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Wing writes...

Can you define your idea of true sentience?

Greg responds...

Probably not. But I'd start with Descarte...

If you can say "I think therefore I am" and grapple with its meaning, as opposed to its mere pronunciation...

Well, that's a starting point.

Response recorded on April 07, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hi mr. Weisman! Yet another ASK GREG question...

I was wondering about what Sevarius said in Metamorphosis. He says that a geneticly engineered creature will take years to develop, so he created a mutegen to inject on human host.

1.Just how long does it take to create genticly a creature?

2.Did you ever plan to have artificial creatures created by mankind in Gargoyles?

Thanx, and have a nice day!

Greg responds...

1. As I've said before, I'm not big on quantifying things.

2. Eventually. The clones were a first step.

Response recorded on April 07, 2000

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Kevin writes...

What's your theory on time/time travel. Do you believe that it is possible to go back in time and change history, or do you think that whatever was done in the past would have to contribute into the future because it has already been done. I don't know if I'm making sense anymore, but I think you get the general quesion here, oh well. Thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

If we're talking GARG UNIVERSE, obviously I believe in the closed system. History can't be changed. Any and all time travel has already been figured into the equation.

If you're asking me what I think... Well, I don't pretend to know. But a non-closed system doesn't make any logical sense to me. If one can stand outside of time to travel in it, then logically time exists. And I refer you to my first paragraph -- back in the past...

Response recorded on April 05, 2000

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The Gremlin writes...

Who is Desdemona and Iago? Why are desdemona's wings weird looking like she has four of them?

Greg responds...

You seem to know the answer to your first question.

Desdemona and Iago were off-camera names that we gave to Coldfire and Coldsteel, i.e. Coldstone's other two personalities, the other gargoyles that were used to make up his body.

And Desdemona simply has a different wing-type than most of the others. As does Lex. And Griff. Etc.

Response recorded on April 04, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Okay, let me ask the 'faster-than-light' question in a different way: As far as I know, current scientific theory holds that all faster-than-light travel is to some extent time-travel as well, which can lead to paradoxes, etc.

So... my question is: In your universe is there faster-than-light travel which is *not* time-travel in any sense?

Greg responds...

Even faster than light travel isn't instantaneous (though it may seem to be depending on the distance travelled). So by definition, any journey takes one not only through space but also through time. Forward, at least.

I realize that isn't the kind of answer you were looking for.

And that amuses me.

Response recorded on March 31, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

You have stated that newly hatched gargoyles need to be nursed. How did Katherine, Magus, and Tom manage to handle that when the eggs hatched on Avalon?

Greg responds...

Good question. Somehow Avalon provided.

Response recorded on March 25, 2000

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Dr. Kerry Jackson writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman,

First, simply, thank you for your continuing effort to revive the Gargoyles series and the attention you pay to its fans. as a stockholder of Disney, I send my proxy ballot in with "Bring back the Gargoyles" written under my vote. My annual write in for Goliath as board of directors has failed so far, but there is always next year.

I am preparing a poster presentation on the evolution of gargoyles (lower case "g")for the Gathering 2000 as an art display. Let me apologize for the assertion that gargoyles, due to anatomical features such as otic (ear) structure, mammae, hair, and others are in the Class Mammalia. The oviparous (egg laying) character places them with the Subclass Protheria (1 extant and 3 extinct orders). Their Order, Family, Genus and species classifications are yet to be determined. My audacity is based upon the excess of letters which follow my family name.

Now the questions

1) Should apterylus (without wings) gargoyles be considered parthenogenic (lays fertile, viable eggs without a mate)?

2) Proposed Genus and Species name: Diurnosominus lapidermis (stone skinned day sleeper). Apterylus lapidermic for Bronx. Sound OK?

Your delightful characters have also resulted in a few stories of my own, but let's not go there.

Greg responds...

Uh, some of this is over my head, but...

