultimate portrayal of Pratchett's concept that the written word has powerful magical properties on [[Discworld (world)|the Discworld]], and that in large quantities all books warp space and time around them. The principle of L-space revolves around a seemingly logical equation; it is an extension of the 'Knowledge is Power':

<div style="font: bold 260%/1.25em serif; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center;"> Books = Knowledge = Power = Energy = Mass = Matter.</div>
<div style="font: bold 160%/1.25em serif; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center;"> And Matter, as we all know, bends space...</div>

Large quantities of magical and mundane books create portals into L-space that can be accessed using innate powers of librarianship that are taught by the Librarians of Time and Space to those deemed worthy across the multiverse. Because libraries with enough books to open a portal are often large and sprawling, those venturing into L-space may not necessarily know that they have arrived. The floor and ceiling of L-space follow the floor and ceiling of the library used to access it; the best example of this is that the central dome of [[Unseen University]]'s [[library]] is "always overhead" ({{G!G!}} - all quotes in this article come from this book). In every direction and as far as the eye can see bookshelves stretch off, meaning the nature of any walls are unknown.

Alternatively, it can be said that L-space manifests in our world in those obscure, hidden bookstores that, logic and the laws of physics insist, cannot possibly be as large on the outside as they appear on the inside. Somehow, after scraping one's shoulders against the improbably small door, one finds one's self turning one unseen corner after another, seemingly going on forever into further and more obscure sections as yet unobserved by human eyes. The town of [[wikipedia:Hay-on-Wye|Hay-on-Wye]], known for having more bookshops per square mile than anywhere else in the world, contains many examples of this, and may be a substantial access point to L-space. Essentially, all bookstores are potentially infinite in extent; gateways into literary hyperspace: "[a] good bookshop is just a genteel blackhole that knows how to read."

Because L-space links every library, it is possible to reach any one of these throughout space, time and the multiverse. This means that there are potentially other forms of data storage other than books as it represents every library anywhere. Additionally, one can read any book ever written, any book that will be written at some point and books that were planned for writing that were not, as well as any book that could possibly be written. The first [[Reader in Invisible Writings]] was [[Ponder Stibbons]] whose job it was to get [[Hex]] to trawl virtually through L-space (which involved a hauge amount of simultaneous spell-casting, beyond the ability of any human wizard) looking for fragments of these possible books.

In order to actually travel through time personally, to see libraries under different skies, one needs the secrets. As this is a form of interdimensional and time travel, there are strict limits on its use, and the Librarians of Time and Space - that is, those who have access to L-space - have developed three simple rules to ensure abuse is kept to a minimum:

#Silence
#Books must be returned by the last date stamped
#Do not interfere with the nature of causality

Senior librarians are also taught how to deal with the dangers of navigating L-space, such as the "''harmless kickstool crabs, large and heavy wandering thesauri, the [[.303 Bookworm]] and the dreaded cliches, which must be ''avoided at all costs''.''" Adventurers may find markings and scribbled notes on the shelves to help them navigate.

The [[Librarian]] moves through L-space back in time to discover when the book on the summoning of noble dragons was stolen and to confirm that it was stolen by the Elucidated Brethren. During his journey he sees himself asleep at his desk and is tempted to communicate, but realises that this would be breaking the third rule and stops himself. He does however leave the library and follow the thief through the streets, demonstrating how L-space can be used for time travel outside of the library itself. It was shown in the events of {{SOD2}}, that L-space can also be used to travel to alternate worlds, such as [[Roundworld]], as well as through time.

After [[Vorbis]] has ordered the soldiers and [[Brutha]] to burn down the [[Ephebe|Ephebian]] library, and the flames start to rise higher, there is a paragraph describing how the Librarian appears with a sack, and then describes how several scrolls appear in the Unseen University Library, which were thought to have been destroyed in the great fire.

