Science debate|current topic: Tea for the wicked!!!

[Omeg@]

I've been pondering two things about ZG.

1st: If she doesn't eat, or drink (anything else but coffee), where does she get her energy to live, move and think? That breaks the laws of physic. (You know. The one that says something that energy can't be created from empty/0). and I think that torching people into flames, flying and regenerating flesh take more energy than those first three things that I mentioned. Does Sandra absorv energy from light (or shadows) or does she get it from people's emotions or something. I know that coffee is heavy stuff, but not that heavy. This might be too "realistic" question for comic, but it really made me wonder

2nd: How does Sandra wears pants now when she has a tail. I mean they (pants) should slip. In manga this problem has been solvet with most imaginable ways. How does it work in ZG?

[Alphaman_24]

Traditionally, daemons (yeah I'm going to keep spelling it this way) are supposed to live using the energy from some badly explained hellish process involving human souls. Presumably if things work this way in the zebraverse, Sandra's body is in some way still linked into the bit of hell that feeds the infernal hordes. I have absolutely no idea what happens to Sandra's own soul as a result of this but I would be willing to bet it isn't good.

An alternative explanation is that as a magical creature the normal rules of physics need not apply if they are inconvenient. As explained in the strip where Jack was healing Sam in the alternative universe (http://zebragirl.keenspot.com/d/20020405.html), magic is based around perception so maybe this only works if Sandra doesn't think too much about it.

As for wearing pants, Sandra's tail seems to be quite a lot higher up her back than you would expect if she were a normal Earth creature. I'm sure there was a discussion of this somewhere else in the forum.

[Kubrick]

I have a theory about the fire thing. There are several reported events of people catching on fire with seemingly nothing to catch them on fire with. This is called Spontaneous Combustion. Anyway, my theory is that Sandra has gained the ability to trigger people's destructive side. In other words they are burning from something inside, Sandra is just controlling how much of it gets out and for how long.

[BrianJ]

Nope, it couldn't be Sandra linking into a person's innate spontaneous combustion because spontaneous combustion burns people from the inside out, and Alex Dunn only recieved superficial burns to the outer skin (with no lasting scars). If he had actually "spontaneously combusted," his internal organs would have been the first to go up.

[Alphaman_24]

The spontaneous combustion thing can be easily explained by the theory of long words. The ability to set stuff on fire with your mind has been called pyrokinesis so since there is a technical sounding word, it must be a genuine proven scientific fact. Its obvious!

But enough foolishness. The idea with most psychic abilities and/or magic is usually manipulating the fabric of space to use the already existing energies for new uses. All you need for a bit or magical lifting is to convince the random movements of air molecules to line up for a bit. Another example would be coordinating electromagnetic field fluctuations so that you can generate lightning bolts. There have been one or two ideas for actual power generation that runs on nothing from this idea but none that I think would work.

Of course in the comic, it might be possible to use the ZPE (zero point energy) of empty space for the nice productive purpose of char grilling Jack

[stinkywigfiddle]

Maybe she thrives on the pain she causes.
Or is that too simple?

[Omeg@]

I heard somewhere that pyrokinesis is controlling the fire, not creating it.

[Omeg@]

AHA!! If Sandra can set people on fire by long distance ( like she did on Mike few times on the early times of comic). Why doesn't she torch Prof. Boardshoulder on fire for revenge??? I mean he did try to kill Sandra and all.

[Kubrick]

AHA!! If Sandra can set people on fire by long distance ( like she did on Mike few times on the early times of comic). Why doesn't she torch Prof. Boardshoulder on fire for revenge??? I mean he did try to kill Sandra and all.

If she did that, then Broadshoulders would know she was alive. Also it would justify Broadshoulders's actions, thereby negating his effectiveness as a villian. Why Prof. Broadshoulders is such a compelling vilian is because his motives are driven by the desire to rid the world of all demons, even if the intentions of a demon is pure. He knows Sandra has good in her, but he doesn't care. If Sandra were to cause great pain to Prof. Broadshoulders, then Broadshoulders becomes justified.

Anyway, after dealing with demons for so long, he no doubt has come up with some kind of protection to combat the demon-burning.

Besides, why are you arguing physics in an online comic strip anyway?

[Omeg@]

Besides, why are you arguing physics in an online comic strip anyway?

It's just fun? maeby. Fanthasies that get closer to reality are better/more belivable than others that are just unexplained and wierd. It's investigated fact.

+ I like it

[Kubrick]

Fantasy shouldn't be entirely explaned though. I agree that fantasy that has no plausable explination is just idiotic, but if you explain too much, it loses what makes it compelling. Especially moronic explinations.

Example: Star Wars didn't explain anything about the workings of the force, where it comes from, why it's strong with some and weak with others, but it explained enough that we suspended our disbelief. And Luke Skywalker was the ultimate hero because he was just an average Joe, an underdog who rises because the force is strong with him. A generation was empowered. They said "Hey, that guy was just a normal farmer. That man is me (metaphorically speaking of course)!".