As I've said before (see the Gargoyle Science Archive here at ASK GREG), Gargoyles aren't Mammals, though they share some traits in common. We've dubbed them Gargates. A whole other class. (Which frankly frees me to create them as I see fit.) Gargoyle Beasts are also gargates. Is that what you're referring to in your first question? Cause Bronx is a male, and would need to mate with the female Boudicca to have any offspring.

2. Uh, I guess it sounds OK, but I'm not going to accept it as canon without doing some research on my own.

Response recorded on March 24, 2000

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Pyro X writes...

Greg:

I collected some "Official" Gargoyles trading cards, and on the backs they gave the heights and weights in in stone and flesh, but they gave all these details sparingly. would you consider these weights, Etc. "Official"? If not, I guess I can discard these as not true.

Greg responds...

I just don't know. I'm not good with numbers. So they may be right, if, for example, Frank Paur provided them. But I don't know if he did.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Hi Greg!
I was thinking about gargoyle aging... it's been well established that because gargoyles turn to stone during the day, they are ultimatey in stone hibernation for half of every year and so, age at one half the speed of humans. But here's a thought: humans grow physically while they sleep- all our bodily functions still operate- but we don't grow intellectually or learn anything, right? So, since humans age physically and not mentally while they sleep and gargoyles do not age either way, wouldn't a twenty-year-old gargoyle *look* like a ten-year-old, but be as developed and intelligent as a twenty-year-old?

Greg responds...

Only experientially.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Greg, thanks for taking these questions. I'm sure you've answered this before, but I can't find any mention of it in the archives.

You've stated that female gargoyles have a worldwide 20-year fertility cycle.

1. Does Demona conform to this cycle, or does her being forever 70(35) short-circuit that?

2. The last question applied for about nine hundred years. But now, what effect do Demona's daily transformations have on her reproductive cycle? I remember a question about this, but I think all you said was that Puck didn't design the spell with pregnancy in mind.

3. When Demona changes to a human, is it simply an exterior, cosmetic change, or does she become fully human internally? I'm betting the former, since she doesn't seem to have a belly button in human form, but that could be either an animation glitch or simply a detail too small to pick up.

4. If she does make a full change, does she have a human reproductive system, and all the monthly fun that comes with it?

Thanks again.

Greg responds...

1. Yes. She does. After all, until Puck, she conformed to the day/night cycle. But that doesn't mean she HAS to mate.

2. No. But as I said, I think the magic would compensate for a pregnancy... ON THE HUGE ASSUMPTION that she ever gets pregnant.

3. Fully human.

4. Yes, during the day.

Response recorded on March 09, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

In "Hunter's Moon" one of the requirement for Demona's spell to work was that it should be cast in "holy ground". For that reason she uses an abandoned church... The question I'm going to ask is a bit vague, but hopefully you'll understand it: what does this place's "holiness" as pertaining to the spell, derive from? Is it something all places of worship would have, even "pagan" ones? Does it derive from people considering it 'holy' or is an objective "gift" (so to speak) from the deity in question and thus unrelated to belief?

It's almost certainly something which you couldn't answer within the series (I think), but perhaps you could answer it here... :-)

Greg responds...

I want to posit that some ground just is holy. Or perhaps more clinically, these locations act as a nexus of mystic energy. The fact that churches temples, etc. are often built on such spots is no coincidence. There may be a guiding force. A sense that this is a place of prayer. Of connection to God, or the Great Spirit or the Earth or WHATEVER.

Anyway, that's how I see the Gargoyles' Universe working.

Response recorded on February 25, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You've stated that gargoyles, in your vision at least, came about naturally in the way that all other living things did, and were not creations of faerie or human magic. I certainly feel that that's the most probable explanation for them. But something that I would like to raise is this - in the Gargoyles Universe, would it even be possible to create a genuinely sentient race using magic?