The Librarian joins the [[Wizards]] in a [[Lancre]] adventure to stop naughty elves from ruining the wedding, and ending the lives, of the new royal family, which includes former witch Magrat Garlick. Within this we learn "the thaumic mathematics are complex, but boil down to the fact that all books, everywhere, affect all other books." From there the nature of bi-directionalism is revealed to demonstrate that any book ever to be written can be found in any book not yet written. In mathematical terms, as noted in {{SOD1}}, L-Space represents a form of [[wikipedia:phase_space|phase space]]. This made possible the study of invisible writings (also based on a similar theory to do with the infinite nature of Pi, and the ways in which, if one was to transcribe alphabetical values to the numbers of Pi, one could hypothetically find the contents of every book ever written. For more information see [[Bloody Stupid Johnson]] and the New Pie, featured in {{GP}}.

In fact, as the entry on the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]] tells us,

''When mountains of undelivered mail were gathered in one place, all the unread words strove to be read. The words reached out into any mind available in the vicinity, writing themselves across one's inner vision and whispering to one. The letters also created illusions of the good old days – the counters, the chandeliers, the upstairs balconies, the staff, the customers, the postmen, the bustle; the lights, the noises, everything. The Post Office came to be considered as haunted''.

This describes the twenty- or thirty-year-old accumulation of undelivered mail at the Post Office as a powerful focus for the distortion of time and space, which, with the nearby presence of the Sorting Engine, sets up a localised L-space field all of its own which is powerful enough to lure four postmasters, and almost a fifth, into a fatal illusion of the Post Office at the height of its glory. This is as it should be: these are unpublished writings, after all, and are not volumes of letters regularly published in book form? Professor [[Ladislav Pelc]], the [[Prehumous Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy]], has made a lifetime's study of this subject at [[Unseen University]], and is firmly of the opinion that the dead-letter pile at the [[Ankh-Morpork Post Office]] has over the course of thirty years reached a critical mass and established an L-field all of its very own.

[[Category:Discworld concepts]]
[[de:B-Raum]]

Gorgon

2018-06-25T16:21:00Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

The Gorgon officially enters the Discworld canon in an aside in {{UA}}. Also one of the dragon hunters in {{G!G!}} recounted a gorgon he knew with a terrible squint, 'she kept turning her own nose to stone'.

Via [[Glenda Sugarbean]] and a busload of anonymous passengers, we learn that [[Sam Vimes]], despite his earlier assertion to reluctance expressed in {{FOC}}, has given in and recruited a Gorgon to the City Watch. Further details are scanty, and her name is not known, but she follows the Roundworld pattern of behaviour in that, when her sunglasses were dislodged in a high wind, several people were turned to stone under her gaze. However, [[Unseen University]] was consulted, and the [[Wizards]] (presumably meaning [[Ponder Stibbons]]) managed to reset their morphological fields back to Human again. Given that in [[Book:The Light Fantastic|The Light Fantastic]] the senior wizards are all turned to stone and it is stated that nothing can be done for them (save make a nice rockery out of the one who smashed) it is clear that being turned to stone is fatal and not reversible by magic. It is likely then that the watch gorgon can only paralyse people and the good citizens of Anhk-Morpork got a bit excited and spread the rumour 'how she'd turned them all to stone, but we got better!'. Perhaps the magic necessary for turning turned-to-stone humans back into "regular" humans was developed only later?

If the rest of the dataset for a Discworld gorgon checks against the Roundworld referent, we can expect her to be female, from [[Ephebe]], and have a healthy head of snakes that would - very briefly, admittedly - gladden the eye of any herpetologist. Although, given an earlier remark by Terry that it's hard for a girl to go through a rigorous personal cleansing routine if the snakes in your underarms persist in ripping the deodorant can from your hand and puncturing it, it may not just be her ''head'' that has snakes...

