The concepts of boundaries,
borders, and mysteries of the unknown are as old as humanity, and still fascinating today ...
Secret societies
across history have captured the imagination through their exclusive “hidden knowledge.” One way they screen outsiders is a secret
handshake or password. The practice
persists today in military codewords and the nuclear-launch codes which once
prevented accidental Armageddon (since updated to computer control).
After sinning,
biblical forebears Adam and Eve were forever barred from the Garden of Eden; an
angel with a flaming sword prevented their return to paradise.
Star Trek’s episodes and films inaccurately described
barriers at the edge and the center of our galaxy.
Edwin A. Abbott’s
1884 masterpiece Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions depicted contact between
entities living on our three-dimensional plane with life in two and even one
dimensions.
Communication
with the dead is described in the Bible and in Homer’s Odyssey. The concept was given new popularity by the
Spiritualist movement in 19th-Century England and America. Nowadays it’s easy to find a medium or
sensitive willing to connect to a “spirit guide,” who promises you can talk to
Aunt Hilda on the Cosmic Telephone. Just
don’t take any stock tips or racing results.
Folks never did
believe you could sail over the edge of the Earth. Ancient Greeks understood the world’s
spherical nature; anybody who watched a ship sail past an ocean horizon could
see the truth. Scholars of the Middle
Ages likewise understood our planet’s shape and general dimensions. The only known planet on which you could fall
off the edge is a recent discovery—the cube world, Htrae, home of DC Comics’
Bizarros.
Borderline
Personality Disorder is an affliction reflected by feelings of emptiness and
fears of abandonment. Sufferers may have
problems respecting others’ privacy as they strive for inclusion and
connection. Hypersensivity to others’
unintended rebuffs or invitations may torture the sufferer, as they seek
contact.
The Ouija board
was introduced commercially in the US in 1890.
Generations of youngsters have scared themselves silly by using the
board for do-it-yourself séances. Some
churches declare that playing with the board can invite demonic
possession. But it’s all pretend,
right? Tell that to believers in
Patience Worth, an entity contacted through the Ouija in 1913, who became a
sensational “proof” of spiritual contact.
The next time you
doubt the power of artificial borders, marvel at the little yellow line that
keeps oncoming drivers on their side
of the street.
Secret handshakes
and passwords are only two of the ways secret societies try to insulate against
outsiders. The storied speakeasies of
the American Prohibition era wouldn’t let you in without a current
password. This is parodied in Who
Framed Roger Rabbit; the password to the Ink & Paint Club is “Walt
sent me”—Walt Disney, that is.
Restricted access
applies in military situations, too.
Nuclear launch authorization used to be dependent on shared passcodes or
phrases—a high-tech version of the frontier’s “Friend or foe?” Most metropolitan police forces have similar
systems. Someone calling from an outside
network may be challenged to provide the “color of the day” or similar inside
information.
Be thankful for
edges and boundaries—remember H.P. Lovecraft’s observation: If knowledge were wide open, man’s puny mind
would break down before stark reality!
The “line in the
sand” of yore has no certain original.
Supposedly, Col. William Travis called for volunteers to fight to the
death by his side at the Alamo by drawing a line with his sword, in 1836. In AD 168, a Roman consul encircled a king
and forced him to choose peace or war before stepping over the line. Crossing that line in the sand is supposed to
symbolize a definite point of no return.
However, the phrase’s impact continues to be diluted by politicians, who
usually do nothing but bluster when the metaphorical border is crossed.
See you Thursday, if you can stay in the lines!
Panel three is another narrative goof. WHAT is Miriam reacting to? There should be a text box at the top, something like, "A clank in another part of the theatre surprises Miriam."
I learned in college that what happens to Miriam is an example of the trope "the biter gets bit." This was used as the title of a story by Wilkie Collins, but in general it means, "someone suffers as a result of their own actions, especially when they were trying to hurt someone else."