My own feeling is that it isn't, based on what I saw in the series. Oberon, one of the most powerful magic-users in the Gargoyles Universe, animates a number of statues in "The Gathering Part Two" to aid him against Goliath and his clan, but the statues remained made out of stone rather than becoming flesh and blood, and showed no sign of true sentience in battling the clan, no more so than - say - the Steel Clan. The same thing was the case with Raven's "totem beasts" in "Heritage", who, when animated by him, remained made out of wood and also behaved more like automatons than like truly alive and intelligent beings. And in "Golem", the Golem that was created by Rabbi Loew likewise didn't come across to me as truly sentient, but just a walking clay statue - it never even spoke except when Renard was possessing it. (The Golem did show some dim signs of genuine awareness, but not on the level of a gargoyle, certainly).

So, what I'm basically asking here is - aside from your belief that gargoyles were not created by magic - would it even be possible in the Gargoyles Universe to magically create a truly sentient being or race? Or is such a thing beyond the capabilities of any being other than God?

Greg responds...

I think it would be basically impossible to create sentience from scratch. Which doesn't mean that someone like the Golem or Matrix might not evolve into true sentience. (Neither is there yet, in my opinion.)

Response recorded on February 23, 2000

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Jennifer writes...

Can a female gargoyle have a muzzle/beak, aka Brooklyn, or is it strictly a male characteristic? Thanks :)

Greg responds...

Yes, a female can.

Response recorded on February 20, 2000

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Michalene writes...

Hi Greg (and Gore),
I've never seen the Gargs shaving ;o). If they shed their skin every evening, they probably cannot grow any hair - then how come Hudson has a beard?

Greg responds...

You've never seen them spit either, but that doesn't mean they never do.

Response recorded on February 17, 2000

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Alan "Ordell" Coleman writes...

Does the Third Race see human science as a type of magic?

Greg responds...

I guess. Isn't it?

Response recorded on February 14, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Is Boudicca the only gargoyle beast of the Avalon clan? And does the fact that gargoyle beasts seem even rarer than normal gargoyles mean that their species is in an even worse danger of extinction?

Greg responds...

No, she's not. But the beast species is, generally, in even greater danger of extinction than gargoyles.

Response recorded on February 10, 2000

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Leong writes...

I'll be blunt: Is there faster-than-light space travel in the Gargoyles universe?

Greg responds...

Yes and no.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Doug writes...

What Would Happen to a gargoyle in space?

Greg responds...

They'd explode in the void, just like a human.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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NZ Fan of Gargoyles writes...

Hi Mr Weisman.
First off, thanks for such a great show. I'm writing fan fiction at the moment, and am writing an Elisa and Goliath one. If I recall correctly you had something about them having children, or having to adopt one. I have a question about it, I hope you can answer for me.

1. If it were possible for them to have a child, either naturally, by magic or science. How long would Elisa be pregnant?

2. Anything else about the whole pregnancy thing you'd care to add.

Thanx for your time.

Greg responds...

1. This is hypothetical on top of hypothetical, but I'd tend to think that Elisa would be pregnant nine months unless there was some scientific or magical explanation why not.

2. No.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

Hey Greg, keep up the good work if ya can!

1) If the Gargoyle eggs were put under the spell, could/would they have stayed as eggs and hatch in the 1990's?

2) If a Gargoyle were to die in his sleep (You said this was rare,) would his rock body just crumble, or stay as a statue and not awaken?

3) if hudson holds his sword, while turning to stone, will it turn to ston or not? (I am wondering this about anything they might hold)

I can't wait to see the movie/ and re runs, plus the movie 2! (the live action one, I think!)

Thanks!

Greg responds...

1. Which spell? The Magus? I'm not sure how you tell an egg to sleep. And that's all it was, a sleep spell.

2. Stay as a statue, but it would no longer renew and would tend to crumble over time and weather -- assuming it was left alone. Not a safe assumption, by the way.

3. I've answered this before. It has to do with whether or not Hudson's mindset at the moment of sleep is that his sword is part of his uniform or something separate.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Maverick writes...

Hey Greg,

1) Do Gargoyles use the toilet, (Excrete) or does their waste get absorbed into their stone skin and get tossed away?

2) besides the clans we know of, are there other clans on earth?

