The Afterlife

[EmeraldPhoenix]

I was looking through old strips, and now I have a question.

In Strip 492 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0492.html), Roy sees the afterlife for lawful good people. It includes things like "The Debate Hall Where You're Always Right".

But how would that work? That seems like an afterlife specifically designed for Roy.

If, in the debate hall, you're alway's right, then doesn't somebody else have to be wrong? It can't be their "always right" debate hall, can it?

Likewise with the "Tavern of Endless One-Night Stands". Girls that like you? Are those girls free-thinking? There have to be a million people who don't like you on a first meeting, so why is it that the only ones there are the ones that DO? And what about other guys; hasn't anyone ever gotten into a bar fight about who gets to have a one night stand with a specific girl? And what about ugly girls/guys? They all have an equal chance and nobody ever wants the same person?

I came up with a few options:


Each person has his or her own section of the afterlife, with those specific attractions. (Not likely, because Roy and his brother live with their mom.)
The whole thing is set up with epic magic, so if you enter, say, the Debate Hall, you enter your own specific version of the Debate Hall, but other people end up in their own version.
Everyone is just happy with each-other (not likely; just because somebody is LG, doesn't mean they get along.)
There is an illusion set up that makes it seem like everyone agrees with you, while everyone else thinks you agree with them, even if you have wildly opposing opinions.


Anybody else got anything? 'Cause I'm stumped.

[Connington]

With the Debate hall, I'm definitely going to go with constructs, like The Dungeon of Monsters That Are Just Strong Enough To Really Challenge You presumably are. The Bar of infinite one night stands is pretty easy though. Just think of it as essentially the perfect matchmaker or internet site. The people who like to talk are balanced out by the people who like to listen, ugly girls, are set up with guys who have unusual fetishes or ideas of what beauty is. The balance is tricky, but they don't have to be perfect, just really good.

[grautry]

Well, as Roy's grandfather said everything there is shaped by belief one way or another.

I think it can work like this: if you believe that you're going into an infinite-one-night-stand-tavern then you'll find a girl of the precise sort you'd want to find, who's both free-willed and attracted enough to you that she'll want a one night stand. Your belief shaped her into being.

Same with the debate hall. Your belief that you are right will shape a being with the sort of ideas that can be proven wrong by you.

And yeah, that probably heavily involves small parallel realities.

[Callista]

I'm really, really surprised they don't have a Library Full of Fascinating Books. I mean, think about it--all those LG knowledge-obsessed wizards have to go somewhere, and if they're as geeky as me, the first place they'll want to visit is a library where you can just close your eyes, grab a book, sit down, and find it's exactly the sort you love to read. Plenty of Lawful people love knowledge; and there's always the fiction section for people who like entertaining books; or poetry; or biographies of all the great Lawful Good heroes of the world... I think I'd spend about a million years in that library. And a perfect library, too--no jargon-obsessed "I can't write but I'm too smart to know it" scientist/authors; no vapid, pointless, cardboard-character romance; no angsty, illiterate poetry published because it seemed "edgy"; no randomly dog-eared pages or screaming three-year-old kids; and best of all, no freaking closing time. Now that would be heaven.

[Zevox]

I'm really, really surprised they don't have a Library Full of Fascinating Books.
There probably is. Remember, the locations the Archon pointed out to Roy were just the ones he thought would appeal most to Roy, not all of the locations there are to choose from.

Zevox

[EmeraldPhoenix]

I'm really, really surprised they don't have a Library Full of Fascinating Books. I mean, think about it--all those LG knowledge-obsessed wizards have to go somewhere, and if they're as geeky as me, the first place they'll want to visit is a library where you can just close your eyes, grab a book, sit down, and find it's exactly the sort you love to read. Plenty of Lawful people love knowledge; and there's always the fiction section for people who like entertaining books; or poetry; or biographies of all the great Lawful Good heroes of the world... I think I'd spend about a million years in that library. And a perfect library, too--no jargon-obsessed "I can't write but I'm too smart to know it" scientist/authors; no vapid, pointless, cardboard-character romance; no angsty, illiterate poetry published because it seemed "edgy"; no randomly dog-eared pages or screaming three-year-old kids; and best of all, no freaking closing time. Now that would be heaven.

:smallsmile::smallbiggrin: When I die, that single building will be all that my heaven consists of. A perfect library. (Complete with Harry Potter books 8-100, and best of all, no Twilight books!)

