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WereFox writes...

Hi Greg

I wonder how Goliath would have reacted to some of the other
tennets of Bushido. We saw how the code teaches redemption of honor through acceptance of personal responsibilty for your actions. However, this is pretty much a universal creed.

There were other aspects of the Bushido code, practiced by the Samaraii, that were very alien to western ideals. For instance, an unredeemable failure is seen as such an affront to the Bushido code, that ritual suicide or Seppaku, was often the only way to restore ones honor. The samarai disembowels himself with a curved knife. Then his "second" decapitates him.

Vengeance is a highly valued right among the practicers of bushido, as evidence by the classic story of the 47 Ronin. When a feudal lord was killed due to treachery of another, his 47 samaraii were shunned and disgraced as warriors without a master. There sense of honor demanded that the offender and his family be hunted down and killed, so the 47 Ronin dedicated the remainder of their lives to this task. Upon completion, the surviving Ronin committed Seppaku.

Surrender was also not tolerated by the bushido code. The samarai would fight to the last man, and enemies who did surrender were executed on the spot.

Were the Japanese gargloyes more selective in their practice of Bushido. I think it would have been interesting to see how Goliath would have reacted to ideals practiced by Japanese gargoyles which would have been so at odds with his own sense of what honor demanded. Dedicating ones life to vengeance? Summarily killing a helpless enemy? Failures so great that ritual suicide is a reasoned expectation, rather than an expression of anguish? There have certainly been instances where his anger or grief might have driven Goliath to these actions. Yet, Bushido enshrines such behavior as honorable and necessary.

Greg responds...

All good points. All stuff I had hoped to explore in TimeDancer with Brooklyn and Katana.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Why exactly is does Brooklyn name his son Nashville? Does he name him after the city or does he name him after something else that bears the name of the city?

Greg responds...

Not answering this now, but you might do a little research.

Response recorded on June 20, 2001

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Justin writes...

Hi Greg

Ok now am I too assume correctly that when the 78 ( 39 biologically) year old Brooklyn returns from his dances he is stronger than he was when he left right? I mean he had been fully grown by that time and plus the perils of the dance could cause for a greater need to thicken up.

So the big question,
Can the (39) year old Brooklyn hold his own or maybe even win in a fight against the (29) year old Goliath?

Thanks

Greg responds...

Why would they fight?

Response recorded on June 20, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Why are Brooklyn's travels in time called dances?
Is something or someone controlling where he goes?
Could you tell us who or what it is?

Greg responds...

Again, control is executed or not, depending on the extent (if any) of YOUR PERSONAL BELIEF in a HIGHER POWER.

As to the name TimeDANCER, well, mostly, I just like the way it sounds. And it sort of indicates the way he SKIPS around from era to era. Just seemed right, I guess.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Justin writes...

Ok forgive me if this is confusing but this is the only way I could figure out how to word this question. You have mentioned that a Time Dancing Brooklyn would be a character in 2198. Now, since Brooklyn come home eventually, wouldn't a ver old Brooklyn also be present? or at least Nashville and Tachi? What I am asking is during his Time Dancing wouldn't Brooklyn encounter older versions of himself, Katana, Nashville and Tachi? Seeing as how they do come home, thus are a part of the timestream from 1996 on?

Thanks again!

Greg responds...

They did come home, but do the math as to whether it's feasible that they'd still be alive in 2198.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

I'm still a little baffled about Timedancing Brooklyn and the story behind him. You state that when Goliath threw the Phoenix gate into itself without a mind to guide it, it would be forever lost in the time stream. Then you went on to say that it lands in front of Brooklyn.
1. Why did you choose Brooklyn?
2. When does it land in front of him, in what time?
I was reading through the archived responses about this, and you say that he never lays a finger on the gate.
3. But how is it possible for him to travel forty years leaping in and out of random time shifts the gate creates? The gate is just a talisman, without a mind or the incantation it really can't go anywhere, which leads me to my next question.
4. If Brooklyn is susceptable to random time shifts, how long does he or can he stay, in one time?
5. Why couldn't he lay a finger on the gate? I mean surely he would eventually find out how the gate works in some time, grab it, speak the incantation, and boom! he's back home again in his own time exactly when he left. Brooklyn isn't that stupid, he surely would have had some pre-existing knowledge from Goliath about the dangers of the gate.

Please. Maybe you could explain this whole Timedancer mess in better detail or in a nutshell, or at least point me out someplace online I could go to read more about it in further detail.

Greg responds...

No, I stated that Goliath threw the Phoenix Gate into the Timestream -- not itself.

1. He chose me largely. He was ready for the next step in his character's evolution. And I felt he could carry a series.

2. In "the present". Originally, that meant 1996. I'm not sure now. I'm leaning toward '97 though. Not 2001.

3. No, it goes everywhere and everywhen. It seems to be random. But the timestream itself may have currents and eddies guiding it.

4. There's no consistent rule.

5. He can never get to it in time.

The only place I can point you for more detailed info is the TimeDancer archive here at ASK GREG. (This doesn't seem that complicated to me, however. I certainly wouldn't call it a 'mess'.)

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Adam writes...

1. When he returns from Timedancing, is Brooklyn aware of the time and place of his own death?

2. If so, is he also aware that there is nothing he can do to change the circumstances of his demise?

Greg responds...

1. No.

Response recorded on March 01, 2001

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Adam writes...

If I understand Timedancing correctly, it occurs at unpredictable intervals. The Phoenix Gate suddenly appears and whisks Brooklyn off to a new time period. So my question is: when Brooklyn does his final Timedance, the one that brings him back to just minutes after he originally left, how does he know that his Timedancing is over? Does he know that the Gate will not appear again, or does he expect to be Timedanced(?) away again at any moment?

If he knows that his journey has come to an end, is it because he has gained control of the Gate? If he does have control of the Gate, why did he choose to come back just a few minutes after he left? Didn't he have anyplacetime better to go after forty years of Timedancing? What does he do with the Gate once he gets back?

Greg responds...

I'm not answering any of this. If you think about it, you'll see why.

Response recorded on March 01, 2001

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Justin writes...

Here we go again...
1) Will Goliath and Elisa ever have kids?
2) Will Brooklyn and Katana have kids in the 2008 rookery?
3) Will Lexington?

Thanks

Greg responds...

1, 2, and 3. They will be parents to all the children of the clan.

Response recorded on March 01, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Were you inspired in someway by Quantum Leap while making Timedancer?

Greg responds...

Not really. Plenty of time travel stuff pre-dates QL.

And I'm much stricter about time-travel rules than that show.

Response recorded on February 26, 2001


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