3) Besides the internet, and re-runs, is the Gargoyles (On tv) Dead like other shows?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

1. Jeez, how about a little decorum. (O.K., fine lets go with the stone skin explanation.)

2 & 3. Sorry, but questions on separate topics must be posted separately.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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FireBrid writes...

Does the she-gargs have any practical use off their breasts? After all they are egg laying creatures and such does not have breasts at all.

Greg responds...

Don't tell that to the Platypus.

Anyway, Gargs are there own species, and yes, females do nurse their young.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Stacey writes...

Hello! This is my first time asking a question, but I was alwayas very curious about gargoyle anatomy. Brooklyn in the character that puzzles me the most. I have noticed that his wings are the type that have little hands on the top of them. I have also noticed that the only other gargoyles that have this type of wing structure are female gargoyles. Why did you decide to make his wings look like that, and what purpose do the little hands serve?

Greg responds...

It just so happens that he and Demona have the same wing-type. Angela inherited hers from her mother. Not all females have that type. Coldfire didn't for example. Neither did Una. It's not a male/female thing. It's just one of the many minor garg anitomical variations.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Mr. Weisman,

Are there any aquatic or amphibian garbeasts? The thought of the former struck me as very humorous. Thnx.

Greg responds...

No. Though there may be some who are very comfortable in water.

Response recorded on February 03, 2000

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Skylar writes...

Hi again,

1.Why (medical) is Jason paralysed?

2.Is there any chance left, that one day due medical progress an operation could make him able to walk again?

Btw. : Happy Birthday!

Greg responds...

1. Spinal trauma.

2. This may sound flip, but I don't mean for it to: If Christopher Reeve manages to walk again, then Jason can too. But if our science can't solve that problem, then I'm not going to let science in the Garg Universe solve it either. Which doesn't mean, Jason can't put on an exo-skeleton right now. But if we're talking about walking under his own power... then not until we crack it here.

And thanks for the Birthday wishes. (Of course, you wished 'em back in September and it's February now, but they are still appreciated. And I am catching up a little.)

Response recorded on February 03, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Something that I've recently been wondering about Demona's genocide attempt in "Hunter's Moon". The plague that she used the Fulfillment Spell and Sevarius's carrier virus to create would have wiped out all of humanity if released, and the entire gargoyle race as well were it not for the protection of the Praying Gargoyle. Since humans and gargoyles are clearly not very closely related from a biological standpoint, a plague capable of wiping out both species must be very far-reaching in its range. So, if Demona had released her plague, would other species (say, most mammals) have been killed by it as well? Or did it only work on sentient species?

Greg responds...

I think it was limited to sentience. How that would have effected chimpanzees, gargoyle beasts, dolphins, whales, etc. I'm not sure. Hard to say what a combination of science and sorcery would consider sentient. But I think rats, cats, dogs etc. were safe.

Response recorded on February 03, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

This is more of a comment/correction rather than a question. I think that you've miscalculated a date. In a previous Ask Greg question you had said that you had once calculated that the gargs both in Avalon and in the real world will lay eggs at 2008. I think that must have been a mistake on your part: I believe that gargoyles lay egg in their 50th or 49th year (biological 25). That would mean that in Avalon-time 50*24=1200 years. The gargs at avalon should lay their eggs only 1200 real-world years after they were hatched. That in turn means that if they were hatched around somewhere around year 1040, they shouldn't lay eggs until 2240 or something like that...

Anyway thought I should mention this...

Greg responds...

No, that's not right.

God knows it's been years since I did this math, however I think you are operating on faulty assumptions.

Yes, the Avalon eggs hatched in 1044.

Thus by 1995, Angela, Gabriel, Ophelia, et al. would all be biologically twenty years old. That's way past Gargoyle puberty in my book. So what remains is for their internal clocks to be in sync, so to speak, with the natural rhythms of the Earth that would put the females "in heat" (for lack of a better term). That would next occur sometime in late 2007 or early 2008.