[Morquard]

Strangely enough I had the same thoughts when I read through those strips a few days ago.
I figured that at least the debate hall and similar locations aren't manned with real people. As you said to be always right, someone else has to be always wrong, and that kind of sucks.
Not to mention a debate where you know the other just agrees with you even if you say "The sky is blue. Uh no wait, its pink-yellow stripes, with green dots all over" is kind of boring. But then some of those wizards might actually like the place ;)

As for the Tavern of Infinite One-Night-Stands. At first I thought it might be similar. Not real girls/guys in there (depending on your gender and sexual orientation), but just a bunch of illusions or whatever to choose from. But that sounds just wrong really.
The perfect matchmaking stuff makes alot more sense. Remember they have millions and more people to choose from, and everyone who goes there wants a one night stand, so I don't think its hard to find a bunch of people that like each other.

[Terrace]

Point-by-point personal viewing of each of these ideas:

Library Full of Fascinating Books: I would love this. But who says there can't be books filled with lots of technical jargon for LG patrons who enjoy such things? I know I'd happily devour such books.

Debate Hall Where You're Always Right: I agree with the Construct idea. There's simply no way you could convince another LG patron of your point of view and allow it to keep it's name for everyone.

Tavern of Infinite One-Night Stands: Originally I thought it was lots of fake people (like several others did), but now I can't help but view it as an afterlife matchmaking service with all the bugs worked out that still plague eHarmony and other online sites today.

Dungeon of Monsters Just Strong Enough to Really Challenge You: Useful training location for patrons who are going to be raised from the dead to make use of during their 'downtime.' Wouldn't want a little thing like death to keep you from getting rusty, after all...

[EmeraldPhoenix]

Point-by-point personal viewing of each of these ideas:

Library Full of Fascinating Books: I would love this. But who says there can't be books filled with lots of technical jargon for LG patrons who enjoy such things? I know I'd happily devour such books.

Debate Hall Where You're Always Right: I agree with the Construct idea. There's simply no way you could convince another LG patron of your point of view and allow it to keep it's name for everyone.

Tavern of Infinite One-Night Stands: Originally I thought it was lots of fake people (like several others did), but now I can't help but view it as an afterlife matchmaking service with all the bugs worked out that still plague eHarmony and other online sites today.

Dungeon of Monsters Just Strong Enough to Really Challenge You: Useful training location for patrons who are going to be raised from the dead to make use of during their 'downtime.' Wouldn't want a little thing like death to keep you from getting rusty, after all...

Don't forget All Steaks Go To Heaven!

You could be their PR man.

[Silakka]

I always just thought those places and the mountain itself is heaven for the PCs, and the people you meet at the debate hall and tavern are just NPCs who happen to agree/want to make out with you. Because it's heaven and everything goes your way. Even the unimportant NPCs.

[Milskidasith]

I kind of think there should be a bar of getting drunk and never having a hangover. That would be nice (although it might be the same with All Steaks go to Heaven).

[R. Malcovitch]

My thought with the Tavern was that it would automatically find someone that is currently there that matches up with you, and if none exists then it creates one automatically. As for the Debate Hall it would all be fabrications.

As for where they get these, constructs are a possibility, as is angels. Manning the attractions could be a job on the heavenly roster.

[EmeraldPhoenix]

My thought with the Tavern was that it would automatically find someone that is currently there that matches up with you, and if none exists then it creates one automatically. As for the Debate Hall it would all be fabrications.

As for where they get these, constructs are a possibility, as is angels. Manning the attractions could be a job on the heavenly roster.

But seriously, doesn't that sound a little...creepy, to you? Having a one night stand with someone when you don't know whether or not they were tailor-created for you? Having sex with something that may not be an actual person?:smalleek:

[AstralStorm]

Doesn't it sound pretty boring to always have your way? What's the point really? (I know, Roy's Archon explained it well enough).

BTW, ask any people who ever had sex with a doll... :tongue:

[EmeraldPhoenix]

Doesn't it sound pretty boring to always have your way? What's the point really? (I know, Roy's Archon explained it well enough).

