From the Files of Doctor Stomper #4 It's An Illogical World copyright 1997 by Dave Van Domelen ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( Abstract: A discussion on the nature of worlds driven by logic and those driven by drama, and how the difference can affect you. 1.0 Introduction Those of us who participate in scientific endeavors are familiar with logic and its uses. Logic allows the deduction of results from a set of given information, and helps ensure that sloppy thinking doesn't get in the way of scientific procedure. But for all of its uses, logic is hardly the controlling force in the way the Looniverse works. As the reader should already be aware, the Looniverse works according to the laws of Drama, with logic merely handling less important decisions and the mundane operation of everyday off-screen life. Still, in order to make use of this fact, it helps to know how a logical world differs from a dramatic one. 2.0 Logical Worlds Logical worlds, such as the hypothesized "Real World" that the Writers live in, are primarily run by logic. Often, boring and anticlimactic events take place because they are the only logically allowed path...dramatic necessity isn't even a minor factor, sad to say. Without going into unnecessary detail, a hallmark of the logical world is that contradictions cannot exist. Something is, or it isn't, both statements can't be true at the same time. The sky cannot be simultaneously clear and overcast, it cannot be day and night at the same place and time, you cannot be both Rob Liefeld and talented. The classic example of this would be the "irresistable force" and the "immovable object." In a logical world, they cannot both exist, because the existence of one precludes the possibility of the other. If a force cannot be resisted, then all objects must be movable by it, although they may be unmovable by anything short of this irresistable force. If an object is truly immovable, no force can move it, even if that force can move everything else. Hence, the question of "What happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object?" cannot be validly posed within the context of a logical world, since if the two things cannot exist in the same universe they certainly will not meet. Mind you, it is possible for one or the other to exist in a logical universe (gravity inside the event horizon of a black hole is an irresistable force in the Real World, according to best theory available), just not both. 3.0 Dramatic Worlds Of course, in dramatic worlds such as the Looniverse, irresistable forces meet immovable objects (and irresistable objects meet unmovable forces) all the time. Which one wins depends on what would be *dramatically* correct, not logically correct...since after all, logic has already been overridden by having the two things in the same universe. Irresistable forces tend to win more than half the time, because a dramatic explosion tends to be favored over a stalwart immobility. And, of course, sometimes the irresistable force simply turns the immovable object to dust, dust which then does not move. Much. Unless it's dramatically correct to have a gentle breeze waft it away. In a situation where no one choice is more dramatically correct than another, logic *usually* controls what happens. But given the interference of Writers in the Looniverse, sometimes the logical thing is the least likely to happen, even if the illogical thing isn't any more dramatic. We generally put up with this silliness, because it is the Writers who help inject drama into the Looniverse and keep things fresh. Or if not fresh, at least moving. Or stagnant in a mildly interesting way. But without drama to drive things, logic starts to assert itself and the world dies. 4.0 Death By Logic Aside from the records the LNH has detailing how the lack of drama can destroy a universe, it only makes sense (both dramatic and logical) that this would be so. Drama permeates the Looniverse down to an atomic level, which allows for even the wildest of coincidences to occur if they are necessary. But this drama displaces normal energy and acts as a sort of prosthetic replacement for that energy. While individuals can survive without drama (i.e. Limp-Asparagus Lad), and can live on ambient drama in more logical worlds (i.e. any one of several LNH members who has spent time outside the Looniverse, notably Sidewinder, who spent an extended time in a reality very close to the Real World), if the drama flow is cut off from an entire universe, the consequences are very grave. The vital energies replaced by drama do not come back when the drama is gone, or at best they come back at time scales much longer than life can survive without them. And as logic reasserts itself, it becomes inevitable that no action at all is logically allowed in this drama-less universe. And so the universe just...stops. It is a tragic fact of life in the PluRealities that universes which require drama rarely can create it, while universes which create drama tend to run on logic instead. Only be establishing a flow from drama sources to drama sinks can these high-drama universes survive. It is not known if the drama source PluRealities gain any benefit from this process, although it is possible that a too-high concentration of Drama can be as fatal to these worlds as a too-low concentratrion would be to us. By releasing it to other PluRealities, the drama sources may gain some psychological benefit, or even a physical one, as the "safety valve" is opened. The only times dramatic events can occur in these places is when logic permits them, and this can lead to some rather deadly outbreaks of drama, such as wars and natural disasters. By "exporting" drama through outlets such as Writers, these worlds may see a decrease in such unpleasant types of dramatic events. 5.0 Conclusion Logic is a useful tool, but only goes so far here. Always keep in mind that logic can be ignored when dramatically appropriate, or even at the whim of those beings who provide us with the energies of drama.