{{CDA}} has the information that in the [[Pyrinankles|Pyrinankle]] mountain range marking the border between Ephebe and [[Ur]], an occupational hazard for marble quarrymen is the singluarly unpleasant sort of fauna to be found there, of a sort that might be called "mythological" except for the fact that they're alive and well and the Petrified Gorgon you just awoke with all the noise of your quarrying is now looking at ''you'', with an expression of grumpy displeasure on her face. As they live in caves, often to be found in ''exactly'' the sort of marble-rich mountains where you'd go to do a spot of quarrying, their reaction to their homes being destroyed just to make a decorative polished frieze in a bank or temple somewhere may be inferred. However, many Gorgons are adapting to modern life and may be seen in towns and cities, wearing thick sunglasses and tightly knotted headscarves.

==Annotation==

In Greek mythology, the {{wp|Gorgon|Gorgon}} (plural: Gorgons) (Greek: Γοργών or Γοργώ Gorgon/Gorgo) was a terrifying female creature. It derives from the Greek word ''gorgós'', which means "dreadful". While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld it to stone. Traditionally, while two of the Gorgons were immortal, Stheno and Euryale, their sister {{wp|Medusa|Medusa}} was not, and was slain by the mythical hero Perseus.

Gorgons were a popular image of Greek mythology, appearing in the earliest of written records of Ancient Greek religious beliefs such as those of Homer. Because of their legendary gaze, images of the Gorgons were put upon objects and buildings for protection. For the same reasons, it was a very common shield design for Greek and later Macedonian warriors. For example, an image of a Gorgon holds the primary location at the pediment of the temple at Corfu. It is the oldest stone pediment in Greece and is dated to c. 600 BC.

[[Category:Discworld humanoid species]]
[[Category:Undead characters]]

Shadowing Lemma

2018-06-25T16:06:24Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

A curious creature that exists in only two dimensions, and eats mathematicians. Parodies the words {{wp|planar_lamina|lamina}}, a 2-dimensional mathematical object, and {{wp|Lemma_%28mathematics%29|lemma}}, a mathematical theorem used to prove other theorems. There is also a whiff of {{wp|Lemming|Lemming}} about it - a real creature with a mythical need for self-harm.

==Annotation==

''Shadowing Lemmas'' exist on [[Roundworld]] too, but not as mathematician-eating creatures, more's the pity. Shadowing describes the situation where a true orbit of a dynamical system such as a differential equation or a map lies uniformly near (that is, shadows) a pseudo (or approximate) orbit. '''The shadowing lemma''' for discrete dynamical systems has been described in Barreto (2008). In this entry the analogous results for continuous dynamical systems, that is, flows, are described.

No, I don't get it either.

[[Category:Discworld concepts]]
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Beschattende Deckspelze]]

Octarine Grass Country

2018-06-25T16:05:35Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

{{Nation Data
|title= Octarine Grass Country
|picture=Blank.jpg|
|established=
|motto=
|neighbours= [[Llamedos]], [[Pseudopolis]], [[The Chalk]]
|features= blue grass due to high magic levels, the river [[Quire]]
|capital=
|population= sparse
|size=
|government= small local fiefdoms like [[Keepsake Hall|Keepsake]]
|notablecitizens= [[Mort]], [[Renata Flitworth]], [[Ned Simnel]]
|imports= Goods
|exports= [[Tharga]] beast meat, [[Reannual plant|Reannual wine]]
|anthem=
|books= {{M}}, {{RM}}, {{ISWM}}
}}
One of the examples of the high amount of [[Magic|magical]] background radiation in the [[Ramtops]]. The reason for its name is the strange hue the magic gives to the local flora. The river [[Quire]], rising in the [[Ramtops]], is the principal river and waterway, and flows on through [[Quirm]] to the sea.

The region was home to [[Mort]], [[Renata Flitworth]] and [[Ned Simnel]] in the [[:Category:Death Series|Death Series]] as well as the [[Letitia Keepsake|Keepsakes]] in {{ISWM}}.

[[Category:Discworld geography]]
[[de:Oktarines Grasland]]

Horace the Cheese

2018-06-25T16:03:25Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Even before she knew she was destined for witchcraft, [[Tiffany Aching]] learnt how to churn butter and make cheese, magical arts which are at least as remarkable as anything else a witch is capable of.