Then came the Phantom Menace. The force was explained away as being caused by the number of energy-processing cell components, an explination which not only falls apart upon any scrutany, but isn't even original (it was used as an explination in a video game for the PlayStation, Eve something). Then it went further by saying that Luke's father was born without a father (a blatent Jesus reference), so the reason Luke is special is because his father is a some kind of messiah. All of a sudden, Luke, before an average guy, becomes an unreachable god.

All because they felt the need to explain away the fantasy.

It's kinda like faith, when it becomes guaranteed, and you know everything, it ceases to be faith.

I truly hope that Joe never feels the need to turn ZebraGirl into a physics lesson and explain every detail of how magic and demonology work.

[Omeg@]

I truly hope that Joe never feels the need to turn ZebraGirl into a physics lesson and explain every detail of how magic and demonology work.

Arrr... You're no fun. But right in every way.

[Alphaman_24]

It is too late for me. I will always try to rationalise fantasy, this is the curse of studying science.

Actually I happen to agree with Omeg@ on this one, speculating possiblities can be fun. Zebra Girl is about the characters, not the inner workings of magic so I don't think we are explaining away the fantasy unless we get somebody around here desperately trying to prove that daemons and magic are impossible.

That last bit seems depressingly probable so maybe I'll shut up now.,[/quote]

[Omeg@]

Actually I happen to agree with Omeg@ on this one, speculating possiblities can be fun. Zebra Girl is about the characters, not the inner workings of magic so I don't think we are explaining away the fantasy unless we get somebody around here desperately trying to prove that daemons and magic are impossible.

Nobody who thinks that way, wouldn't join in this forum

[Kubrick]

I don't mean that fan's can't have discussions about the science behind a comic, I mean the author of the piece shouldn't explain everything about the fantasy, otherwise hole will inevitably be found. If you, as the author, leave room in an explination for exploration, gaps of logic will be filled in by the imagination of the audience. It's like a scaned drawing; at lower resolutions, the viewer will fill in the missing detail, but the higher the resolution, the more the imperfections in the original can be seen.

I don't mean authors shouldn't explain anything in their fantasy realm, either. Without a certain level of explination, an audience has a hard time suspending their disbelief.

The art is in finding the middle ground. It's hard, but when it does happen, the result can be magic.

[Omeg@]

Yeah, but we can always talk the physics, can't we. Joe doesn't have to comment any of my questions. We can talk how things would work, if Sandra would be a reall girl/demon, can we not?

[Kubrick]

Of course.

[Omeg@]

Besides, This isn't some "new hobby". Think about the start trek, Fra Scape, Start gate and Babylon 5. All of them try to mimic the reality by using laws of physic. It's fun!

[Kubrick]

Yes, fandom is to scrutinize that which you love. Has been since the first Trekie questioned why the air was breathable on every planet, and every alien spoke english.

[stinkywigfiddle]

Besides, This isn't some "new hobby". Think about the start trek, Fra Scape, Start gate and Babylon 5. All of them try to mimic the reality by using laws of physic. It's fun!

But that's science fiction, this is fantasy. Science fiction is suppose to be something that could possibly happen, fantasy is something we know could never happen.

[Kubrick]

I could argue the definition of science fiction with you, but frankly, I don't really want to.

[Omeg@]

Where goes that thin line of Fantasy and Sci-fition. Are you one to determine what chategory ZG belongs? And further more what stops us guessing: How things would really work, if they were reall?

[Incompetent]

2nd: How does Sandra wears pants now when she has a tail. I mean they (pants) should slip. In manga this problem has been solvet with most imaginable ways. How does it work in ZG?

I think Sandra has a more serious problem where clothes are concerned, namely corrosive bodily fluids!

Simplest explanation: the clothes Sandra wears all the time are 'magic' because she was wearing them when she got transformed. Hence they fit her new form and never wear out or get dirty.

[stinkywigfiddle]

If I had to categorize ZG I would call it fantasy.
True, some sc-fi also has fantasy elements. Generally sc-fi is more about science and fantasy deals with magic and such.
You can discuss how things would really work if it were real all you want.

[BrianJ]

I think Sandra has a more serious problem where clothes are concerned, namely corrosive bodily fluids!

Simplest explanation: the clothes Sandra wears all the time are 'magic' because she was wearing them when she got transformed. Hence they fit her new form and never wear out or get dirty.

I like this explanation for the clothes: They're magic, just like Sandra! Except they might not be the same shirt and pants as when she originally got the book slammed: The shirt has had its back torn out by wings (twice), and the pants got the top burned by a robot laser. Then again, they could be the same clothes if they were magical, regeneration properties or something like that.

I'm just glad the comic doesn't go into the "my clothes keep falling off" style of pron. ZebraGirl is just... better than that.