[quote:5f22b9ce75="Mr_Cake"]I always felt that Rinso's control of the terracotta warriors was described in such a way that it seemed rather more science than magic - MOCAP, HUDs and what have you, with almost no whiff of occult - almost as if this was a "lost" scientific skill being rediscovered. Any opinions, folks?[/quote:5f22b9ce75]
I agree with you that it could have been AI and virtual reality related but if you look at it in a slightly more lateral way PTerry, like PG Wodehouse, uses many topical twists in his works.

When IT came out there had been a bunch of recent books that were questioning whether archaeology was missing the right frame of mind to look for more technical explanations for how massive architectural structures had been accomplished. The name of the authors sticking their oar in escapes me but I think it was Michael Baigent (co-author) and Egyptologists, especially, lambasted the ideas. Chariots of the Gods was one in the series. I know that the Orientals and Persians wouldn't even countenance them investigating the sites of the various emperor burials to hatch their semi-baked notions of what the massive numbers of terracotta figures 'really signified'. The pair couldn't get visas to those countries because they were seen as American troublemaking crackpots (even though they weren't US).

Pterry could have been aiming his gentle dig at both sides of the above debate. The most ingenious anti-hero might possibly come up with the correct solution, while destroying all the evidence which could constitute proof. The way it was done in IT was so clever because it could in no way offend creationists, or give brownie points to those who believe that civilisation has been around far longer than Christian/Judaic/Islamic churches want you to believe. More than that, previous civilisations have been far more numerate and able than said churches can accept without losing their own credibility.

It is one of the reasons I prefer the Wizard books more than the City books, because although City life goes on around them, the insulated Wizards are able to distill and explain the debate from the ignorance of the masses like a particularly fine scumble. Without the metaphorical ice you can't appreciate the metaphorical water. i.e. If there is no debate, there isn't really any point to the answer.

edit: change He to Pterry

Lateral alignment of the head and feet limits brain function