Loving the imagery of her and her crown being positioned exactly in front of the ominous void in the middle of the machine. presumably through which one would view the everything.
“former”? that’s one of the more unsettling uses of a single unexpected word I’ve seen in a while. Jadis where’s your key??
I wonder if that has anything to do with her ‘shade’ from the cover. maybe it/she has it. hmm.
Could someone explain the question to me? I get that the answer does not matter, but what are the meanings of the GIANT and the ANT? Is it about living a large life with great strides vs a confined one laboring repetitively near a tiny burrow? Or something else?
I just went back to that chapter… and holy fucking shit 55 PAGES OF SPAMBOTS in the comments! jfc…
Anyway, even after reading the story of Hansa’s conversation winth YISUN, I still don’t get what the allegory of the giant and the ant was supposed to mean.
Considering how ‘out of time’ she seems to be, the event that led to her being the ‘former’ bearer of the word MIND might not have happened yet …for us. To her, of course, it’s already happened, is happening, will happen.
To live is to practice the principal art of lying.
First, one must lie to one’s self, to believe the myths of truth and justice.
Then, one must lie to one’s family, so they may too believe the myths of kindness and generosity.
It is then, one must lie to one’s clan, so they may believe the myths of mercy and grace.
And thus it follows, one must lie to one’s people, that they may believe the myths of unity and solidarity.
For it must follow, that one must lie to one’s sovereign, that they may believe the myths of prosperity and bounty.
As such is but a prerequisite of lying to the Gods, that they may believe the lie of meaning and worth.
And all of these steps must be taken, for if you cannot lie to yourself, nor to your family, nor to your clan, nor to your people, nor to your sovereign, nor to your Gods, you can never learn to lie to the universe, and manifest these simple truths into reality.
Perhaps she didn’t survive and this is just a message, after all, if Jadis can foretell the future perfectly a magic hologram that orders servants to heal Allision is at least theoretically plausible.
Theory Time:
Jadis COULD change the course of her perceived future, but doing so would result in the same fate as everyone else who worked on the omni-machine.
Basically if you see your own future and try to change it even in the slightest, then you’ll be forced to perceive an entirely new future, which will further alter your behaviour, further altering the future, further altering you, etc.
Basically, if you don’t walk that rigid tightrope, you open up your mind to a fractal perception of reality that’s endlessly folding in on itself. Reality is mind-bogglingly vast, however it IS finite, and therefore can be just barely contained within a mind. The same can’t be said for multiversal infinity.
Jadis therefore teeters on the edge of an abyss. Only through a strict adherence to complacency does she retain any part of herself.
Both Yis and Un each welded infinite art. Yis master of all that is, Un master of all that is not. They warred for seven years before creating the multiplicity.
Each alone was stagnant. That Which Is requires That Which Might Be in order to bring forth new life.
Our lady of infinite repose sees only what is. She has lost her mind. We use our mind to imagine what might be and then bring that idea into reality
She sees all of reality, all of YIS, and there is room for nothing more.
Ice and stillness the opposite of energy and effect. Royalty encased in a block of amber lest it Want and break something.
This is a fantastic way to put it, and details the basis of my idea far better then my own comment. Jadis’s omniscient perspective is (ironically) limited, which plays into the greater themes presented throughout the story:
Every “god” we encounter is themselves a prisoner in a cage of their own construction. Om was terrified of the position she held, Mammon pursued avarice until it lost all meaning, Solomon shackled himself to duty and perfection, and Jadis appears to be a slave of a nihilistic perception of causality. Even Metatron and the angels are trapped within their own restrictive roles.
Ironically, the only deity who seems happy and in control of his position is Himself, who is voluntarily imprisoned. (Come to think of it, that guy also seemed to know exactly what Alice was thinking as she thought it, just like Jadis.)
A good perspective here.
Yet, I have a question.
Could Jadis have an intended future? Just as by will one affects the universe could having a destination instead shape the intended future? If acting changes the shape of the universe intent might give knowledge to how to mold the path.
Stagnation in a Demiurge is a pitiful thing.
[This person has gained some understanding of the Great Machine.
The finite nature of our capacity for observation is not necessarily indicative of a finite Universe, but in any case, we are discussing infinity and the best of us are therefore woefully underequipped to make anything other than guesses moored firmly in ignorance.]
I wonder if she lost her word when she lost her mind?
Loving the imagery of her and her crown being positioned exactly in front of the ominous void in the middle of the machine. presumably through which one would view the everything.
“former”? that’s one of the more unsettling uses of a single unexpected word I’ve seen in a while. Jadis where’s your key??
I wonder if that has anything to do with her ‘shade’ from the cover. maybe it/she has it. hmm.
It’s the dawning of the end of the world~
Bow down to the Worm!
“They don’t think it be like it is, but it do.”
– Jadis
Hehe… Koimono.
Could someone explain the question to me? I get that the answer does not matter, but what are the meanings of the GIANT and the ANT? Is it about living a large life with great strides vs a confined one laboring repetitively near a tiny burrow? Or something else?
I lack patience for the link to pass moderation.
KSBD 3-39, read under the comic page.
To clarify the note from our fellow Votary, Thoughtmachine,
– that would be KSBD Book One, 3-39. Where is told “The Lie of the Giant and the Ant.”
~ Also noted in the KSBD Wiki in the section covering Psalms.
