Unseen UniversityOn the fictional Discworld created by English fantasy author Terry Pratchett, Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in the city of Ankh-Morpork. Staffed by a faculty composed of mostly insane and inane old wizards, and a Librarian who has been transformed into an orangutan, one can always find some sort of mischief going on there. Modo is the dwarfish gardener at the Unseen University who doesn't bother the wizards as much as they bother him. The motto of the UU is "Nunc Id Vides, Nunc Ne Vides". Loosely translatable as "Now you see it, now you don't". The coat of arms is: A livre des sortilèges, attaché en cuivre, sur un chapeau pointu, on a field, azure.\n(That is: a book of magic spells, with copper clasps, over a pointed hat, on a blue background.)\nAs usually rendered, it bears more than a slight resemblance to the coat of arms of the University of Oxford. Due to the high levels of background magic in the vicinity, a typical map of UU vagely resembles an exploding chrysanthemum and is usually only valid for a day or so. One of the most notable rooms in the UU is Room 3b. This room is not believed to exist, but a surprising number of classes are scheduled there. In fact, at times of great celebration in the city of Ankh-Morpork it is not uncommon for the entire faculty to be teaching there. After learning the basics of spellcasting, UU students are challenged to continue their research in the Library. The high concentration of magical lore has warped the Library interior into a locus of L-Space where the concepts of distance and direction are only vaguely defined. There the students will encounter the Librarian and seek out the grimoires binding the more formidable spells. Since the contents of all magic libraries are in L-Space, it is possible to enter a Library in one city and exit in another. See also: Hex (the computer at UU)
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"University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small." - Henry Kissinger (1923-) |
