Various notes:
No, actually the last Questor was about ONE century ago, not three.
Still, plenty of time for people to forget... even long lived ones.
As to the coin's origins-- well, remember: over the course of 500 years, there *have* been a few humans to try and enter-- or invade-- the Seven Villages. Most of them ended up as compost at the bottom of the swamp....along with whatever they were carrying. Finding the occasional human artifact wouldn't be all that unusual. Even the rare gold coin would turn up in the muck, now and then.... though the swampdwellers are careful to not let that become common knowledge.
So where's the twist?
Various notes:
No, actually the last Questor was about ONE century ago, not three.
Still, plenty of time for people to forget... even long lived ones.
As to the coin's origins-- well, remember: over the course of 500 years, there *have* been a few humans to try and enter-- or invade-- the Seven Villages. Most of them ended up as compost at the bottom of the swamp....along with whatever they were carrying. Finding the occasional human artifact wouldn't be all that unusual. Even the rare gold coin would turn up in the muck, now and then.... though the swampdwellers are careful to not let that become common knowledge.
No, actually the last Questor was about ONE century ago, not three.
Still, plenty of time for people to forget... even long lived ones.
As to the coin's origins-- well, remember: over the course of 500 years, there *have* been a few humans to try and enter-- or invade-- the Seven Villages. Most of them ended up as compost at the bottom of the swamp....along with whatever they were carrying. Finding the occasional human artifact wouldn't be all that unusual. Even the rare gold coin would turn up in the muck, now and then.... though the swampdwellers are careful to not let that become common knowledge.
"What was that popping noise ?"
"A paradigm shifting without a clutch."
--Dilbert
"A paradigm shifting without a clutch."
--Dilbert
Of course gold is valuable for its rarity, jewelery, and presumably (in a universe where magic exists) alchemy.
It is even valuable for trade with those that value it as money.
I used to play a MUD where some common items of clothing were described as having gold buckles, buttons, and the like and some of the enemy soldiers carried gold and silver coins from thier native lands. It was most irritating that there was no NPC who would buy precious metals by weight, so those items were worthless in the game, despite being made of highly valued materials.
Gold has worth, above and beyond its monetary value, and in fact its other useful characteristics are the true reasons for its use as a medium of commerce.
It is even valuable for trade with those that value it as money.
I used to play a MUD where some common items of clothing were described as having gold buckles, buttons, and the like and some of the enemy soldiers carried gold and silver coins from thier native lands. It was most irritating that there was no NPC who would buy precious metals by weight, so those items were worthless in the game, despite being made of highly valued materials.
Gold has worth, above and beyond its monetary value, and in fact its other useful characteristics are the true reasons for its use as a medium of commerce.
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Schlock Code v1.0:
a+++ E-- h+>++ i++ I--- k+>+++++ KL- p(+--) Rs--- S++ SF++ T++ 4UM+++ v w--
Schlock Code v1.0:
a+++ E-- h+>++ i++ I--- k+>+++++ KL- p(+--) Rs--- S++ SF++ T++ 4UM+++ v w--
Ironically, by weight is the *only* way that Rac Conans use gold or other metals....
gold's rarity comes into play... as does its incorruptibility (it doesn't rust) and it's *lux conductivity.*
(IRL, "Alchemy," BTW, has gold as a GOAL, not an ingredient-- because gold was envisioned as the purest state of metal. Hence, the pursuit of the philosopher's stone.)
gold's rarity comes into play... as does its incorruptibility (it doesn't rust) and it's *lux conductivity.*
(IRL, "Alchemy," BTW, has gold as a GOAL, not an ingredient-- because gold was envisioned as the purest state of metal. Hence, the pursuit of the philosopher's stone.)
"What was that popping noise ?"
"A paradigm shifting without a clutch."
--Dilbert
"A paradigm shifting without a clutch."
--Dilbert
Alchemy was much more than the attempt to create gold, it included herbalism, the pursuit of a universal solvent, and knowledge in general.
The most significant part of alchemy was its emphasis on using the experimental method to discover reality. Of course they were limited by the belief that everything was made up of four elements.
EDIT: I just remembered the name they used for the universal solvent they were seeking. "aqua regia" For whatever reason they wanted something that would dissolve gold. I've been told that there is a modern day cocktail of several acids that is called aqua regia and that will react with gold. I don't have any more info on that one though. Sorry.
The most significant part of alchemy was its emphasis on using the experimental method to discover reality. Of course they were limited by the belief that everything was made up of four elements.
EDIT: I just remembered the name they used for the universal solvent they were seeking. "aqua regia" For whatever reason they wanted something that would dissolve gold. I've been told that there is a modern day cocktail of several acids that is called aqua regia and that will react with gold. I don't have any more info on that one though. Sorry.
Last edited by BBlalock on Mon Dec 30, 2002 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Schlock Code v1.0:
a+++ E-- h+>++ i++ I--- k+>+++++ KL- p(+--) Rs--- S++ SF++ T++ 4UM+++ v w--
Schlock Code v1.0:
a+++ E-- h+>++ i++ I--- k+>+++++ KL- p(+--) Rs--- S++ SF++ T++ 4UM+++ v w--
Why would this be ironic? Metal is not a resource the Rac Cona can produce by your own description. Therefore, this multipurpose, shapable, strong and resistant material represents a much in demand raw material. Is there any other unrefined commodity which is worth more by weight? It only makes sense that a raw resource which has no other of equal or greater value be traded in, and exclusively sought by, weight value.RHJunior wrote:Ironically, by weight is the *only* way that Rac Conans use gold or other metals...
Gold was useful because it is easily smelted, does not corrode and is not cold to the touch (hence its use in jewelry). Lead also shares all of these same features but was found to be quite deadly (cases of lead poisoning continue to this day) and more common than gold; lead is also a rather ugly metal to look at.
"I don't know why, but watching 12-year old Japanese girls flinging their school uniforms at each other was wildly entertaining." - Azrael, Japanese Exchange Teacher.
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UncleMonty
- Cartoon Hero
- Posts: 1789
- Joined: Fri Jan 01, 1999 4:00 pm
The ironic part might be that they don't use gold in jewelry, art, or collectables, which would give it more value than the simple weight of the gold. Human artists, in particular, love gold. A work made of gold will not tarnish or show age, as other artistic media will. I have personally panned gold up from the mud of a few rivers, and it gleams as brightly from the muddy water in the pan as would any golden jewelry in a shop.
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ZOMBIE USER 12886
- Regular Poster
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:26 am
Darn it, that's it! I don't know enough about this universe to do a decent fanfic. At best, I'd just look like a total fool; at worst, it'd be an insult to both Ralph and his comic. I can only think of one way to solve this problem:buy a Ben Bruin SuperCD.
Granted, it may not have all the information I need/want, but at least I might get a leg up on things thanks to Ennias Longscript. I hope the Racconans treated him relatively well.
Now I just got to figure out how I'm gonna pay for the darn thing.