Dragaera

Yuck

Kenneth Gorelick pulmon at mac.com
Sun Jun 4 20:04:00 PDT 2006

On Jun 4, 2006, at 10:14 PM, Jon Lincicum wrote:

> Davdi Silverrock wrote:
>> A duck hopped out of the water, and began waddling towards me in an
>> oddly purposeful manner.  Loiosh stared at it, saying /Boss, have we
>> met that duck before?/
>>
>> Before I could respond to that bizarre comment, the duck stopped a
>> short distance away, waggled a little, then shimmered in a strange
>> way, and became Sethra Lavode.
>>
>> I found that I had so much to say that nothing actually came out  
>> of my
>> mouth, which Sethra no doubt found immensely gratifying.  She  
>> smirked,
>> then said in amused tones, "Really, Vlad, why *not* a duck?"
> Ah, but Sethra has stated (in /Issola/) that she doesn't know  
> witchcraft. Thus, logically, not being made of wood, she cannot  
> weigh the same as a duck. Yes?
>
> Majikjon
But we know that Sethra is a shapeshifter so she could make herself  
LOOK like a duck while swimming. I am not fully cognizant of the  
complexities of shapeshifting. For example, what happens to mass when  
shifting into a shape with a different volume? If mass were constant,  
then density would change and the duck would sink. Alternatively, the  
excess mass could be shifted into another dimension resulting in a  
manifestation of a duck with the appropriate density. Why do I feel  
as if I am reasoning like a Monty Yendi?
Ken