fables

“ Please thank Erwin for his service, the next time he's alive. „
― Feathertop to King Cole, Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #12 — "The Bones of What You Believe: The Conclusion of The Unsentimental Education"


Erwin is a Fable cat who is sometimes dead and sometimes alive. He appears in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #12 — "The Bones of What You Believe: The Conclusion of The Unsentimental Education."

History

Background

Erwin is a dear old friend of King Cole, and a walking paradox: He exists in a state of duality, simultaneously present and absent, experiencing the full spectrum of life; one moment a little kitten, the next a mere walking skeleton, then deceased, only to be revived once more.[1]

The cube

When a trio of bullied teens erect a magic prison cube around Plano South Senior High,[3] in the form of a force field sustained by a magical superposition of a quantum eigentstate; a black hole,[1] Feathertop realizes that he needs Erwin to to tackle the situation, and reaches out to King Cole to bring the cat in.[2]

King Cole arrives with Erwin in a portable pet carrier, and lets him get to work. As Kole opens the carrier, Erwin falls out with a thump, dead; only to revive and groom himself in the next. He then falls over dead once more, before being reborn as a kitten, who transforms into a walking skeleton. A s he continues to walk toward the Cube, Erwin assumes the form of a normal living cat once more, but suddenly transforms into a lifeless body that appears to have been struck by a vehicle. He then revives yet again, before collapsing dead on a rock. Finally, he reaches the Cube, and with merely a gentle touch of his paw, he is able to dismantle the magical barrier in an instant.[1]

With Erwin securely placed back in the pet carrier, Feathertop presents the carrier to King Cole and asks him to convey his thanks to Erwin for his service the next time he is alive.[1]

Physical appearance

When he is alive, Erwin is a long-haired tuxedo cat with a light brown coat and white on the chest, belly, paws, and face. He also possesses blue eyes.[1]

Powers and abilities

Dual nature: Erwin is of a dual nature, being both dead and alive, present and not present, etc. Because of his very existence, he is powerful enough to break down a magical barrier that consists of a black hole, with just a touch of his paw.[1]

Appearances

Everafter: From the Pages of Fables

Original source

Erwin is based on the feline from Erwin Schrödinger's thought experiment Schrödinger's cat. It is designed to illustrate the paradox of quantum superposition and postulates that if you put a cat in a box with something that has the potential to end its life, you won't know if the animal is living or dead until you open the box. Therefore, at any given moment before you open it, the cat is both alive and deceased simultaneously.[4] Schrödinger considered the notion of a cat being simultaneously alive and dead to be "quite ridiculous" and designed his thought experiment to question the assumptions of other scientists regarding quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, researchers have since succeeded in placing particles, including ions and photons, into superposed states.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #12 — "The Bones of What You Believe: The Conclusion of The Unsentimental Education"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #11 — "Whisper To a Scream: Part Four of The Unsentimental Education"
  3. ↑ Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #8 — "Gleaming The Cube: Part One of The Unsentimental Education"
  4. ↑ Metwalli, Sara M. (January 18, 2023) What Is Schrödinger's Cat? Built In. "Schrödinger's Cat is a thought experiment devised by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, which he designed to illustrate a paradox of quantum superposition wherein a hypothetical cat may be considered both alive and dead simultaneously because its fate is linked to a random event that may (or may not) occur. What Is Schrödinger's Cat in Simple Terms? Schrödinger's Cat, as a thought experiment, states that if you seal a cat in a box with something that can eventually kill it, you won't know if the cat is alive or dead until you open the box. So, until you open the box and observe the cat, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive."
  5. ↑ Matthias, Meg (July 30, 2025). Schrödinger's cat, Encyclopædia Britannica. "Schrödinger thought that the cat being both alive and dead was “quite ridiculous” and intended his thought experiment to challenge other scientists’ suppositions about quantum mechanics. However, scientists have since been able to place particles such as ions and photons in superposed states."