That easily puts, say, Ophelia in synch with Angela and Obsidiana out in the real world. The difference comes twenty years later in 2028, when the latter two might again lay eggs. But to Ophelia she would have only just laid her first egg a mere 20 months ago. I don't know whether that's enough recovery time for her, enough time for her own internal cycle -- but in any case her first egg certainly wouldn't have hatched yet.

It's also worth considering whether Ophelia and Angela might have been "in heat" in Avalon in 1988? Maybe they were, and maybe Katharine was preaching abstinence in a major way.

Suddenly, I feel like this is Christine's show. :) [No, I haven't read her fan-fiction, but boy have I heard rumors.]

In any case, for those of you with dirty minds, I think Angela was a virgin even at the time of "The Journey". (Broadway too for that matter.) Not so sure about Ophelia.

Response recorded on February 02, 2000

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Andrea "Elisa Maza" Ivanovs writes...

Hi Greg,
Hope you're alright and survived the GWT well. ;)
Here's my question: it's about the aging of Gargoyles. We all know they live longer than humans, but e.g. in "Awakening", the whole Clan Wyvern is seen, but there's no Gargoyles as old as Goliath and Angela look in "Grief". Do they die fighting before they get that old, or do they never after all?
Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

In the Dark Ages, it was rare that a gargoyle lived into old age. It was a violent time. But also, lets remember that Wyvern had a clan of about 40 gargoyles and beasts. We didn't get to see them all. We barely saw a quarter of them.

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Celano writes...

Are (or were) there more kinds of Gargoyle beasts than just dog-types?

Greg responds...

I don't think that the Beasts are nearly as dog-like physically as you seem to think. But if you mean garg beasts who are more cat-like (for example) in attitude? I suppose that's possible for an individual beast. I have one cat who thinks he's a dog. And I have a friend who has a dog who acts like he's a cat. So anything's possible.

But why do I feel like I don't understand your question?

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Rolling Calf writes...

Hi Mr. Weisman .

Are the gargoyle's appearance related to their location ?
If so , does this also apply to their sleeping form ? For instance , if there were Arctic gargoyles (where there is little stone ), would there sleeping forms appear to be of grey rock as the clans you have shown ? Or would they take on a more snow like appearance ?

Greg responds...

Interesting question.

Further camoflage might evolve over time.

Hmmmm...

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

How long is the lifespan of a Gargoyle beast? Is it about the same as an actual dogs, only doubled? meaning Bronx will live to be between 30 and 40, or is it longer (or shorter?)

Greg responds...

Longer.

Dogs and dog-like creatures should live longer. So in my Universe, they do. (At least the Garg beasts do.)

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

So... is there faster-than-light travel or faster-than-light communications in the Gargoyles Universe? :-)

Greg responds...

Again, the phrasing of the question makes it difficult to answer.

If you're asking me whether a species exists anywhere in the Gargoyles Universe that can get from point A to point B faster than light could conventionally travel the distance between those points, then the answer is yes.

For example... ever hear of the Phoenix Gate?

Response recorded on January 07, 2000

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nautilus writes...

Hi Greg,
The big event here on next wednsday (11.08.1999), made me wonder:
Will Gargoyles break out of their stone shell during a full solar eclipse? (My bet would be 'No', but you're the boss ; )
That actually gives me another question: What makes the Gargoyles turn to stone? It isn't the rays of the sun, and I guess it won't be something magical, because it affects a complete race. (And they use magic to prevent them turning to stone)

I hope you find the time to answer.
Thanks a lot in advance.

Greg responds...

As I've said before, Gargoyles operate on an internal biological clock that is in tune with the rising and setting of the sun.

That would suggest that an eclipse would have ZERO effect on them. But I must admit I've been toying with an eclipse story for some time. I haven't quite cracked it. But someday...

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

Is Gargoyle evolution from Dinosaurs a strong possibility in your mind?

Greg responds...

See an earlier answer (posted today) to a similar question.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Siren writes...

