Editing 1190: Time

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* The comic image is a link to [http://geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190 geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190].
 
 
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
 
This comic is an {{w|animation}}, which was showing a new image every hour. In the beginning the interval was only half an hour. The unfolding story is set in the far future, at a time when the {{w|Strait of Gibraltar}} has long been blocked and the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}} has largely dried up leaving smaller, hypersaline seas behind. Megan and Cueball, living on the shores of one of these seas and unaware of its natural history, notice one day while building a huge sand castle on the beach that the sea level is starting to rise. They start a journey of exploration trying to find out why. Eventually they discover that the Straits of Gibraltar have once again been breached, and that the Mediterranean Basin is being flooded. They run back to their home, assemble the people of their village, and board a makeshift raft. At the end they reach land with their rafts, searching for a new home.
 
This comic is an {{w|animation}}, which was showing a new image every hour. In the beginning the interval was only half an hour. The unfolding story is set in the far future, at a time when the {{w|Strait of Gibraltar}} has long been blocked and the {{w|Mediterranean Sea}} has largely dried up leaving smaller, hypersaline seas behind. Megan and Cueball, living on the shores of one of these seas and unaware of its natural history, notice one day while building a huge sand castle on the beach that the sea level is starting to rise. They start a journey of exploration trying to find out why. Eventually they discover that the Straits of Gibraltar have once again been breached, and that the Mediterranean Basin is being flooded. They run back to their home, assemble the people of their village, and board a makeshift raft. At the end they reach land with their rafts, searching for a new home.
  
On frame 2925 the title text changed from "Wait for it." to "...", and one frame later to just "RUN.". At approximately 2944, when Megan announces that it is too late to escape overland, the title text changed back to "...". On frame 3094, the words '''THE END''' appear in the middle of the screen and the title text changed to "The end.". The image now links to the scrollable collection of frames at [http://geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/ geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/]. The comic on xkcd.com today currently loops through the last five frames of the comic.
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On frame 2925 the title text changed from "Wait for it." to "...", and one frame later to just "RUN.". At approximately 2944, when Megan announces that it is too late to escape overland, the title text changed back to "...". On Frame 3094, the words '''THE END''' appear in the middle of the screen and the title text changed to "The end.". The image now links to the scrollable collection of frames at [http://geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/ geekwagon.net/projects/xkcd1190/]. The comic on xkcd.com today currently loops through the last five frames of the comic.
  