BTW, ask any people who ever had sex with a doll... :tongue:

But they understand that the object isn't real. Having the uncertainty of not knowing...you'd always have that doubt there. I'd rather know ahead of time. (I mean, I wouldn't do it, actually, but if I had to, I'd want to know.):smallsigh::smalleek::smallsigh:

Okay, so apart from my discomfort here, I think the valid point still stands: While some people do "do it" with things that aren't people, I think that's the sort of thing you'd want to figure out ahead of time, right? Right?:smalleek:

[Lissou]

The people in the Debate hall could come from a "hell" afterlife. Their punishment being to get in there, have people tell them stuff, and they're forced to agree no matter how ridiculous they think it is.

[NerfTW]

But seriously, doesn't that sound a little...creepy, to you? Having a one night stand with someone when you don't know whether or not they were tailor-created for you? Having sex with something that may not be an actual person?:smalleek:

Yes, that's why it's on the first level of the mountain.

Besides the "Those aren't actual people" thing, a lot of readers seem to be missing the
"the first tier of attractions... those that deal with sorting out all of the messed up urges you people have left over..."


It's supposed to be cheap and meaningless. That's the whole point. That's why the debate hall always lets you win, and you can have meaningless sex with no connections required. Because it's the lowest level of the mountain. If you find the idea of always winning debates or meaningless sex with no emotional connection wrong and pointless, then congratulations, you can head straight up to the next level of enlightenment and skip them.

The lowest levels are for the people who can't move past hedonistic pleasures. Remember, Lawful Good doesn't mean you can't still be a shallow individual.

[Elfey]

Yeah the mountain gets higher and higher, each level is more spiritual and intellectual, these are just the attractions on the first level and Roy really doesn't have time to go higher yet. Unless of course he dies in the next few strips and has a total party kill.

I'd think that such a great library as people asked for would be higher on the mountain as this layer seems to be about more biological needs. It could also be that Roy's just not a reader and his Archon knew that. After all, Roy likes meat, he likes women, he likes fighting and he likes debating his friends. It's what Roy would expect for his heaven, at last for the initial bits.

As to being willed in to existence? Well yeah. Planescape ftw.

[Didgin]

Maybe the tavern and the debate hall also serve as a panishment for people with a resume less bright than Roy's. They get punishment like working for 100 years as a one night stand, and than being given a proper place in the afterlife

[thepsyker]

Maybe the tavern and the debate hall also serve as a panishment for people with a resume less bright than Roy's. They get punishment like working for 100 years as a one night stand, and than being given a proper place in the afterlifeActually that seems even more disturbing than the idea that they might just be constructs IMHO.

[Kish]

I would venture that "you have to be a sex slave for a hundred years first" is quite thoroughly evil. The deva indicated that if Roy didn't pass her inspection, the result would be his case file getting sent to a different afterlife, not him being stuck in the non-LG part of the LG afterlife.

[Starscream]

Judging from the behavior of Violet and Roy's Mom, consequence-free sex appeals to both genders. And seeing as every LG person who has died ever is somewhere on that mountain, there are probably plenty of women who hang out at the tavern as well.

Attractiveness is probably not an issue either, seeing as everyone looks how they feel they should look. For all you know that hot chick you just picked up was an eighty year old grandmother when she died, and is looking to hook up just to make up for lost time.

[73 Bits of Lint]

I'd think that such a great library as people asked for would be higher on the mountain as this layer seems to be about more biological needs.
Somehow, I can't imagine I Am America and So Can You, Bored of the Rings or Azumanga Daioh as typical post-enlightenment fare. True, Buddha is often shown laughing, but I doubt it was in response to fart jokes.

Another possibility is that the stuff up the mountain only exists in the mind of the individual dead person. Roy didn't really meet his mother/brother/grandfather, he just met a divinely created imitation that would satisfy his emotional needs. So the women at the tavern, the debaters at the hall, and just about everyone else, are just there to help amuse Roy.

[Cracklord]

I would like the chapel of instantly and concisely answered prayers.

[Froogleyboy]

:smallsmile::smallbiggrin: When I die, that single building will be all that my heaven consists of. A perfect library. (Complete with Harry Potter books 8-100, and best of all, no Twilight books!)

Hellz yeah!

[silvadel]

That wouldnt be heaven -- that would be a personal version of .... like in the twilight zone. (In reference to lints remark -- 2 other replies snuck inbetween).

The virtual library of things that werent written would be cute...

Star trek the 4th and 5th season...

etc.

