"So -
"It was like a knife-stab. For an instant his heart-beat ceased. He felt a sense of falling. The pulse resumed, crazily, with a roaring in his ears." (pp. 152-153)
That is a moment of realization. What was like a knife-stab? We will be told.
When I was at school, a teacher devising numbers to the base 15 suggested:
10 becomes T;
11 becomes E;
12 becomes D (for a dozen);
13 becomes B (for a baker's dozen);
14 becomes F;
15 becomes 10.
The conversion table gives us:
Monwaingi (obscure numerals unfamiliar to Ramri)
R=0
M=1
N=2
O=3
P=4
Q=5
MR=6
Kandemirian
L=0
A=1
B=2
C=3
D=4
E=5
F=6
G=7
H=8
I=9
J=10
K=11
AL=12
Thus:
Donnan says that BA=PM=25 and that ABIJ=MOQMP=2134 - but they don't work out that way for me.
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
We certainly see Poul Anderson's scientific training at work as readers like us try to make sense of the complexities of different number systems using different bases.
Sean
Sean,
But I can't see that these numbers work out the way Donnan says.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
We would probably need to have a trained mathematician analyze this to make sense of these number systems.
Sean
Sean,
Donnan tells us which letters stand for which numbers, then seems to contradict this in the examples he gives.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Which is why it may need a mathematician to sort out this problem.
Sean
Sean,
But it looks like an overt contradiction.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I understand, but I don't pretend to know enough about mathematics to decisively settle the question.
Sean
Sean,
OK. I have slept on it and realized where I was going wrong with the numbers.
Paul.
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