Ask Fowl

Ask Fowl is a column devoted to answering your fan-fiction and Artemis Fowl related questions.

It's simple, you send your questions in, and then someone from our not-so-expert panel will do the best that they can to answer them. So, if you want to see your question answered, send it in to the editor.

Is Opal Koboi actually insane?

Submitted Blue Yeti.

Answered by Brightness.

On page 79 of The Opal Deception (American edition) the LEP profile on Opal lists all of mental disorders she's suspected of having. Here I'm going to examine each one and give my opinion on it - but please bear in mind that I'm not a medical professional. I'm just going to compare the behavior Opal exhibits to the symptoms listed in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Pathological liar- A pathological liar is someone who incessantly lies even when it's not necessary. They generally care little for the feelings of others and often are not even aware they're lying (although this last part is disputed). Opal does lie to achieve her ends, but it was always a necessary maneuver from her point of view and she was always acutely aware of when she was lying. I honestly don't think it's likely Opal has this.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Artemis accuses her of having this on page 141 of the TOD American edition. People with NPD often believe that others are envious of them, that they're overly important and superior, and that they're entitled to have their demands always fulfilled. They also lack empathy, take advantage of people, and have fantasies of power and so on. Opal displays most of the traits characteristic of a person with NPD.

Mild schizophrenia - This isn't a medical term at all. There is no such thing as "mild" schizophrenia; just schizophrenia and its subtypes. The form that Opal would be most likely to have would be Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder includes the typical things Opal displays - lack of close friends, paranoia, and so on. But Opal doesn't really display the odd thinking patterns typical of this disorder and her odd quirks (like insisting that people don't look directly at her) may not be strong enough to be considered towards a diagnosis. Overall, if Opal had any form of schizophrenia it would greatly impair her thinking skills and her ability to plan would be affected. But as The Opal Deception showed, Opal is still plotting and planning efficiently. And in the end, Opal's paranoia is almost always justified.

Megalomania - This mental illness is when an individual has an unrealistic belief in his or her superiority and power. Often they have an impulse to control others and lack empathy. It's tricky to tell if Opal is an actual megalomaniac since villians are often called that when in reality they don't have delusions of already having power, they're just obsessed with gaining it. But since megalomania is related to NPD, I think it's likely Opal has it.

In addition, we're told that Opal has an "obsessive" personality. This is an incredibly vague term that doesn't really make sense. I'm not sure if Colfer means obsessive compulsive disorder, where a person has thoughts that they find to be incredibly disgusting or distressing and try to wipe them out by performing certain rituals. It's possible that Opal could find thoughts about her old enemies so distressing that she has to constantly wipe them out with thoughts of revenge and power. She at least has monomania, a type of paranoia where the individual is consumed by only one set of ideas.

Overall, there are no problems with the way Opal perceives reality. the problem is the way she relates herself to it. There is no clinical or uniform definition for insanity, but in order to meet the criminal defense definition you have to be diagnosed with either bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or schizoaffective disorder. Opal's mental disorders don't meet any of those criteria.

What types of people read particular length fics, and why?

Submitted anonymously.

Answered by Annoying Schizoid

A person’s preference toward the lengths of fics often depends on 1) their favorite genre(s), and 2) whether they enjoy sitting down and enjoying the roller coaster ride of a novel length, or maybe instead preferring the short but sweet taste of a good one-shot.

There are people who love romance stories in which a couple struggles to reach their happy ending. And there are also people who like the action and suspense of an adventure novel. Then there are those who just like to see the ups and downs of character development and enjoy the unfolding of a good, long story.

Others are attracted to the fanfics made out Hidden Message Layers, Touching Moment Nuts, and frosted over with creamy Angst Icing. All stuffed into one neat little package: one-shots. Aren’t they grand? So few words, but so much to say. (It’s like the authors are part of some clandestine Hemingway cult.) Many people look for these because they can reach the center of the story right away, without having to read through 60 pages of fiction or waiting months for the next update.

