Book 2 – Page 57

[joosy]

Keep in mind that there are such things as ruins. They look like former city sites and searching there can find artifacts but they are not city sites. Ergo, sometimes things appear in Erfworld that appear like evidence of a former civilization but are not.

http://www.erfworld.com/wiki/index.php/Ruins

It is very possible that the fossils are just 'popped' there.

And to the question about the elaborate tunnel. We already know that having a dirtamancer reduces costs of building cities and that the dirtamancer can decide on the form and layout of the city being built. I think that is just an example of Sizemore's Dirtamancy skill. "Mind the Gap" is now added to my list of excellent Erfworld spells.

[Beeskee]

That is one heck of an awesome underground tunnel. I'm guessing he's spending more juice on it than on the other rough tunnels we've seen that he (presumably for some of them) made.

Parson should travel in style anyway. And the support beams will make a good frame of reference for the youtube video.

I love the Cubone skull too. Though I think that if the fourth Arkentool ends up being a pokeball... actually no wait that would be kinda funny, but I think I hear the other readers gathering at my door with torches and pitchforks...

[Dr Pepper]

Just noticed something i missed the first time. Sizemore's action is not entirely covert. He's projecting his power through the Spade of Mighty Delving, which he's dragging behind him. And it's leaving a mark.

[Beeskee]

I noticed that, but it looks like a pretty soft mark. It doesn't look like torn-up earth or anything, just a dent in the grass basically, and nobody seems to notice it. All the other mages other than Janis and Marie seem to be ignoring Sizemore.

[No one in particular]

I don't think Sizemore is really spending all that much juice on this. I think it has more to do with the purpose of the tunnel being built. The rough tunnels we've seen weren't originally designed for just walking through, they were mines. And in Erfworld, signamancy is a big thing and form really follows function. A mine will look like a mine, because that's what a mine should look like! Stanley probably either didn't care how the tunnels looked, or wasn't willing to okay the spending of the shmuckers and juice needed to redesign them as pleasant thoroughfares. (The fact that he would always be bypassing them entirely on his dwagons might have been a factor as well...)

Here though, the intent from the very beginning is that this is a tunnel meant for a man to walk through, and it reflects that. Sizemore's influence is probably most apparent in the exposed wood and plaster, as opposed to mortar and stone, tacky wood paneling, or injection-molded plastic arches.

I bet if he WAS pouring the juice in to it though, it would a) be much more obvious than just dragging his shovel, and b) be totally awesome. Like, there'd be a moving walkway like at the airport, muzak, hot towels, that sort of thing.

[djones520]

Anyone else notice that the Scarlet Witch barely seems to move in the first three panels?

And I'm wagering that it's a battery of some sort for the portals.

[No one in particular]

Quick guess about the nearby casters: every single one of them is a thinkamancer, and in on the conspiracy of the Great Minds that Think Alike. They are there to act nonchalant, and use gentle thinkamancy to persuade everyone else to ignore Sizemore.

[Beeskee]

Good point, it could be mostly Signamancy. Though technically, all tunnels are intended for someone to walk through. That's kinda the point of a tunnel. But I think you nailed it.

I was thinking back to the tunnels we did see him dig. I can remember two, and both were done in a hurry. One was a quick strike behind enemy lines, and the other was to rescue Wanda. For the shots of the mines that we saw, I don't know where his digging work stops and the Gobwin's digging work begins.

Yeah, I think you're spot on with the Signamancy call there.



Edit: Damnit Rob why do you have to be so awesome?

[youngstormlord]

Yup, Sizemore is badass! Nothing less is to be expected from Master level Diratamancer . Was he Master level before the battle for Gobwin Knob or not, though?

I think both him and Wanda were, although I'm not sure. You would have never known by the way he acted...

[No one in particular]

Eh, I wouldn't put too much stock in "a thing is supposed to be used for its intended use"... after all, Gobwin Knob has a bank and a slaughter house, which have never held penny or pig, banker or butcher, yet still pop better when the Chief Warlord pokes his head in. In Erfworld, sometimes it's simply enough that a thing IS, to function. Actual people actually using it isn't really a consideration.

[Beeskee]

Like I said, I think you are right about the Signamancy.

