The Dreamland Chronicles Page 228…
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I’ve always thought Dan shut Alex down pretty hard here. I mean, sure, a thing is itself. But that doesn’t stop 12 different people from having 12 VERY different perceptions of that thing. Take Nastajia, for example. Depending on a person’s cultural background, she might be seen as an elf, a djinn, a demon, or even a startlingly scantily clad vulcan. One might answer this and say that this could be cleared up simply by talking to her, whereupon she would identify herself as an elf. Ah, but what about language? There’s been no hint of language barriers in Dreamland (except for the ancient script on the tablets, but that’s not really relevant here). Furthermore, most people dream in their own native language. It can thus be inferred that every dreamer would interact with Dreamland – and everyone in it – in their native language. What if a dreamer’s language has no word for elf, and the nearest equivalent concept is djinn, or demon?
The point is that while Alex probably didn’t think his way through all that, he might still be on to something. All of Dan’s examples could be the same Truth viewed through the differing filters of cultural bias – and also mostly through the eyes and tales of children.
Okay, end of rant.
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Another point is that dreamland is big. One can easily visit dreamland without ever meeting Nastajia. Even not seeing the elf city is plausible.
A good point indeed. Reminds me of the old story about asking several blind people to describe an elephant by feel, and getting very different answers depending on where the person was standing (trunk, ear, leg, tail, etc.). Similarly, Dreamland could be described very differently depending on the area visited.
It should be noted, however, that this point is mitigated somewhat by the ease of travel in Dreamland: Alex could fly in Dreamland as child, and most people have flying dreams, so it can be inferred that most children can fly in Dreamland, and thus can potentially cover a lot of territory.
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