Thanks for that. Highly relevant for the page.
I just went back to that chapter… and holy fucking shit 55 PAGES OF SPAMBOTS in the comments! jfc…
Anyway, even after reading the story of Hansa’s conversation winth YISUN, I still don’t get what the allegory of the giant and the ant was supposed to mean.
crunchy grandma has evolved into ephemeral mommy,
both forms appealed, to degens of oppose’d natures profound-
Yet, not this one here. This eye has been glutton’d, by the subtle beauty in both~
“… ғᴏʀᴍᴇʀ ʙᴇᴀʀᴇʀ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅ MIND.”
Seems she did indeed lose her mind.
I wonder if anyone has found it.
Considering how ‘out of time’ she seems to be, the event that led to her being the ‘former’ bearer of the word MIND might not have happened yet …for us. To her, of course, it’s already happened, is happening, will happen.
If everything is circular, there can be no point.
Makes sense in its own way.
Now if Al-Yisun can break the circle, we might be onto something.
Zoss certainly hopes so…
Oh, worm?
I cannot help but wonder what happens to the stakes now, if we are all trapped in amber.
Surely nothing can be done to free us, Jadis?
well that a downer.
To live is to practice the principal art of lying.
First, one must lie to one’s self, to believe the myths of truth and justice.
Then, one must lie to one’s family, so they may too believe the myths of kindness and generosity.
It is then, one must lie to one’s clan, so they may believe the myths of mercy and grace.
And thus it follows, one must lie to one’s people, that they may believe the myths of unity and solidarity.
For it must follow, that one must lie to one’s sovereign, that they may believe the myths of prosperity and bounty.
As such is but a prerequisite of lying to the Gods, that they may believe the lie of meaning and worth.
And all of these steps must be taken, for if you cannot lie to yourself, nor to your family, nor to your clan, nor to your people, nor to your sovereign, nor to your Gods, you can never learn to lie to the universe, and manifest these simple truths into reality.
Extremely well said. I bow to thee.
Truth through lying. Beautifully put but overly complicated. Try putting on a mask instead!
> Ant
> Giant
[Goes back and forth between the two options rapidly and nervously, sweating]
[Panics and clicks the third option- ‘Nihilistic Candelabra Lady’
*pants in anticipation of her void*
This deserves to be put into print. This is amazing.
The heat, the lethargy,
the truth, in prophesy
the station lists from heresy,
Honestly, that comes as something of a relief.
She needs KETAMINE,
NOWWW
LOTS OF KETAMINE
ENOUGH TO KILL A HERD OF HORSES
Wait, she lost her word? Did she give it up so she can survive?
Perhaps she didn’t survive and this is just a message, after all, if Jadis can foretell the future perfectly a magic hologram that orders servants to heal Allision is at least theoretically plausible.
Theory Time:
Jadis COULD change the course of her perceived future, but doing so would result in the same fate as everyone else who worked on the omni-machine.
Basically if you see your own future and try to change it even in the slightest, then you’ll be forced to perceive an entirely new future, which will further alter your behaviour, further altering the future, further altering you, etc.
Basically, if you don’t walk that rigid tightrope, you open up your mind to a fractal perception of reality that’s endlessly folding in on itself. Reality is mind-bogglingly vast, however it IS finite, and therefore can be just barely contained within a mind. The same can’t be said for multiversal infinity.
Jadis therefore teeters on the edge of an abyss. Only through a strict adherence to complacency does she retain any part of herself.
Both Yis and Un each welded infinite art. Yis master of all that is, Un master of all that is not. They warred for seven years before creating the multiplicity.
Each alone was stagnant. That Which Is requires That Which Might Be in order to bring forth new life.
Our lady of infinite repose sees only what is. She has lost her mind. We use our mind to imagine what might be and then bring that idea into reality
She sees all of reality, all of YIS, and there is room for nothing more.
Ice and stillness the opposite of energy and effect. Royalty encased in a block of amber lest it Want and break something.
This is a fantastic way to put it, and details the basis of my idea far better then my own comment. Jadis’s omniscient perspective is (ironically) limited, which plays into the greater themes presented throughout the story:
Every “god” we encounter is themselves a prisoner in a cage of their own construction. Om was terrified of the position she held, Mammon pursued avarice until it lost all meaning, Solomon shackled himself to duty and perfection, and Jadis appears to be a slave of a nihilistic perception of causality. Even Metatron and the angels are trapped within their own restrictive roles.
Ironically, the only deity who seems happy and in control of his position is Himself, who is voluntarily imprisoned. (Come to think of it, that guy also seemed to know exactly what Alice was thinking as she thought it, just like Jadis.)
A good perspective here.
Yet, I have a question.
Could Jadis have an intended future? Just as by will one affects the universe could having a destination instead shape the intended future? If acting changes the shape of the universe intent might give knowledge to how to mold the path.
Stagnation in a Demiurge is a pitiful thing.
[This person has gained some understanding of the Great Machine.
The finite nature of our capacity for observation is not necessarily indicative of a finite Universe, but in any case, we are discussing infinity and the best of us are therefore woefully underequipped to make anything other than guesses moored firmly in ignorance.]
G.I. Ant.
A real American ant
Jadis lacks the title of “Goddess of the seven part world,” which the other demiurges had in their intros.
The universe’s most opulent Snuggie.
You get nothing! YOU LOSE! Good day SIR!!!