As with [[Agnes Nitt]] and singing, it is so often the case that a young witch will have a particular talent or ability which will be heavily tinged with the Discworld's raw magic - the power always finds an outlet.

So it is with Tiffany's cheesemaking.

Granted, she was trying for a [[Lancre Blue]], a cheese which develops a character and a personality all of its own in the normal run of things. But this is a Lancre Blue brought into being by a witch.

Tiffany soon discovers this is a cheese with a mind and an attitude of its own. When Horace meets the Feegles... well, regard those blue veins so characteristic of the Lancre Blue. Don't they look just like [[Pictsies|Feegle]] tribal tattoos to you? And where most cheeses are glad of a muslin wrap, Horace proudly wears a very big kilt about the fullness of his wheel.

Interestingly, in {{LL}} (Corgi paperback, p296) there is a passing mention of the Elves raiding the pub in Lancre town and stealing anything edible or potable; Terry remarks that "a couple of rogue cheeses in the cellar put up quite a fight". Relatives of Horace? Cheeses also made by Tiffany - or somebody like her?

[[Category:Food and drink]]
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Horatio]]

Crocodile Dongo

2018-06-25T16:02:50Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

A humanoid crocodile who runs the pub in [[Dijabringabeeralong]], he wears shorts quite possibly unique in the world, on account of his species. This calls for a tailor who can accommodate very short legs and a massive reptilian tail.

He takes quite a shine to [[Rincewind|Rinso]] and even gives him a few free beers, complimenting Rinso on his wizardly abilities (actually [[Trickster]] working to protect him from harm) and wistfully remarks: "wish I could do that, mate". Considering that elsewhere on the Disc there is such an entity as [[Offler]], the Crocodile-headed God who can do all this and more, this speaks volumes for how long [[XXXX]] has been cut off from the rest of the [[Discworld]].

A lot of the drinkers in the pub are actually humanoid animals. Considering that elsewhere on the disc ([[Genua]]) these have been created by [[Lily Weatherwax]] and are somewhere on the far side of insane, (or else are the insane animal-headed Gods of [[Djelibeybi]]), it's interesting to ponder on how well-adjusted they are by comparison. Nothing is said on how they came into being, though.

[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Krokodil Dongo]]

Critters

2018-06-25T16:02:24Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Critters are briefly encountered by the [[Librarian]] in ''[[Book:Guards! Guards!|Guards! Guards!]]'', as he travels through [[L-Space]]. All we know is that he avoids them, that they eat literature and excrete thin volumes of literary criticism.
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]

Scalbie

2018-06-25T16:01:36Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

The late, great George Gobel used to say "well, I'll be a dirty bird!" That was because he didn't know about '''scalbies'''. Scalbies are dirty birds as allyl isocyanide smells bad or Andromeda is far away. They are members of the crow family but crows don't admit it. They inhabit essentially uninhabitable desert areas around [[Omnia]] because competition can't survive. They eat anything. They eat things that thought they could eat anything and died from it. They are nearly flightless to conserve energy, since no predator will eat them or could survive in their habitat and their lunch tends to be dead already. They are described as looking like other birds after an oil slick.

[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Skalbis]]

You Bastard

2018-06-25T16:00:23Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

{{Character Data
|title=You Bastard
|photo=
|name=You Bastard
|age=unknown
|race=camel

|occupation=Cud-chewing mathematician
|appearance= inefficient

|residence= Royal stables of Djelibeybi

|death= not yet
|parents=
|relatives= possibly [[Evil-Smelling-Bugger]]
|children=
|marital status=

|books= {{P}}
|cameos=
}}

'''You Bastard''' is the sole remaining camel in the Royal stables of [[Djelibeybi]] (lit. ''Child of the Djel''). He also happens to be the greatest mathematician on the disc.

[[Pteppicymon XXVIII|Pteppic]] and [[Ptraci]] use him to escape the city as it is collapsing dimensionally. [[Pteppicymon XXVIII|Pteppic]] is told that, rather than go into advanced maneuvers like turning, he should just get off and do it himself.