[Kilremgor]

I doubt there are imitations, save for Debate Hall. It is Lawful afterlife, after all; to cheat the petitioners there would've been quite Chaotic.
As for matchmaking processes, there's one great simplifying factor: different flow of time.
Imagine you walk up to the tavern. While it may seem just a minute, in fact, it may be the whatever time is needed for a suitable person of opposite sex 'matching' you to become available.
And yes, this is the lowest level of afterlife, and still quite necessary for enlightment purposes. There could be plenty of LG folks that haven't experienced much 'simple' joy in their lives (and possibly met quite gruesome fate), so they at least could have some after they die. It is fair if some 100-year old 'seen it all, died of old age' LG wizard petitioner gets into his intellectual/spiritual level of afterlife at once, but not really fair if some 18-year-old guard killed defending his home city is forced to skip all the things he could've experienced in mortal life.

[Cracklord]

You know, there are already mre books then it is possible to read, and many of them are good. You don't need to die to appreciate them. Just broarden your interests a bit.

[73 Bits of Lint]

That wouldnt be heaven -- that would be a personal version of .... like in the twilight zone. (In reference to lints remark -- 2 other replies snuck inbetween).
I don't see why heaven can't be solipsist. It would help deal with population issues in the afterlife (like never running the risk of meeting your annoying neighbor just because he shared your alignment, being able to "meet" family members who might not have qualified for entry).
A lighter version would have Heaven's actual geography and appearance being different depending on who is perceiving it. Roy's heaven has no libraries, whereas the Heaven of a prudish individual wouldn't have a Tavern of Infinite One-Night Stands.

The virtual library of things that werent written would be cute...

Star trek the 4th and 5th season...

etc.
A version of Gunslinger Girl Vol. 6 and on where Petrushka is never introduced and Pinocchio survives the car crash to have a shot at revenge.

[Mando Knight]

Don't forget All Steaks Go To Heaven!

Celestial beef tastes so much better than Stench Kow.

Seriously, the Mountains of Celestia vs the Nine Hells. No contest in afterlife quality at all.

[Cracklord]

So what you are basicly saying is that heaven would be a place where books and movies end the way you want them to? Wouldn't that get really old, really fast?

[Callista]

Well, maybe it does, after a few hundred years. It hasn't gotten old to me in twenty-six, and that's with imperfect libraries. They do say there's a lot more, further up the mountain.

[Cracklord]

I hate predictable books myself. As they said in English, you got to drag your characters through hell, because the escapades of the ordinary are boring. If everyone always ended up with who they were supposed to, and nobody ever died I doubt I'd enjoy reading.

[Tenebrais]

Why would 'ending the way you want it to' necessarily mean a happy ending? What if I wanted a book to end on a masterful twist that I was not expecting? I'm sure heaven could accommodate for that. Although, given that Celestia is shaped by belief, I'm not sure how that fits in with believing in things you don't know...

[Moriarty]

I hate predictable books myself. As they said in English, you got to drag your characters through hell, because the escapades of the ordinary are boring. If everyone always ended up with who they were supposed to, and nobody ever died I doubt I'd enjoy reading.

if the books are good then they propably aren't predictable.

a great book doesn't have to end in the exact way you want it to while youre reading to be considered good (by you)

[EmeraldPhoenix]

I hate predictable books myself. As they said in English, you got to drag your characters through hell, because the escapades of the ordinary are boring. If everyone always ended up with who they were supposed to, and nobody ever died I doubt I'd enjoy reading.

I didn't say the books all had to end predictably. I would enjoy re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, myself.

Dang, ninja'd.

[Cracklord]

if the books are good then they propably aren't predictable.

a great book doesn't have to end in the exact way you want it to while youre reading to be considered good (by you)

Isn't that my argument?
I was raising a point that a lot of people seem to be saying they want to be in a library where there are books where things went as they hope, aka one character ended up with another or whatever. I was pointing out that if it went as you wanted, the show would be much less interesting, and it was the very factor that it didn't that kept you watching it.

[Lissou]

I think it's just a different interpretation of "ending in the way you want".
If you take it as meaning something extremely specific like "this, this and that happen", and that you personally are aware that you want it to happen that way, and it does, then, yes, that's predictable.

However, if that means ending in the best way for you to enjoy the book, that's completely different. It can be sad. It can be happy. It can be unexpected, or somewhat expected. But it won't get old reading books you can actually enjoy without thinking after reading the end "man, the end ruined it. I feel like I've wasted the four hours reading this book, and I've got all of eternity".

I interpret it as the second choice, myself. Take oots. I don't have a clear-cut opinion of how I want it to end. But I want it to keep surprising me.