I keep thinking of more things...
On Garg evolution...I think the most likely would evolve from dinosaurs.Birds also evolved too, from what I believe. They just took 2 different ends of the spectrum. Birds becoming smaller and more lightweight, gaining feathers and loosing scales. Gargs get are smaller dinosaurs, just not as small as birds. They are built with more muscle and kept
the pteridacyl wings ('scuse my spelling). Brooklyn is obviously evolved from one of them thingies I can't spell. Plus you have the South American Clan, they deffinetly look reptilian. And Ophelia, she looks much like a triceratops and any other horned/crested dino (which I absolutly love on her!!!!)
But also into consideration, the Britian Clan...Where did they come from? Are they too evolved
from dinosaurs???? Doubtful. They are set so far apart from the others, more mammilian. Are they
more evolved mammals? Is Griff just an evolved eagle that looks like a griffon or an evolved griffon? Is Leo an evolved Lion?
And is that Una's real horn or jewlry? Is she an evolved horse or unicorn?
Which brings something else to mind about gargoyles...How do their babies eat? Are gargoyles
mammals? I would deffinetly say, warm blooded. And they do seem very mammilian. So does that
mean, that if Demona had the chance to raise Angela, she'd be fed on breastmilk? If so, how did
Cathryn, Magus, Tom, and his mother feed 36 hatchlings?

Greg responds...

Uh. It would have helped if you had numbered your questions....

In my head, Gargoyles are a separate classification which (in the past) I've nicknamed "Gargates". Both Gargoyles and Gargoyle Beasts evolved from this grouping, just as Primates include both humans and various apes. The Gargate-ancestor species go back to the time of the dinosaurs, so to answer your first set of questions, I'd have to ask you how you are defining the word "Dinosaur"? Colloquially, i.e. to include all species that existed during what we popularly think of as the age of dinosaurs, or are you using the term in a scientific sense, which would leave out a number of species that we generally think of as dinosaurs?

As for the various clans, appearances are superficial and can be deceiving. Leo has much more in common biologically with Goliath than he does with a Lion. Zafiro has much more in common with Griff, Leo, Una and Goliath, etc. then he does with a snake. All are Gargates. None are Mammals or Reptiles or Marsupials or Birds, though they may share a few characteristics with one or more of those groups. They are, I believe, warm-blooded, for example.

Una's horn is her horn. It's not jewelry. Though it was decorated.

Garg babies generally would drink milk from clan-mother breasts.

And yes, that did present Tom, Katharine and the Magus with a problem. Fortunately, they were on Avalon. And Avalon provided. Some trial and error was probably involved, but a replacement for breast milk was found...

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Demona Taina writes...

Just a couple of quick questions. :)

1. Where did Demona get those gargoyles from in "City Of Stone"?

2. What do Gargoyles smell like? Because in "The Dying Of The Light", Hudson's blind friend, Jeffrey Robbins, said that Hudson smelled like "old leather and concrete". Anyway, is that true? Or did TGC make it up? And if so, is it a bad smell or a good one?

I guess those are all. Thanks for reading!

Greg responds...

1. Wall-mart.
2. I won't comment one way or the other on TGC episodes beyond "The Journey". But certainly, Hudson's old leather clothes would smell like old leather. And a wiff of something stonelike makes sense. Obviously, Elisa doesn't think that Gargoyles smell bad.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Heather E."Hudson" Rice writes...

Hey Greg,
Nice of you to remember me, during yer all-night "rant" session...Anyho, here's my questions:
1) What year did Hudson hatch?
2) When exactly was Castle Wyvern built? Demona mentioned,
"That these cliffs were our homes, long before the Humans'"
3)How many eggs can a female Gargoyle lay, at one time?
4) When a female Gargoyle goes into "heat", does she give
off a scent, or something?
5) AND, FINALLY, just where did Thom get his tattoo???
(HINT,HINT,HINT...)

Greg responds...

1. 878 A.D.
2. Which time?
3. One.
4. I'm sure she does.
5. Los Angeles... (And I don't have a clue what you're hinting about.)

