The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Cold Days: Attack on Demonreach
raidem:
I don't think Bob may have the 'exact' rule correct.
There needs to be a cosmic rule to apply for mortality vs immortality.
groinkick:
Interesting fact.... Harry Houdini died on Halloween...
Quantus:
--- Quote from: peregrine on January 26, 2018, 12:20:09 AM ---Which does raise a good point. Maybe it's each time zone's bird. Or even each "area." That the first birdsong in range counts, but if you're a few hundred miles away, you've got some extra time.
Which then brings up the question of what about places that have no birds at all.
I don't think there's some Ur-bird that does it, otherwise Bob wouldn't have listed the multiple options, but does the first bird song of England cut things short for California?
A better option would probably be dawn or dusk or something.
--- End quote ---
Theoretically Dawn and Dusk could be equally as subjective and prone to local variation (from topography if nothing else). I think Id be ok with it being a bit more of a local effect, bubbles of Night 'popping' into Day around Birds adn overlapping until it becomes continuous effect, as opposed to a hard line waving across the world. I can also be ok with Bob's description being accurate to how it works in the American Midwest, but that there exists some other trigger event in bird-less climates, out in the ocean, etc.
raidem:
And what would happen if all birds become extinct?
This is why I think Bob's rule isn't the exact rule that is taking place behind the scenes. The 'first' bird is just attuned to the rule. In the absence of any birds, there may be something else that has an effect by being attuned to it. I mean think of some of the rules of physics. We have generic equations that work in most conditions but when stretched to extreme conditions these generic equations are proved false and we now need better equations to model what works. The 'first bird crow/birdsong' is a generic rule which then gets replaced by some other model.
--- Quote ---A better option would probably be dawn or dusk or something.
--- End quote ---
This is a better option, some wave that sweeps over the Earth, but this would require a sweeping mortality/immortality wave on Halloween. If immortals want to continue on with their feeding, they'd need to keep up with this wave until the entire conjunction ceases for all portions of Earth.
It seems the end of the day is something that lags dawn but during the night/early morning. (you can get further discrepancies at the polar regions where you get near all light 'days' or the opposite.
Quantus:
--- Quote from: raidem on January 26, 2018, 02:23:54 PM ---And what would happen if all birds become extinct?
This is why I think Bob's rule isn't the exact rule that is taking place behind the scenes. The 'first' bird is just attuned to the rule. In the absence of any birds, there may be something else that has an effect by being attuned to it. I mean think of some of the rules of physics. We have generic equations that work in most conditions but when stretched to extreme conditions these generic equations are proved false and we now need better equations to model what works. The 'first bird crow/birdsong' is a generic rule which then gets replaced by some other model.
--- End quote ---
That seems reasonable to me, it's more or less like the Stars for Conjuctions; they arent involved at all in the Cause-effect of it, they are just a reasonably reliable measuring stick for it. It's mentioned that magically sensitive people can just /feel/ the change of Day and Night, so it would not be out of the question for Birds to simply be naturally sensitive to the feel of that Transition, like dogs detecting earthquakes
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