And if I read a mystery novel and think I know who the murderer is, sometimes I'll want to be right, but most of the time I'll want to be wrong, proving that the book was better planned and thought-through than I thought.

[Cracklord]

Oh.
Thanks for clarrifying that.

[i6uuaq]

But they understand that the object isn't real. Having the uncertainty of not knowing...you'd always have that doubt there. I'd rather know ahead of time. (I mean, I wouldn't do it, actually, but if I had to, I'd want to know.):smallsigh::smalleek::smallsigh:

Okay, so apart from my discomfort here, I think the valid point still stands: While some people do "do it" with things that aren't people, I think that's the sort of thing you'd want to figure out ahead of time, right? Right?:smalleek:

try googling the term "uncanny valley". :smallsmile:

[Optimystik]

Bottom line: if everything on that level of the mountain seems trite/weird/unsatisfying to you, congratulations! Keep climbing!

If some things/everything on that level of the mountain sounds awesome to you, congratulations! Hang out for a century or three.

That's the primary difference between the Upper Planes and the Lower - both end up with you assimilated into that afterlife, but with the Upper it's an extremely gradual and peaceful process, with the petitioner in full control. With the Lower, the only similarity is the "gradual" part.

[Blackjackg]

Huh. Lot of fans of the Big Perfect Library.

Don't get me wrong, I dig reading. But the idea of spending eternity in a library is pretty horrific (even if my glasses don't get broken in an ironic twist). If I'm in heaven and can do anything I want, all the time, I'm going to spend an hour a day reading, tops. Most of my time would be spent in the Hall of Rollicking Good Times With Loved Ones Who've Also Died, hang-gliding in the Valley of Things That Are Exhilarating But Pose No Actual Threat, or drinking in the Cafe Where You Have Deep Philosophical Discussions With Famous Thinkers. Then, after making dinner in the Kitchen With All the Best Ingredients And No Chance of Burning Them, I might snuggle up in bed with one (or two, or three...) of the aforementioned loved ones and read a good book brought to me by the Dutiful Celestial Room Service without ever actually setting foot in the library.

And Harry Potter 8+ is not on the reading list.

[Cracklord]

Huh. Lot of fans of the Big Perfect Library.

Don't get me wrong, I dig reading. But the idea of spending eternity in a library is pretty horrific (even if my glasses don't get broken in an ironic twist). If I'm in heaven and can do anything I want, all the time, I'm going to spend an hour a day reading, tops. Most of my time would be spent in the Hall of Rollicking Good Times With Loved Ones Who've Also Died, hang-gliding in the Valley of Things That Are Exhilarating But Pose No Actual Threat, or drinking in the Cafe Where You Have Deep Philosophical Discussions With Famous Thinkers. Then, after making dinner in the Kitchen With All the Best Ingredients And No Chance of Burning Them, I might snuggle up in bed with one (or two, or three...) of the aforementioned loved ones and read a good book brought to me by the Dutiful Celestial Room Service without ever actually setting foot in the library.

And Harry Potter 8+ is not on the reading list.

That sounds good.
Of course I'd probably go to the mueseam of art you don't have to understand to appreciate and aforementioned chappel somewhere along there to.

[dps]

You know, there are already mre books then it is possible to read, and many of them are good. You don't need to die to appreciate them. Just broarden your interests a bit.

My interests are plenty broad enough (much like my waistline). But not counting webcomics, I doubt that I've read half a dozen fictional works in the last 3 years, and not much more non-fiction than that. I just don't have the time. In the afterlife, I'd have infinate time.

[David Argall]

In Strip 492 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0492.html), Roy sees the afterlife for lawful good people. It includes things like "The Debate Hall Where You're Always Right".

But how would that work? That seems like an afterlife specifically designed for Roy.
It is, or at least are the parts he is likely to be interested in.


If, in the debate hall, you're alway's right, then doesn't somebody else have to be wrong? It can't be their "always right" debate hall, can it?
The Hells also have a debate hall where you are always right. The difference is that in the lower group, you just can't find the convincing arguments.
As suggested, your debate opponents are largely recruited from the Abyss who are suffering some of their punishment. However sometimes you do lose in the debate and are convinced by your opponent. [Being always right does not mean you always start out right. You just always end up being right.]