Also, I should have blown off questions 3-5, cause they're on different topics. But they were short, so you got lucky.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Entity writes...

In the "Avalon" trilogy, the Archmage's arsenal consisted of himself, the Weird Sisters, Demona and Macbeth. Why did he feel the need to have Demona and Macbeth? I know he said they were canon fodder, but why did he even need canon fodder? Couldn't the Weird Sisters have just waved their hands and eradicated every single gargoyle and human on Avalon? Why did he build his assault around those two? For all the trouble that the Weird Sisters went through in obtaining them, it just doesn't seem that they were worth it. How the Archmage told the Sisters to "guide their paths", you would've thought that they were instramental in some way to his plans; that he specifically needed those two. But what's so special about them?

Greg responds...

Good question.

The answer requires looking at the situation on (at least) two levels.

Level One. Taken at face value, he did need cannon fodder. The Sisters had to be very careful how they operated, in order not to break Oberon's Law. And the Archmage had a few personal vendettas he wanted to deal with. So he needed Demona and Macbeth to handle some of the more mundane work of eradicating the enemy.

Level Two. Who said any of this was the Archmage's plan? Well, he did. But he was an arrogant bastard. So do you trust him? Where did he get the plan? By observing his future self carry it out. Where did his future self get the plan? By observing HIS future self carry it out. Maybe there's something larger going on here...

Ya think?

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Demona Taina writes...

Hey, Greg! Umm, sorry for those other mega-posts, I kind of read the ramblings after I posted that. So, here are a few of my questions:
1. About Goliath's hair, well, I don't quite understand it, nor Demona's. How does it stand up like that?
2. How old was Demona when she was really, really old?
3. Could a gargoyle be hatched deformed? You know, like missing a leg or something.
4. Who created Goliath?
5. We know that gargoyles get cleaned during the day, but what about Elisa? How did she manage to survive in the skiff?
6. How can Brooklyn speak with that beak?
Well, I guess that's all for now. Have a nice day!

Greg responds...

1. Huh? Some people's hair just does that. Look around.

These are all questions on different topics, so they must be submitted on separate posts.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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*The Bride of Ringo* writes...

Hi again Greg :-)

Ok, when you or anyone else says "...and they turn to stone during the day" do you (or anyone else) mean STONE? or is the stuff they turn to similar to stone in appearence and so presumed to be stone. I'm asking this because medieval people sometimes made assumtions about things even though they had limited knowledge of it so something that simply looks like stone my be considered actual stone by them. Then the medival people would call it stone and get the gargoyles themselves to call it that and even though it's not real stone people think it is.

Greg responds...

As I've said many times before, it is an organic substance that greatly resembles stone.

Response recorded on October 20, 1999

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Sevarius Jr. writes...

For some reason, some of my earlier questions were deleted, so here they are again in abbreviated format:

1. Was it your initial decision to have 2 species of Gargoyles (humanoid and "beast"), or did you just start with the humanoid form and only later decide to include a "beast" version, a la Bronx?

2. Should Gargoyles ever once again become a viable comic book property, which modern-day artists/writers would you enjoy working with on the project?

3. I know you are working on the new Starship Troopers series. Are you a Robert Heinlein fan, or at least are you a fan of the original Starship Troopers novel?

Once again, thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

1. Two species all along. Or at any rate, once we switched from the comedy to the dramatic development direction. It was in the first draft of the bible.

Unfortunately, your other questions are on different topics. Please resubmit them as separate posts.

Response recorded on October 20, 1999

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Lawrence Stone writes...

Are Gargoyles egg laying mamales?

Greg responds...

No. As I've said before, they're gargates.

Response recorded on September 21, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In THE PRICE, it never seemed to occur to Goliath that perhaps Hudson died in his sleep. Is dying in their sleep THAT rare among Gargoyles?

Greg responds...

Yep. Also, however, I don't think he wanted to believe that. If the cause was magical, he could find a counterspell. If Hudson passed away, he's lost another dear friend. Do the math.