As with most camels, he refuses to do anything until you beat him with a stick and swear at him. He does, however, break this rule once, toward the end of [[Pyramids|Pyramids]]. He seems to have a very tough hide or is incredibly stupid as he lets arrows fly at him without moving, as shown while in Ephebe although since he ''is'' the greatest mathematician on the disc it's likely that he's quite capable of working out simple parabolic motion and is therefore able to judge if the arrows are going to actually hit him.

[[Category: Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Camels]]
[[de:Du Mistvieh]]

Vurms

2018-06-25T15:59:20Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

A life-form dwelling in Dwarf mines, originally found in the deep caves in the mountains around [[Llamedos]]. Swarming, or slithering, by the hundred, packs of '''Vurms''' generate a low but steady luminescence which enables the adapted eyes of [[Dwarfs]] to see their way in the deeper mines.

They have other uses as well: Crushed vurms are used to produce 'night chalk', which glows for about a day and is very handy, e.g. for the marking of [[Thud!|crime scenes in the dark]]. And vurm blood is used to create [[Draht|drahts]] - glowing, unique identity symbols for [[Deep-Downers]] - which are made by tattooing vurm blood under the skin.

They are adapted to seldom require feeding, but are carnivorous creatures living on carrion. They are attracted to blood and corpses and will smell dead animals - or dwarfs - from a long distance. They have no teeth so they wait until their food gets runny of its own accord. After a feed, they will shine very much brighter. Almost anything is food to a vurm, who live so deep underground that even a breath is food, blood is food, and anything that was once alive, no matter how mangled it is, is food. Vurms are shown to be so attracted to blood that they would rather die then give up their feast, as shown in {{T!}}.

[[Carrot Ironfoundersson]] is all too aware of this when investigating a murder in the Dwarf community in [[Ankh-Morpork]], during the events in {{T!}}.

[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Vürmer]]

Shadowing Lemma

2018-06-25T15:56:24Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

A curious creature that exists in only two dimensions, and eats mathematicians. Parodies the words {{wp|planar_lamina|lamina}}, a 2-dimensional mathematical object, and {{wp|Lemma_%28mathematics%29|lemma}}, a mathematical theorem used to prove other theorems. There is also a whiff of {{wp|Lemming|Lemming}} about it - a real creature with a mythical need for self-harm.

==Annotation==

''Shadowing Lemmas'' exist on [[Roundworld]] too, but not as mathematician-eating creatures, more's the pity. Shadowing describes the situation where a true orbit of a dynamical system such as a differential equation or a map lies uniformly near (that is, shadows) a pseudo (or approximate) orbit. '''The shadowing lemma''' for discrete dynamical systems has been described in Barreto (2008). In this entry the analogous results for continuous dynamical systems, that is, flows, are described.

No, I don't get it either.

[[Category:Discworld concepts]]
[[Category:Discworld_Flora & Fauna]]
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Beschattende Deckspelze]]

Critters

2018-06-25T15:50:16Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Crocodile Dongo

2018-06-25T15:48:23Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

A humanoid crocodile who runs the pub in [[Dijabringabeeralong]], he wears shorts quite possibly unique in the world, on account of his species. This calls for a tailor who can accommodate very short legs and a massive reptilian tail.

He takes quite a shine to [[Rincewind|Rinso]] and even gives him a few free beers, complimenting Rinso on his wizardly abilities (actually [[Trickster]] working to protect him from harm) and wistfully remarks: "wish I could do that, mate". Considering that elsewhere on the Disc there is such an entity as [[Offler]], the Crocodile-headed God who can do all this and more, this speaks volumes for how long [[XXXX]] has been cut off from the rest of the [[Discworld]].

A lot of the drinkers in the pub are actually humanoid animals. Considering that elsewhere on the disc ([[Genua]]) these have been created by [[Lily Weatherwax]] and are somewhere on the far side of insane, (or else are the insane animal-headed Gods of [[Djelibeybi]]), it's interesting to ponder on how well-adjusted they are by comparison. Nothing is said on how they came into being, though.