 
===Reception===
 
===Reception===
* The comic has its own {{w|Time (xkcd)|article}} on Wikipedia.
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* The comic was awarded the [http://www.thehugoawards.org/2014/08/2014-hugo-award-winners/ 2014 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story].
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*This comic now has its own {{w|Time (xkcd)|article}} on Wikipedia.
* The comic has [https://xkcd-time.fandom.com/wiki/XKCD_Time_Wiki its very own wiki] with over a thousand pages on that one strip.
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*This comic was awarded the [http://www.thehugoawards.org/2014/08/2014-hugo-award-winners/ 2014 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story].
* [[Cory Doctorow]] of {{w|Boing Boing}} saying it was "[http://boingboing.net/2013/04/07/time-xkcds-slo-mo-time-laps.html coming along nicely]" during publishing with an "[https://boingboing.net/2013/08/04/astounding-backstory-behind-xk.html astounding backstory]" upon its conclusion.
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*This comic has [https://xkcd-time.fandom.com/wiki/XKCD_Time_Wiki its very own wiki] with over a thousand pages on that one strip.
* The Verge’s Jeff Blagdon called the journey "[https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/29/4567134/xkcd-time-comic-finishes-after-four-months-3000-panels epic]".
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*{{w|Cory Doctorow}} of {{w|Boing Boing}} saying it was "[http://boingboing.net/2013/04/07/time-xkcds-slo-mo-time-laps.html coming along nicely]" during publishing with an "[https://boingboing.net/2013/08/04/astounding-backstory-behind-xk.html astounding backstory]" upon its conclusion.
* Wired’s Laura Hudson also suitably referred the comic strip as "[https://www.wired.com/2013/08/xkcd-time-comic/ epic]".
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*The Verge’s Jeff Blagdon called the journey "[https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/29/4567134/xkcd-time-comic-finishes-after-four-months-3000-panels epic]".
* The story was also [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/07/30/a-brief-history-of-time-the-xkcd-comic/ reported] by Washington Post’s Andrea Peterson.
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*Wired’s Laura Hudson also suitably referred the comic strip as "[https://www.wired.com/2013/08/xkcd-time-comic/ epic]".
* The comic garnered "obsessive" attention from viewers on xkcd's forum, with a discussion thread that exceeds [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=101043&start=999999999 2,500 pages and 100,000 posts].
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*The story was also [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/07/30/a-brief-history-of-time-the-xkcd-comic/ reported] by Washington Post’s Andrea Peterson.
* "Time" had developed a fanatical following that pored over every update pixel by pixel and gathered online to trade [http://xkcd-time.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_end_of_comic_theories theories], decipher clues, and even [https://xkcd-time.fandom.com/wiki/Songs_written_in_the_forum write songs].
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*The comic garnered "obsessive" attention from viewers on xkcd's forum, with a discussion thread that exceeds [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=101043&start=999999999 2,500 pages and 100,000 posts].
 +
*"Time" had developed a fanatical following that pored over every update pixel by pixel and gathered online to trade [http://xkcd-time.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_end_of_comic_theories theories], decipher clues, and even [https://xkcd-time.fandom.com/wiki/Songs_written_in_the_forum write songs].
  
 
===Format===
 
===Format===
This comic is a series of images which play as a rough animation. The pictures were updated over the course of time. The comic ran for 2973 hours (over 124 days) and consists of 3101 image frames. For the first 120 hours, a new frame replaced the previous frame every 30 minutes, at :00 and :30 of each hour; the remaining frames have since been revealed every hour. The update was done server-side, with the server redirecting the image link (time.png) to a different image every hour. The source images have very long random hash names, which made it virtually impossible to access future frames. There is no way to view past frames on the official xkcd website, and only the current frame is posted there at any given time. Given the unique nature of this comic, the full image archives can be browsed through several websites that have been dedicated to tracking it (see below).
+
This comic is actually a series of images which play as a rough animation. The pictures were updated over the course of time. The comic ran for 2973 hours (over 124 days) and consists of 3101 image frames.
 +
 
 +
For the first 120 hours, a new frame replaced the previous frame every 30 minutes, at :00 and :30 of each hour; the remaining frames have since been revealed every hour. The update was done server-side, with the server redirecting the image link (time.png) to a different image every hour. The source images have very long random hash names, which made it virtually impossible to access future frames. There is no way to view past frames on the official xkcd website, and only the current frame is posted there at any given time. Given the unique nature of this comic, the full image archives can be browsed through several websites that have been dedicated to tracking it (see below).
  
 
Readers typically have divided the comic into four scenes (see below). For example, at 850 hours (36 days 10 hours) the first "scene" of the comic ended at frame 971 with a fade to white, ushering in a second scene from frame 972. Some of the last few frames of scene 1 are nearly white, but faint images can be seen in the normalized pictures available below (Day 36, Monday, April 29, 2013, normalized).
 
Readers typically have divided the comic into four scenes (see below). For example, at 850 hours (36 days 10 hours) the first "scene" of the comic ended at frame 971 with a fade to white, ushering in a second scene from frame 972. Some of the last few frames of scene 1 are nearly white, but faint images can be seen in the normalized pictures available below (Day 36, Monday, April 29, 2013, normalized).
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The pair continue to climb the mountain, commenting here and there on the possibility of turning back, but Megan wants to see what's at the top. Eventually, they stumble upon a small shelter and a few other signs of inhabitants. They investigate the surrounding area.
 
The pair continue to climb the mountain, commenting here and there on the possibility of turning back, but Megan wants to see what's at the top. Eventually, they stumble upon a small shelter and a few other signs of inhabitants. They investigate the surrounding area.
  
