As the word R’lyeh shows up carved on the mountain, this must be the English translation of the original photo. I would imagine the original carving was in a unspeakable tongue, and probably in some horrific quantum mechanical blending of dimensions!
“R’lyeh”: Unspeakable tongue yes, but in the English alphabet! Why would great Cthulhu be bothered to have a transliteration done? Doesn’t he have universes to obliterate or something?
He drew a a carving of an unspeakable tongue, in a horrific quantum mechanical blending of dimensions… It’s not his fault your puny human mind interpreted it as a string of roman characters.
Well, it might have been followers of Cthulhu that wrote it, not the old gent himself. Or it could be that our English letter shapes are actually descended from some long-lost alphabet. Or it could be that the letters psychically project only shapes and symbols that the person seeing the object can comprehend. Or the ancient letters could have melted and degraded over time so that only what APPEARS to be recognizable letters remain. Or the original glyphs might have been copied and translated by Jefferson, and in the retelling of the tale, he used the translation, so Pickman wouldn’t actually know what the originals look like. Or Pickman is having an aneurysm, or glossing over a detail as he tells the story, not wanting to drag the whole thing out too long because the artist and readers want to get onto the next page without getting into pre-historic linguistics.
Well – if you want to profit from advertisment then you have to make sure those you are aiming your goods at can understand it. If the message is aimed at unlocking some horror, then said horror would be well understood in putting it into a language that only those at the time it wants to be released would understand. The horror could then ensure said language is well understood at the time it wants to be released … like a timelock.
Paul’s is one of the most ingenious explanations of this so far: if the Yith can travel thru time, then I would imagine (excuse, blasphemously imagine!) that various horrific dimension-bending entities (HDBEs) from dark, unknowable dimensions (DUD) can as well. So one of these HDBEs scouted forward, sussed out the local parley-vous, & setup its fiendish (Natürlich!) trap. Brilliant! Props to Paul for spotting this! Enjoy what is left of your existence till the things from the DUDs come for you! (They don’t care for those who reveal their secrets.)
Paul is right. It’s already been well-established that our Friends from the Outside don’t perceive Time in a linear manner, so it may well be that They were aware of WHEN the carving would be found and translated it accordingly.
October 26th, 2012 at 11:07 am
As the word R’lyeh shows up carved on the mountain, this must be the English translation of the original photo. I would imagine the original carving was in a unspeakable tongue, and probably in some horrific quantum mechanical blending of dimensions!
October 26th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
@John Ashmead – um I see a carving in an unspeakable tongue. You see something different?
October 27th, 2012 at 10:16 am
“R’lyeh”: Unspeakable tongue yes, but in the English alphabet! Why would great Cthulhu be bothered to have a transliteration done? Doesn’t he have universes to obliterate or something?
October 28th, 2012 at 10:15 am
He drew a a carving of an unspeakable tongue, in a horrific quantum mechanical blending of dimensions… It’s not his fault your puny human mind interpreted it as a string of roman characters.
:0)
October 28th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Well, it might have been followers of Cthulhu that wrote it, not the old gent himself. Or it could be that our English letter shapes are actually descended from some long-lost alphabet. Or it could be that the letters psychically project only shapes and symbols that the person seeing the object can comprehend. Or the ancient letters could have melted and degraded over time so that only what APPEARS to be recognizable letters remain. Or the original glyphs might have been copied and translated by Jefferson, and in the retelling of the tale, he used the translation, so Pickman wouldn’t actually know what the originals look like. Or Pickman is having an aneurysm, or glossing over a detail as he tells the story, not wanting to drag the whole thing out too long because the artist and readers want to get onto the next page without getting into pre-historic linguistics.
October 28th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
Exactly. That’s exactly what it means. Thanks.
October 29th, 2012 at 11:50 am
Well – if you want to profit from advertisment then you have to make sure those you are aiming your goods at can understand it. If the message is aimed at unlocking some horror, then said horror would be well understood in putting it into a language that only those at the time it wants to be released would understand. The horror could then ensure said language is well understood at the time it wants to be released … like a timelock.
Or it could be just as lovecraf says …
October 30th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Paul’s is one of the most ingenious explanations of this so far: if the Yith can travel thru time, then I would imagine (excuse, blasphemously imagine!) that various horrific dimension-bending entities (HDBEs) from dark, unknowable dimensions (DUD) can as well. So one of these HDBEs scouted forward, sussed out the local parley-vous, & setup its fiendish (Natürlich!) trap. Brilliant! Props to Paul for spotting this! Enjoy what is left of your existence till the things from the DUDs come for you! (They don’t care for those who reveal their secrets.)
October 30th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Paul is right. It’s already been well-established that our Friends from the Outside don’t perceive Time in a linear manner, so it may well be that They were aware of WHEN the carving would be found and translated it accordingly.