tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 08 06:17:16 1994

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Compass



>From: [email protected] (Joachim E. Deussen)
>Date: Wed, 27 Jul 1994 21:38:17 +0200

>On Mo 25.07.1994 at 22:44:57 you wrote in /KLINGON
>under the subject 'Compass':


>pu> Direction the sun rises?
>pu> ******************************************************************

>How do we know, that the sun of the KHW rises the same direction as Sol
>does on earth? Is there any source STE or something else) that describes
>the rotation or other orbiting parameters of the KHW? If we see a mercator-
>projection of earth, we know, sun rises in the east or right of the map
>and it sets left or in the west. Couldn't it be just the opposite on
>the KHW?

There are two answers.  My first answer, the weak one:

So we're not talking about things on the KHW.  We're discussing local usage
on this planet.  That's the excuse I gave when I relabeled colors in
Twister (renamed baghwI') to "Hov'a'"/yellow, "tI"/green, "chal"/blue, and
"'Iw"/red (the color-words we have don't suffice).  So Klingon vegetation
isn't green,  or their sky not blue?  So those associations are very
English in origin?  So what?  They're playing on earth adn referring to
*local* things by their color.  So there.

The strong answer:

That's what East and West mean.  If you have a planet that's spinning on
its axis, then North is where the spin looks counterclockwise.  East is in
the direction of the spijn, West is the other way, and South is opposite
north.  Now, if you have a day-night cycle at all, and the planet's
orbitting a sun in a fairly normal way, unless the rotation is slower than
the revolution (i.e. the "day" is longer than the "year")--a rare
occurrence, if it happens--the sun will *always* rise in the East and set
in the West.  That's what the terms mean.  Maybe not due east/west, but
definitely there.  OK?


>see you on the edge of the final frontier,
>Joachim

~mark



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