Likewise with the "Tavern of Endless One-Night Stands". Girls that like you? Are those girls free-thinking? There have to be a million people who don't like you on a first meeting, so why is it that the only ones there are the ones that DO?
The bar is very well organized and the girls/boys/whatever that you would like, and who would like you, are in the same part of the bar as you are. [Properly, there should not be a bar of one-night stand in a LG heaven. It belongs in the CG heaven.]



And what about ugly girls/guys? They all have an equal chance and nobody ever wants the same person?
There are advantages to dealing with infinity. Since there are an infinite number of girls, there are an infinite number of hot girls, and an infinite number of hot blonds, and an infinite number of hot blonds who have the hots for short balding guys with bad breath... You are just not going to be left with nobody you want. There is going to be an infinite number for you to choose from. The same applies to all possible combinations. You are going to leave with something you want to leave with and nobody is going to leave alone.



But seriously, doesn't that sound a little...creepy, to you? Having a one night stand with someone when you don't know whether or not they were tailor-created for you? Having sex with something that may not be an actual person?

Yup, it seems pretty clear you are not male.

[Cracklord]

Everyone appears like they want too. Kind of gets rid of the whole attraction problem.

[Random832]

The bar is very well organized and the girls/boys/whatever that you would like, and who would like you, are in the same part of the bar as you are. [Properly, there should not be a bar of one-night stand in a LG heaven. It belongs in the CG heaven.]

Why do you say that? Because they're Lawful they're not allowed to enjoy sex?

[Blackjackg]

[Properly, there should not be a bar of one-night stand in a LG heaven. It belongs in the CG heaven.]


That seems like an imposition of the rules of certain real-world religions onto an unknown hypothetical metaphysical construct. Not without precedent in D&D, of course, but there's no logical reason that in this cosmology, mutually consensual one-night stands should be chaotic.

[ArcadiaGM]

That wouldnt be heaven -- that would be a personal version of .... like in the twilight zone. (In reference to lints remark -- 2 other replies snuck inbetween).

The virtual library of things that werent written would be cute...

Star trek the 4th and 5th season...

etc.

How about Seasons 4 and 5 of Babylon 5, unmarred by the uncertainty of the production and meddling by the Turner Network?

[NerfTW]

[Properly, there should not be a bar of one-night stand in a LG heaven. It belongs in the CG heaven.]

I'm going to join the chorus in saying you're projecting your own hangups about sex onto the "Lawful" alignment. Lawful is following a code of conduct. Nothing about following a code of conduct says that your code of conduct has to contain "no cheap sex", just like there's nothing in code of conduct that says you can't laugh at fart jokes or enjoy a harmless prank.

That's paladins you're thinking of.

[EmeraldPhoenix]

Huh. Lot of fans of the Big Perfect Library.

Don't get me wrong, I dig reading. But the idea of spending eternity in a library is pretty horrific (even if my glasses don't get broken in an ironic twist). If I'm in heaven and can do anything I want, all the time, I'm going to spend an hour a day reading, tops. Most of my time would be spent in the , hang-gliding in the Valley of Things That Are Exhilarating But Pose No Actual Threat, or drinking in the Cafe Where You Have Deep Philosophical Discussions With Famous Thinkers. Then, after making dinner in the Kitchen With All the Best Ingredients And No Chance of Burning Them, I might snuggle up in bed with one (or two, or three...) of the aforementioned loved ones and read a good book brought to me by the Dutiful Celestial Room Service without ever actually setting foot in the library.

And Harry Potter 8+ is not on the reading list.

And this is why I'm a huge nerd and you are not.

Some of those things sound mildly appealing to me, actually. (I would definately spend some time in that "Hall of Rollicking Good Times With Loved Ones Who've Also Died"; too many people would be there:smallfrown:.) But I'm a giant geek (I even have the glasses to prove it!) and I would love a library. Although, others on my list of dorky places to go: "The Perfectly Beautiful Art Museum" "The Hall of Challenging Chess Games" "The Ultimate-Never-ending, Anyone-can-join-D&D-Game-atorium" and "The Cafe of Infinite Facinating Facts and Answers".

[SadisticFishing]

Psh Paladins just have to be Lawful. It's the Good side that they're really bogged down on.

[Terrace]

"The Cafe of Infinite Facinating Facts and Answers".

With many of those facts pulled from the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader book series, perhaps?