[atalex]

Hey everybody, I just had to pop on to gloat. Guess how I found out about the update -- Rob himself, after answering my question about Erfworld at MidSouthCon says "By the way, the latest update went up 27 minutes ago." Glee!

[Nows7]

Hmmm... If I recall correctly, Zelda (or a character simular to her) is a think-a-mancer, but I don't see any of the other GMWTA. No Sagan, Tyson, or Spock.

I'm not sure that that IS Zelda in panel 12.... wait, never mind, when i went to count the panels I spotted her in panel 13. 12 is Jeanie from I dream of Genie.

Hey everybody, I just had to pop on to gloat. Guess how I found out about the update -- Rob himself, after answering my question about Erfworld at MidSouthCon says "By the way, the latest update went up 27 minutes ago." Glee!

That's a win.

[multilis]

Fossils??? Evidence of Erfworld evolution???? No no no.. The fossils were just placed there by the Titans to test our faith. Only in this world that might actually be true.

Just like in our world, fossils of MS Dos 2.0 and model T cars are there to test our faith, ha ha. (obviously intelligent design would not leave such fossils and have legacy code in modern OS, so software must have evolved without intelligent help)

For example the operating system Windows is so popular because only mutations such as from the blue screen of death/rebirth helped it to mutate and evolve faster rather than intelligent help. Windows is better than other OSs because it has more blue screens of rebirth so it evolves new features faster, that is also why 90% of software runs under Windows as hotbed of evolution. Unfortunately recent versions of windows "crash" less than WIndows 95, so Windows is starting to lose "market share" from the slowing of evolution.

One small example, it is obvious from some similarities between FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS that if computer network randomly mutated a few bytes at a time and favored the most fit version of OS to copy to new computers that the OS would evolve naturally to have better file system without intelligent help. (Computer viruses do this sort of thing all the time, proven in lab that a virus can mutate a little by chance. Sad that people still believe tooth fairies and hackers create new viruses)

(Your only other choice is that Almighty Gates rubbed his long white beard and made Windows in a few literal earth days from scratch which is silly)

Erfworld obviously is evolving over time though all the glitches and mutations, slowly gaining more rules (like WOW and DnD), and these fossils are from earlier versions of the game/universe. If Parson the Great manages to break the world, make another Blue Screen of Death/Rebirth, perhaps on reboot the damage done will evolve a brand new set of engineering changes to Erfworld.

Only those that accept this theory/fact are logical sane individuals. Proof: every logical sane individual accepts this theory/fact. ( PS: am I the last logical/sane individual left in the world? ^^ )

[Welf von Ehrwald]

Huh. I knew that Sizemore could drill tunnels very fast, but that's impressive. I guess the two levels he gained really helped him to get better spells.

[Stormchi]

Lol. Sizemore, you are amazing and under appreciated. Love this!

[BLANDCorporatio]

Lol. Sizemore, you are amazing and under appreciated. Love this!

Indeed. Maybe the meek shall inherit the Erf though. Go Sizemore!

Heh. Mind the gap. Nice!

Just like in our world, fossils of MS Dos 2.0 and model T cars are there to test our faith, ha ha.

Posts in which someone else is quoted, merely to append "^^ this" are lame, and everyone should only be allowed one, like, ever. I'll take mine now.

^^This. The quoted text of course

[HandofShadows]

"Mind the Gap". Don't think it's a London Underground reference. More like Portal one. (is there an Erfworld version of GLaDOS? ) Sizemore clealry is DA Man right now. Do you think he will relax a little when he figures out there there is some support for his actions in MK?

[CNagy]

Eh, I wouldn't put too much stock in "a thing is supposed to be used for its intended use"... after all, Gobwin Knob has a bank and a slaughter house, which have never held penny or pig, banker or butcher, yet still pop better when the Chief Warlord pokes his head in. In Erfworld, sometimes it's simply enough that a thing IS, to function. Actual people actually using it isn't really a consideration.

Gobwin Knob has a bank and a slaughterhouse because Gobwin Knob is a city, and cities have banks and butchers. Seems signamancy is still the best answer.

[Agaric]

Can't remember the last time I laughed so freely over a webcomic. A quiet "mind the gap", a soft spade-trail in the grass - and right when I start worrying about how poor Sizemore is being detained, and he wouldn't be able to do the job - BAM, last panel

Thank you, I needed that. Great update!