[[Category: Discworld Flora & Fauna]]
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Krokodil Dongo]]

Horace the Cheese

2018-06-25T15:47:18Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Even before she knew she was destined for witchcraft, [[Tiffany Aching]] learnt how to churn butter and make cheese, magical arts which are at least as remarkable as anything else a witch is capable of.

As with [[Agnes Nitt]] and singing, it is so often the case that a young witch will have a particular talent or ability which will be heavily tinged with the Discworld's raw magic - the power always finds an outlet.

So it is with Tiffany's cheesemaking.

Granted, she was trying for a [[Lancre Blue]], a cheese which develops a character and a personality all of its own in the normal run of things. But this is a Lancre Blue brought into being by a witch.

Tiffany soon discovers this is a cheese with a mind and an attitude of its own. When Horace meets the Feegles... well, regard those blue veins so characteristic of the Lancre Blue. Don't they look just like [[Pictsies|Feegle]] tribal tattoos to you? And where most cheeses are glad of a muslin wrap, Horace proudly wears a very big kilt about the fullness of his wheel.

Interestingly, in {{LL}} (Corgi paperback, p296) there is a passing mention of the Elves raiding the pub in Lancre town and stealing anything edible or potable; Terry remarks that "a couple of rogue cheeses in the cellar put up quite a fight". Relatives of Horace? Cheeses also made by Tiffany - or somebody like her?

[[Category:Food and drink]]
[[Category:Discworld Flora & Fauna]]
[[Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms]]
[[de:Horatio]]

Category:Not Quite Here Nor There Lifeforms

2018-06-25T15:46:03Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels: Created page with "Some things on the Discworld cannot quite be called animals, but neither can they be called plants or fungi. You will find these here. Category:Discworld Flora & Fauna"

Some things on the Discworld cannot quite be called animals, but neither can they be called plants or fungi.

You will find these here.

[[Category:Discworld Flora & Fauna]]

Falconry

2018-06-25T15:41:04Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Birdwhistle's seminal tome [[Legendes and Antiquities of the Ramtops]] lists the traditional degrees of falconry permissible in the Kingdom of [[Lancre]].

Strict rules of custom and etiquette decide which birds of prey are permissible to the individual depending on their social status.

The gradations are as follows:-

*[[Verence II|The King]] may fly a gyrfalcon (whatever the hell this is). (For those of worryingly exacting bent, a gyrfalcon is the largest falcon on [[Roundworld]]).
*[[Magrat Garlick|The Queen]] may fly a [[Lancre Wowhawk]] or Lappet-faced Worrier.
*Any Earl in the vicinity may fly a peregrine falcon.
* Any priest may fly a sparrowhawk.
* The Peasantry may have a stick to throw. (This is a liberal forward-thinking monarchy)

It is possible that [[Nanny Ogg]] might be permitted a chicken on a spring.

The current keeper of the Lancre falconry tradition is [[Hodgesaargh]], who was once privileged to fly a [[Phoenix|phoenix]].

[[Category:Discworld culture]]

Evil-Smelling-Bugger

2018-06-25T15:40:13Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

Renowned as the greatest camel-mathematician ever.

Famous for his eight-dimensional math, notorious for his odour.

Ancestor to [[You Bastard]]?

[[Category:Camels]]

Along the Ankh with Bow, Rod and Staff with a Knob on the End

2018-06-25T15:37:10Z

Kelly Callahan Runnels:

This is an as-yet-unfinished autobiography by [[Mustrum Ridcully]] detailing at great and detailed length all the adventures he had whilst out there huntin', fishin', and shootin' things. Anything that moved but didn't move ''fast enough'', basically. The manuscript is as yet uncompleted but he swears he'll return to it someday when the taxin' and demandin' job of [[Unseen University|University]] [[Archchancellor]] allows him more time.

[[Category: Discworld publications]]