But, for people like me who do not feel particular about any of the genres, the difference in reading novel lengths or one-shots depends on how intriguing that specific fic is or on the reader’s mood at the time. For example, I might not read a novel because I don’t feel like getting “addicted” to a long story, so I find a quick little one-shot instead. But, this also works the other way around, because I can also suddenly feel like I want to start the long journey of a novel again, and maybe even a series. A person’s mood and what they’re “craving” decide their reading choice.

If you’re on the run and you’re hungry, you grab a cereal bar. If you’re at dinner with a huge craving, you eat a three-course meal. Everyone has their own reasons for choosing things. It all depends on your fiction “appetite.”

In TEC, the Cube could read the contents of a video by being set upon it (or something like that). Is that sort of thing realistic, considering that videos aren't digital?

Submitted by Dim Aldebaran

Answered by Gus

The "secret" to the C Cube is an omni-sensor, a device that can "read anything you ask it to." (The Eternity Code, page 11 UK and US edition) Without going into too much detail, this sensor can read optically- and magnetically-stored data, and analog and digital data. According to Artemis, it can even scan your heartbeat! We could sum it up by saing "If it can be read, seen, picked up, or observed in any way, the C Cube can do it."

So... is this realistic in our world? Probably not. A sensor like that would be big and bulky. Furthermore, the tape inside the video is wound up. Any sensor would have a hard time reading the data from a specific coil and ignoring the magnetic field from the other coil.

But is this realistic in the sense that it's consistent with the Artemis Fowl universe? Absolutely. Fairy technology is far more advanced than our technology, and we've read about far more drastic feats accomplished by fairy technology. Stopping time would make the C Cube look like a walk in the park!

In short, the C Cube is not realistic or consistent with the technology in the real world, but it is consistent with technology stated in canon.

What makes a good Crossover? What about good crossover pairings?

Submitted by Blue Yeti.

Answered by Brightness

Readers have slightly different expectations of a cross-over. Not only does it need to be able to have the normal requirements of a good story, it also has to meet the challenge of mashing two completely different worlds together and cover the gaping plot holes that sometimes result from that. They should explore introducing the characters to the more intriguing facets of each other's universes. Creativity is always good when writing a cross-over. The stories where Artemis attends Hogwarts are interesting, but so are the ones that approach it in a more unexpected way. A good example of this would be Black Knight's But You Gave Up the Sky, which attacks the cross-over by having Foaly meet with one of the centaurs from Harry Potter.

Part of the excitement about cross-overs are the dynamics between the Artemis Fowl characters and the new characters. And that includes romance. Characters that are similar (or sometimes the old adage "Opposites attract" is justified by having characters that are complete opposites put in couples) tend to be paired together more often. Beyond that it tends to be the same things that make any pairing good - the tensions between the characters and the bonding process that occurs between them as they progress from friends to something more.

Why, in the first book, is Gnommish described to be similar to Egyptian, in being a series of hieroglyphics - but it's always used as a simple, glyph-to-letter alphabet along the bottom of the books?

Submitted anonymously.

Answered by Annoying Schizoid

The People’s written language, Gnommish, is not the same as the ciphers printed along the bottom of some of the books. The Gnommish Colfer envisioned probably does resemble the Egyptian hieroglyphs (using image symbols rather than an alphabet), but I think the “Gnommish” at the bottom of the books was created just for us readers to have fun translating.

And while it might have taken some of us days to figure out that cute little code, it would be way too easy for Artemis to crack in the first book. No, a glyph-to-concept system would be much more challenging than glyph-to-letter.

Is Root actually dead? Did the explosion kill him?

Submitted anonymously.

Answered by Gus

As far as I am aware, Colfer has not directly stated whether Root is alive or dead. However, by picking out several points in The Opal Deception, we can assume that any possibility of Root's survival is infinitesimally small.