====Scene 2 - Part 5: The cougar attack====
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'''Bold text'''====Scene 2 - Part 5: The cougar attack====
A cougar attacks Cueball, but most of the hit is absorbed by his backpack (Cueball is still forced to the ground) and Megan gets in the way with a large stick. The cougar runs away, although it still allowed the cougar to claw her leg.
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A cougar attacks Megan, but Cueball gets in the way - although not before it claws her leg. Most of the hit gets absorbed by his backpack, but Cueball is forced to the ground. Megan grabs a stick and attacks the large cat, which runs away. UwU
  
 
====Scene 2 - Part 6: Starting to walk to the top of the mountain, the sun sets down====
 
====Scene 2 - Part 6: Starting to walk to the top of the mountain, the sun sets down====
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===Scene 3: Finding an unknown tribe===
 
===Scene 3: Finding an unknown tribe===
 
====Scene 3 - Part 1: Finding other people====
 
====Scene 3 - Part 1: Finding other people====
Then, they continue their travel at the plateau. They run into three people, all of whom look like [[Knit Cap]], who speak a language that they are unable to understand. Despite the language barrier, Megan shows her wounded leg and the strangers proceed to take a closer look at her. The strangers then help her to sit down on a stone. After the stranger with the medical equipment is back they do some kind of first aid. Megan expresses her thanks, and the strangers indicate via drawings in the sand that they should follow.
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Then, they continue their travel at the plateau. They run into three people who speak a language that they are unable to understand. Despite the language barrier, Megan shows her wounded leg and the strangers proceed to take a closer look at her. The strangers then help her to sit down on a stone. After the stranger with the medical equipment is back they do some kind of first aid. Megan expresses her thanks, and the strangers indicate via drawings in the sand that they should follow.
  
 
====Scene 3 - Part 2: Walking to the long haired woman====
 
====Scene 3 - Part 2: Walking to the long haired woman====
After walking uphill again they approach another tower. A device is mounted to the top and more smaller devices are around. They drink some water there and Cueball learns his first word in this new language: "water" or "drink". To aid communication, they start to draw pictures on the ground. Cueball shows their travel from the sea to the current location, and the stranger adds the rising sea level, indicating that he knows about this happening. The stranger shows a castle some more uphill and a long haired woman behind it. Cueball hopes they can speak to her, and the stranger explains with a drawing that it's less than a day away. The strangers collect their devices and store them somewhere. Then they start the travel to the castle. When they rest, Megan and Cueball taste some food offered by the strangers; they like it. A large flag appears and they encounter a small city. A big castle, still under construction, is visible in front of them. Megan states that she never thought she would ever see a real castle, and Cueball states that he didn't think that there were real castles. On their way to the castle they meet another stranger, exchanging some greetings. Then they enter the castle.
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After walking uphill again they approach another tower. A device is mounted to the top and more smaller devices are around. They drink some water there and Cueball learns his first word in this new language: "water" or "drink". To aid communication, they start to draw pictures on the ground. Cueball shows their travel from the sea to the current location, and the stranger adds the rising sea level, indicating that he knows about this happening. The stranger shows a castle some more uphill and a long haired woman behind it. Cueball hopes they can speak to her, and the stranger explains with a drawing that it's less than a day away. The strangers collect their devices and store them somewhere. Then they start the travel to the castle. When they rest, Megan and Cueball taste some food offered by the strangers; they like it. A large flag appears and they encounter a small city. A big castle, still under construction, is visible in front of them. Megan states that she never thought she would ever see a real castle. On their way to the castle they meet another stranger, exchanging some greetings. Then they enter the castle.
  
 
====Scene 3 - Part 3: Inside the castle====
 
====Scene 3 - Part 3: Inside the castle====
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{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
  
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Astronomy]]
 
[[Category:Astronomy]]
 
[[Category:Time]]
 
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Popular Comics]]
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[[Category:Comics with animation]]

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