The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

1884-85 The time that Eb took up the Blackstaff

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Yuillegan:

--- Quote from: Belial666 on October 26, 2019, 05:02:08 PM ---Considering the New Madrid earthquake was in 1811, it probably has nothing to do with the Blackstaff.


Wonder how Ebenezar didn't go crazy from killing hundreds, though.

--- End quote ---

Interesting. Because when Harry asks about the occasions when Ebenezar has had to ignore the Laws of Magic (such as Casaverde), Eb says New Madrid is one of the events that he caused. See the end of Blood Rites when Eb tells Harry about the Blackstaff.
 
So the only way this is possible is if Eb went back in time!

And we know that the Blackstaff protects EB from going crazy as per WOJ. So the only way Eb could have caused the New Madrid earthquake and killed all those people without becoming a gibbering warlock is by having the Blackstaff.

Snark Knight:

--- Quote from: Yuillegan on October 27, 2019, 05:43:00 AM ---Interesting. Because when Harry asks about the occasions when Ebenezar has had to ignore the Laws of Magic (such as Casaverde), Eb says New Madrid is one of the events that he caused. See the end of Blood Rites when Eb tells Harry about the Blackstaff.
 
So the only way this is possible is if Eb went back in time!

And we know that the Blackstaff protects EB from going crazy as per WOJ. So the only way Eb could have caused the New Madrid earthquake and killed all those people without becoming a gibbering warlock is by having the Blackstaff.

--- End quote ---

That oddity has come up before. It's always possible Jim answered a question without having a chance to check the historical date on New Madrid, but it's also possible he borrowed the staff from his master for that job and then eventually succeeded him full time in ~1884.

Mira:

--- Quote from: Belial666 on October 26, 2019, 05:02:08 PM ---Considering the New Madrid earthquake was in 1811, it probably has nothing to do with the Blackstaff.


Wonder how Ebenezar didn't go crazy from killing hundreds, though.

--- End quote ---

Krakatoa blowing up might be a different matter though..   

That is the whole point of the blackstaff, it protects the wielder from going crazy doing what he or she has to do.   That is why the selection of who does the wielding is so important.

KurtinStGeorge:

--- Quote from: Snark Knight on October 28, 2019, 12:25:45 AM ---That oddity has come up before. It's always possible Jim answered a question without having a chance to check the historical date on New Madrid, but it's also possible he borrowed the staff from his master for that job and then eventually succeeded him full time in ~1884.

--- End quote ---

...or time travel.  The Blackstaff can ignore that law too.

Kindler:
The implications of Ebenezer potentially time traveling are absolutely ludicrous, especially because he's the Blackstaff.

Personally, I chalk this up to Jim not having his ducks in a row and making an error, either in the book or when answering the question.

...but if he's right in both places, then time travel is on the table as an explanation (as is temporarily picking up the Blackstaff, or some other explanation (he helped the Blackstaff of 1811 pull it off in some way without violating the Laws, like watching his or her back as they built up the geomancy spell, which tend to have long casting times and are nonideal for fast-paced combat)).

But if he does travel back to cause the New Madrid earthquake, then that means Harry is currently living in an altered timeline. Though that tracks with some of my own IRL ideas about time travel-based timeline corrections. Personally, I think that if time travel to the past is possible and it can be used to alter the timeline without spinning off alternate realities (like "Go back in time and kill Hitler,") then there is, essentially, a 100% chance that we're living on an already-"corrected" timeline. That means that this is the best possible outcome humanity of the future can conceive, which is oddly comforting, if you think about it.

But if Eb risked a universe-shattering paradox by going back to cause the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811, that means that there was something worse going on. Something so bad that chancing oblivion was worth it.

...though I'd also like to point out that New Madrid is a fault zone, and has had multiple earthquakes over the years, including a 6.0 quake centered on a major population area in 1895. I think it was Charleston, MO, but someone correct me if I'm wrong. So, Eb might've been talking about one of those—but if you ask someone about the New Madrid Earthquake, they all point to the one in 1811/1812, so that could be wrong, too.

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