h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[...] assisted by his adopted daughter [...]
His adopted daughter, Ysabel is dead (if there is such a thing as a past and a present when dealing with books).
I think you are referring to his granddaughter Susan.

Aptly, Mr lemming is correct, Mort and Ysabel came to meet their respective makers in the opening scenes of "Soul Music" after plunging off of a inconvienantly located cliff-face.

Clive

Or conviniently from the plots point of view...

Inconvieniently for them.

Convieniently for us.

Clive

Ysabel was not dead whilst living with Death she was just living on borrowed, time Death couldn't bring himself to finish the task so adopted her instead. Of course when she returned to earth her and Mort died when their carriage fell over the precipice with Death watching on unable to stop the inevitable.

Ysabel, much like Albert, Death's Butler - really Albert Malich arch-wizard of the Unseen University in "Mort" - he too is living on suspended time, there is some speculation to exactly how old chronologically Albert actually is. In "Soul Music ", I think, Albert dropped his lifetimer and it shattered scattering his remaining life into the gutter. Death rescued the remaining particles on a single shard of glass. Albert has approxiamtely 16 seconds of natural life left.

*Disclaimer* I haven't got my Discworld books beside me to check the exact details of all of that - but it's something along those lines.

Clive

16 seconds sounds about right. It rseroiusly curtailed Alberts little trips to the Disc for little treats for himslef and Death.

Well, I'm still right, right?

To summerise:

"Death has a daughter. She was adopted by him when he could not bring himself to kill her. Later Death took on an apprentice Mortimer ('Mort' for short). Mort and Yseabel fell in love and had a daughter Susan. Mort and Ysabel both die in a coach accident in the trecherous ramtops. Consequently, Susan inherets some extraordinary abilities of the Death lineage, such as being able to turn herself 'invisible' (read: not noticable). Whenever death is distracted by some eartly pursuit or the other, ( which is often as he has an incurable habit of being just plain curious), Fate or whatever operates in these circumstances swings the the balance over to Susan who usualy ends up weilding Death's scythe and 'Doing the Duty'. He has then by my reckoning been aided in the past by both Mort and Susan by proxy, but not Ysabel.

There I think that about covers it.

Clive

Was anyone else really upset when Mort and Ysabell died?
Oh well maybe I'm just a sad, pathetic individual.

P>S the exact amount of time that Albert has left on the disc decreases with every book. The last one is about 16 secs in Hogfather, I think.

Bob

I was pretty upset when I read that. I was so shocked, I nearly didn't continue reading. I liked Mort a lot as a character and all through Reaper Man (assuming time was going in the right direction) I wondered how Mort would be reacting to all of it, since he'd have an idea of what was going on.

None of TP's other books have affected me like that, not only in the beginning but also the end.

Now I'm upset again. Thanks a lot Bob.

--MrE

I had just finished reading Mort (for the fifth? time)and was on a high when I decided to check my postings.
You've just reminded me about Soul Music
I'm going to hide in a corner and cry now.
Thanx

Bob

I always wondered in Reaper Man why Death didn't go and visit Ysabell and Mort (and possibly Susan at that stage). I mean, if you knew that you were about to get bumped off and had some 'free time' on the Disc wouldn't you want to see your 'children' one last time?

*Pulls out books*
And now a question: In the end of Soul Music Albert has 34 seconds left (see top of pg342), but in Hogfather (which I'm 1/3 of the way through so bear with me) he spends a bit longer than 18secs in the Hogfather Grotto. Or can this be explained away by saying that at that time he wasn't on the Disc as Alberto Malic?

Errrrr, technically Ysabell has done her part in performing the duty. In Mort (pg190) it is Ysabell who reads the node charts so that Mort would know who to 'collect.'

And yes, I was sad when Mort and Ysabell died, but I was especially sad for Death because, in the cartoon at least, he seemed sad at having to do the duty, even though it was their choice. And you just can't seem to help feeling sorry for Death.

I just want to know what's happened to Sto Helit while Susan's off being (well, trying to be) 'normal.' Has Princess Keli taken up temporary rule, or is it just moving along by itself?

Okay, I'll leave you be now
Shelley

Hi Shelly,

Okay, my bedroom is in a state of re-decoration at the moment and all my books are currently in various bags, in several boxes, underneath a pile of other stuff and (finally) inside a cuboard. At the back. So I'm not currently at liberty to go and rumage around to check if you're right but I can tell you I've definately got that slightly creeping suspicion about remembering Ysabel reading Mort the node charts, so fine, yes I'll defer to your expertise on Ysabell's involvement. Although, do we mean just 'involvement' or actual scyth weilding?

As for old Albert, well geee, Good question.
I don't know. You're right when he dropped his Lifetimer and only had seconds left to live back on the disc. So how is it he gets to swan around inside the grotto in Hogfather? I'd reckon that while Death is 'being' the Hogfather Albert, as one of his helpful elves, gets special dispensation outside of the usual run of time. Or is that what you meant?

Clive

Arg...and I meant to type Shelley

My mistake

Clive

Yup - that's what I meant about Albert. He became part of the exclusive Hogfather loophole.

As for Ysabell, well, there wouldn't have been any scythe weilding if she hadn't read the node charts, so it was a pretty important part of the Duty. I also have vague recollections of her attempting to use the scythe at some stage but she was very awkward with it. However, I haven't had much sleep and I'm quite prepared to admit that I'm confusing that with her trying to use the sword on Death in the final confrontation.

PS. As for the spelling, don't worry about it - you're not the first and you won't be the last 8^)

Yup - that's what I meant about Albert. He became part of the exclusive Hogfather loophole.

As for Ysabell, well, there wouldn't have been any scythe weilding if she hadn't read the node charts, so it was a pretty important part of the Duty. I also have vague recollections of her attempting to use the scythe at some stage but she was very awkward with it. However, I haven't had much sleep and I'm quite prepared to admit that I'm confusing that with her trying to use the sword on Death in the final confrontation.

PS. As for the spelling, don't worry about it - you're not the first and you won't be the last 8^)

oops - sorry about the double post - my bad

Well, I'll have to admit, she did read the node charts and so assisted Mort (who was Death at the time).

Okay, alright, point conceeded! Ysabell HAS aided Death by reading the node charts, in conflict with what I said in an earlier summary where I included Mort and Susan in this role but ommitted Ysabell.

Picking up another point (if you want to avoid Topic Drift - tell me and I'll open up another forum - but does anyone know how old Albert is?)

Clive