[Crel]

I gotta agree with several ideas. Super library? Oh yeah. I'm in the geeks-with-glasses club and proud of it. Eternal great perfect difficulty DND games is another great idea. Or (my idea) The Hall Of Rock Gods Who Want To Teach You to Play, etc. Hey, if you've got infinite time, go crazy. Although that might become literally.

[Cracklord]

The cafe where people you've idolised your entire life just happen to sit next to you and start a conversation on a subject you're interested in?

[R. Malcovitch]

A library? A theoretical existence in which the laws of scarcity do not apply and you want a LIBRARY????

Just... wow.

[Olorin Maia]

The cafe where people you've idolised your entire life just happen to sit next to you and start a conversation on a subject you're interested in?

That sounds completely amazing. Sign me up for that one (Although I would probably get into the neutral good afterlife and not the lawful, but whatever. I can meet people outside instead of in a cafe).

[Trizap]

for the Debate Hall where you are always right it could all just be really powerful illusions.

for example everyone single one of the people in there would be talking- but they wouldn't actually hear each others opposing argument, just a bunch of people agreeing with them instead, really simple in my opinion.

as for my personal heavens: The Writing Building of Perfect Storymaking, The Infinite Video game Arcade, The Comedy Stage where You are Always Funny,
The Perfect Library, and the Infinite Roleplayers Hall, and finally, The Infinite Mad Scientists Lab.

ah yes, that would be great.

[73 Bits of Lint]

A library? A theoretical existence in which the laws of scarcity do not apply and you want a LIBRARY????

Just... wow.
You've obviously never had to figure out how the measly paycheck your part-time job affords you is going to be stretched to cover books, DVDs, cigarettes, alcohol, food and a ticket to that Lamb of God concert in May. When I had a regular girlfriend, I had to cut my manga budget entirely and pare everything else to the bone (which probably accelerated the death of that relationship).
Not to mention the fits of agitation that arise when you discover that all the libraries copies of some obscure, expensive philosophy book have been checked out by grad students and won't be returned to the library until the end of the semester, if then.

So, yeah, infinite libraries are nothing to scoff at. Although, the Tobacco Store Where Every Hit Is Like Your First Time and You Never Have to Think About Lung Cancer or Addiction would also be pretty high on my list of places to visit.

[Nimrod's Son]

However sometimes you do lose in the debate and are convinced by your opponent. [Being always right does not mean you always start out right. You just always end up being right.
Not sure where you get that idea from... if you are always right then you are right at the start of the debate as well as at the end. That's what "always" means.


Why do you say that? Because they're Lawful they're not allowed to enjoy sex?
No! Don't ask him that!

CAN. OF. WORMS. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102983)

[Random832]

You've obviously never had to figure out how the measly paycheck your part-time job affords you is going to be stretched to cover books, ...

So, yeah, infinite libraries are nothing to scoff at.

I think his point was that in heaven there's no logical need to have a requirement to return the book (since the place can just have infinite copies for everyone to take home), and without that calling it a "library" doesn't make sense.

[73 Bits of Lint]

I think his point was that in heaven there's no logical need to have a requirement to return the book (since the place can just have infinite copies for everyone to take home), and without that calling it a "library" doesn't make sense.
It's Lawful Good heaven. I'm sure that at least a few people there get off on returning the book on time and in good condition.

[Random832]

More to the point, people probably don't take the book home in the first place - even if it's an option, the library provides a nice quiet place to read, and there's no closing time - you'd start reading and then lose track of time until you finish your entire stack of books.

[Lissou]

I'm introverted and socially awkward, as I assume a bunch of people here are, too.
Spending time with other people would happen in my ideal heaven, but it would be a smaller portion of my time than reading or other individual activities (including but not limited to videogames, learning stuff, crafting...)
Ideally, I probably wouldn't even see them that often, just talk to them over the phone or on the Internet.

And meeting famous people? Way too shy, I'd rather watch a TV show were they answer all questions I might have. Or, you know, read a book about it :P

[Avilan the Grey]

But seriously, doesn't that sound a little...creepy, to you? Having a one night stand with someone when you don't know whether or not they were tailor-created for you? Having sex with something that may not be an actual person?:smalleek:

If it's something any SF or Fantasy "geek" would know by now is that if a being thinks of itself as a person, it's a person! :smallsmile:

[Avilan the Grey]

So what you are basicly saying is that heaven would be a place where books and movies end the way you want them to? Wouldn't that get really old, really fast?

You mean where Ducky (not NCIS) gets the chick!? Yay!!