Interlude Two Page 10
Baltimore, 199x.
(PSSSH)
Cohen: I can see why you like this place. Lovely acoustics. What I can’t see is why Walker International would suddenly want to make the jump into broadcasting. Are you really that bothered by someone else playing in your Being-research sandbox?
Walker: That’s quite a leap you’re making, young man.
Cohen: Are you saying I’m wrong? Speaking of Beings, where’s yours?
Walker: Around. How about yours?
Cohen: Left it at home. I didn’t want to treat this like a challenge. And in that spirit, I’ve brought you a peace offering.
As much as I love business, my real passion is for linguistics . . . so I did some exploring on big cats.
The word leopard is a compound of the Greek λέων — lion — and πάρδος — panther. Back in the day, it was believed that leopards were hybrids of the two. Hadn’t figured out that panthers are just black leopards . . .
Ironically, the root word of “panther” means “white-yellow” or “pale”. It goes back to the Sanskrit पाण्डर — a derivation of their word used for, among other things, tigers. I had all of this typed up on —
Walker: — the disc, I take it? Quite thoughtful of you.
(YOINK)
I rather assume that that’s Tiger imitating Walker?
Ohhh we’re going all the way back to Sanskrit.
And Cohen was a Master, I don’t think that has been confirmed before now.
hmm, shapeshifting based on linguistic programming. So they are operating on programmed limiters rather than expressive limitations based on natural internal ability. So each individual would then be on a seperate que rather than be able to transform into anything or anyone it wanted to.
Soooo … basically, the reason beings can’t shift into anything is something like region codes on DVDs? … we really need some hackers working on them.
“There are a couple of hacks to summon rain”…
It would be hilarious if that disc were blank.
Or better, had a mirror of a shock site on it instead.
Hmm. He has a being.
I’ve been thinking for some time that he’s probably Patrick’s abusive former master. I’m going to go on record with that now. I wonder if that’s been revealed since then? It’s my first time through the archives.
Well, the Beings are all tied to their (verbal) Contracts, and the orders they’re given are based on words too, so it makes sense that their base forms are rooted in words as well. I suppose the comparison to computers and programming isn’t that far fetched, given that they’re ‘programmed’ in that ancient language.