Lobsang: Difference between revisions

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:''This article is about the character in The Long Earth. For the son of Time, see [[Lobsang Ludd]].''
{{hatnote|This article is about the character in ''The Long Earth''. For the son of Time in the Discworld, see [[Lobsang Ludd]]. For the Abbot of the Listening Monks, see [[Abbot Lobsang]].}}


'''Lobsang''' is a character in ''[[The Long Earth]]''. He is a Tibetan motorcycle repairman... who has been reincarnated as a supercomputer. The reasoning was that several sixth generation computers have tried without success to be named a human, but, if it is said that the computer is actually a human being (albeit in an unusual form) there can be no trouble. Any people who try to argue with the practicality of reincarnation will get some very short shrift from the religious community.  
'''Lobsang''' is a character in ''[[The Long Earth]]''. He is a Tibetan motorcycle repairman... who has been reincarnated as a supercomputer. The reasoning was that several sixth generation computers have tried without success to be named a human, but, if it is said that the computer is actually a human being (albeit in an unusual form) there can be no trouble. Any people who try to argue with the practicality of reincarnation will get some very short shrift from the religious community.  
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A Tibetan motorcycle repairman who is involved with spirituality - is there an echo of ''[[Wikipedia:Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance|Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]]'' here?
A Tibetan motorcycle repairman who is involved with spirituality - is there an echo of ''[[Wikipedia:Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance|Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]]'' here?


Given Sir Terry's era, he may also have fallen temporarily under the influence of (or at least read) The Third Eye, published in the late 1960s I think, and supposedly written by the Tibetan monk Lobsang Rampa, who turned out to be a man living in Hinchley Wood*, which sounds like it really ought to be somewhere in Discworld but is really on Roundworld after all. But it was surprisingly popular and the first of many books by the same author.
Given Sir Terry's era, he may also have fallen temporarily under the influence of (or at least read) The Third Eye, published in the late 1960s I think, and supposedly written by the Tibetan monk Lobsang Rampa, who turned out to be a man living in Hinchley Wood*, which sounds like it really ought to be somewhere in Discworld but is actually on Roundworld after all. But it was surprisingly popular and the first of many books by the same author.


*Having written the above from memory, I thought it best to fact check a little. According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa it was the nearby Thames Ditton, which sounds much more firmly rooted on Roundworld. And the original book was from the 1950s, not the 60s.
* *Having written the above from memory, I thought it best to fact check a little. According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa it was the nearby Thames Ditton, which sounds much more firmly rooted on Roundworld. And the original book was from the 1950s, not the 60s.
 
Lobsang also has shades of the evolved [[Hex]] at his most smug and omniscient.  


[[Category:The Long Earth]]
[[Category:The Long Earth]]
[[Category: Long Earth Characters]]
[[Category: Long Earth Characters]]

Revision as of 04:19, 2 January 2018

This article is about the character in The Long Earth. For the son of Time in the Discworld, see Lobsang Ludd. For the Abbot of the Listening Monks, see Abbot Lobsang.

Lobsang is a character in The Long Earth. He is a Tibetan motorcycle repairman... who has been reincarnated as a supercomputer. The reasoning was that several sixth generation computers have tried without success to be named a human, but, if it is said that the computer is actually a human being (albeit in an unusual form) there can be no trouble. Any people who try to argue with the practicality of reincarnation will get some very short shrift from the religious community. He now part-owns transEarth, a company which studies the various Long Earths, since the founder, Douglas Black, offered him a partnership. He does have a sense of humour, as he frequently disguises himself as a soft drinks dispenser.

Annotations

A Tibetan motorcycle repairman who is involved with spirituality - is there an echo of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance here?

Given Sir Terry's era, he may also have fallen temporarily under the influence of (or at least read) The Third Eye, published in the late 1960s I think, and supposedly written by the Tibetan monk Lobsang Rampa, who turned out to be a man living in Hinchley Wood*, which sounds like it really ought to be somewhere in Discworld but is actually on Roundworld after all. But it was surprisingly popular and the first of many books by the same author.

  • *Having written the above from memory, I thought it best to fact check a little. According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa it was the nearby Thames Ditton, which sounds much more firmly rooted on Roundworld. And the original book was from the 1950s, not the 60s.

Lobsang also has shades of the evolved Hex at his most smug and omniscient.