One common theory has to do with the new LEPrecon suits Foaly gave to Holly and Root. On page 71 of the American edition of The Opal Deception, Foaly says that the suits "are shockproof, fire resistant, invisible to radar, and relay a continuous stream of diagnostic information back to Police Plaza."

Designing shock resistant material is possible and common, but it is impossible to make something completely shockproof. Furthermore, with the bomb strapped directly to Root's chest, the shockwave would be far too powerful at ground zero to be deflected.

In addition to this, we must account for the suit's fire resistance. It may be fire resistant, but it is not fire proof. Furthermore, there is no mention of resistance to heat. The heat from the blast would be enough to cook Root.

If these are not enough reasons, let us step back for a moment and simply pretend the suit did not fail.

The octobonds did a lot of damage to Root, and certainly have the potential to kill. They could have crushed Root to death, or squeezed him so tightly that he asphyxiated.

Of course, the bomb detonated before the octobonds could finish their task. And, in this scenario, let us imagine the suit succeeded in protecting Root. Root is left alive in the tunnel. Alive, but badly injured from the octobonds and the bomb. He would have only a few minutes left to live.

If these are still not enough reasons, let us continue to ignore them.

Shortly before the bomb detonated, Root lifted his visor. When the bomb detonated, "[t]he explosion sucked the air from the tunnel, feeding on the oxygen." (Page 88, US edition.)

Root's visor was up. There was oxygen in his lungs. The explosion would have literally sucked the air out of Root's lungs, killing him instantly.

And even if it didn't, Root exposed his face and head to the shockwave and flames by lifting up his visor.

Still not enough? Well, there's more evidence that the suit failed. As the explosion forced Holly back, the "microfilaments blew in her suit as they were overloaded with heat and force." (Page 89, US edition.)

And to continue with the failed suit, take a look at this description:

"The commander had disappeared inside a ball of flame. He was gone, there was no doubt about it. Even magic could not help him now. Some things are beyond fixing. The contents of the access tunnel, including Root and Scalene, disintegrated into a cloud of shrapnel and dust, particles ricocheting off the tunnel walls." (Page 89, US edition)

Hmm... I guess that Holly could have been mistaken. After all, her immediate conclusion would be that Root died. Other things could have happened.

After the explosion, "Holly glanced downward. Below her, fragments from the explosion were spiraling toward the earth's core. As they neared the revolving magma sphere, the heat ignited each one, utterly cremating all that was left of Julius Root." (Page 90, US edition.)

Guess this means that Root was blown apart into tiny pieces, and then each tiny piece was incinerated. Not likely that he survived that.

What if it wasn't Root that died? What if Root sent a decoy in his place, as another theory suggests?

Root was with Holly until the very end. There would not have been time to make a switch. Holly knows Root well enough, and would definitely spot a decoy. Opal Koboi would be able to, as well.

But what if this actually happened? What if Root somehow did manage to survive?

Well, this raises more questions. Where is he? Why didn't he show up? Why did he let that obnoxious stinkworm that calls itself Sool take control of LEPrecon? Where did he go? Root made no reappearance in The Opal Deception, and the only mention he had in The Lost Colony was when Holly was thinking about him. Why stay in hiding so long?

The answer is this: Root died. It would have completely ruined the plot if Root survived. Sool wouldn't have taken command, Holly and Artemis wouldn't have been so saddened, Artemis wouldn't have been so determined to help Holly defeat Opal, Holly wouldn't have quit the LEP, and so on. Root had to die for those events to occur. Coming back to life would still have ruined the plot, and more importantly, the actual point of having him die.

Still, it was possible that Root could come back to life in a future book, like The Lost Colony. However, Root hasn't, and this makes it less likely that Root will come back at all.

If Root had to come back to life, it would have happened in The Opal Deception.

As you can see here, there are many, many reasons for Root's death. Reasons related to science, and reasons related to the actual plot of the book. However, in my opinion the reasons related to the plot are far more important. Because Root's death was so integral to the plot of The Opal Deception, we can safely assume that Root definitely died, and will not be coming back.