Response recorded on September 17, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

1. Which is the oldest of the three races in your mind?
2. In HERITAGE, when Raven in Gargoyle form first introduced himself to Goliath and Angela had five fingers. Later when he again appeared as Gargoyle, he had four fingers. Was this an animation error or was it done on purpose as a sort of hint to Raven's true identity?
3. Who designed the Golem? In all the legends I read of the Maharal's (Rabbi Loew) Golem, he was a huge giant but of Manlike proportions, not like he was in the episode, but more like a taller version of Bane from BATMAN & ROBIN.

Greg responds...

1. Probably the Gargoyles. I know that comes as a surprise. The obvious answer is the Children, but I have this notion that the magic that birthed them needed a longer gestation time.

The Gargoyles, on the other hand, strike me as very symbiotic with the planet. The first sentient race Earth gave birth to. (Well, the second technically, but we're only counting the three that are still hanging in.) In many ways, tragically, their time has clearly passed. Humanity is ascendant. But Gargoyles aren't dead yet. And ironically, though it was largely humans who wiped out their race, it is also humans who will help to save them in the future. Though many will be dragged kicking and screaming toward that destiny.

Response recorded on August 21, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In the AskGreg Archive, you wrote: "I expect Angela, Sora, Ophelia, Boudicca, Obsidiana, and Turquesa to all lay eggs in 2008." You said that females share a common cycle and you also said that you wondered if Katana would rejoin that cycle or not. You also said that with Angela, she would. But Boudicca and Ophelia live on Avalon, so in 2008, shouldn't they be out of synch with the real world?

Greg responds...

Actually, no. It's literally been years, but back in 1995 I did the math. It works out that 2008 would coincide with the cycles of both Avalon and the outside world.

Response recorded on August 21, 1999

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J.F.K writes...

In Gargoyles, how did humans learn to use magic
in the first place?

Greg responds...

In real life, how did humans learn to use fire?

Trial and error, I'd guess.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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*The Bride of Ringo* writes...

Hi again... :-)

My question this time is are gargoyles right handed or left handed the way humans are? I know it's kind of silly, but I've always wondered that since I've never seen any of them take a pen or pencil and write anything.

Greg responds...

I suppose many are ambidextrous. Since in animation, that's not a detail we have the luxury of paying much attention to.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Scott Iskow writes...

I've been wondering a little bit about the environment in which gargoyles are raised, (at least, in 10th century Scotland).

1) Is their "protection" philosophy nature or nurture?
2) How do you explain gargoyles that stray from the ideology?
3) What happens to them if their "deviance" is discovered by the rest of the clan?

Greg responds...

1. Both.
2. How do you explain any one who strays from accepted ideology?
3. Depends how pronounced that "deviance" is.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Mary Flanders writes...

Why can't Demona have any more children? Being immortal doesn't mean you're sterile.

Greg responds...

Who said she couldn't? I said she didn't.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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*The Bride of Ringo* writes...

Ok.. WOW.. i have yet more... i'm comin' up royal tonight...

1a)In order to make Cold Stone, didn't Demona need at least some part of his original stone body (The pieces that were left after he was killed)?

1b) If she did need some parts of his original body, how'd she get them? Did she save some of him for a thousand years or did Xanatos have some saved parts of him? I can't imagine she could go back and gather up the pieces, because first of all how would she get back to Europe and secondly wouldn't erosion have kicked in after 1000 years?(If this doesn't make perfect sense i really apologize, but it makes sense in my head)

2) Goliath, Brooklyn, Lex, Bronx, and Broadway were in stone sleep for 1000 years.. why didn't any erosion or weathering occur on them even though the castle itself eroded? Is it because in reality these Gargoyles were living beings or did it have something to do with the magic involved in their being stone for 1000 years?

Greg responds...

1a. Yes.

1b. Xanatos collected them.

2. They weren't dead. They were asleep. Solar energy allowed for ongoing replenishment. But I wouldn't recommend the experience.

7-13-99



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