The Lost City of Tumbolia
The Black Void - Episode 240
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It occurs to me that I don't know what the name of the school even is, so
I go to the front of the school and look at the big sign. It
says: "Welcome to Tumbolia High School, Home of the Fighting Unicorns." The name seems oddly familiar. I had read the name somewhere. After thinking for a few moments, I finally remember where. In Goedel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter introduced the concept of Tumbolia, the "land of dead hiccups and extinguished light bulbs." (116) It is a land of things that, though "everything which made them up is still present," cannot function as "separate, identifiable units." (725) It is a land of things that have ceased to be and things that have yet to exist. It is a land of non-things: the imaginary. I decide to go to the library once again to see if they have that book. They do not. The librarian points me in the direction of the Tumbolia Municipal Library, which houses a larger collection of books. Not having anything better to do, I head out to the Tumbolia Library. The streets in the city of Tumbolia have no name, and people appear to get around in horse-drawn carriages and pentacycles--five-wheeled structures with pedals. I borrow a pentacycle from the school parking lot (they appear to be free as long as one returns it to an appropriate orange-colored parking space), and take off. I pedal along what appears to be the main street of Tumbolia, paying careful attention to my surroundings. On one street corner a man peddles extinguished light bulbs. On opposite corners of an intersection the supermarkets Super Duper Discount Groceries For Less and Fred's Gigantic Market are competing to attract customers. A ten-story building looms ahead and to my right; upon passing it, I learn it is the Hotel California. At long last, I steer the pentacycle into an orange-colored parking space and dismount, entering the library. It is an amazing sight. What looked like a simple two-story building from the outside must hold millions of books, magazines, and other media. I approach the nearest help kiosk on the near wall. Behind it is a huge poster announcing a live performance of all five moments of Schubert's Eighth (Unfinished) Symphony. I am met by a tall young man who appears to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. "Can I help you?" he asks. "Yes, I'm looking for the book Goedel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas R. Hofstadter. Do you have it currently checked in?" "Let me check." He types the title into the computer in front of him. I stare at him while he waits for the results to appear. He is quite handsome. "No, we don't appear to have that book. However, you might want to check out Gold Cheer Beaches by Arthur Dodge Flassot. It's the top result in the computer." I ask him where the book is. The library is too large to go off in search of it without guidance. James (or at least that's what it says on his nametag) offers to show me where it is and I gladly accept his offer. We finally stop at a bookshelf toward the back left corner of the store. James picks one of three paperback copies of Gold Cheer Beaches off the shelf and hands it to me. "Do you have any other questions for me?"
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unknown adventurer
12/1/2004 10:38:54 PM
Extending Enabled
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