Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-12-01

Did the ending of that play seem like Deus ex Machina to you?

Qwerty! Dvorak! Were you at the play as well?

Yes. Top row. Explosive decompression section.

Winston, these are Qwerty and Dvorak. They're friends of mine.

Are… are you guys the music duo Cyber Rap?

Told you we should have worn dark glasses.

Color by George Peterson

Deus ex machina from the Latin? In ancient Greek theatre the word mechane was used to describe a crane that allowed an actor to be lifted above the stage (allowing him to “fly”). In ancient theatre the phrase referred to a god who appears in the denouement of a performance with the help of special mechanisms “coming down from heaven” and solving the problems of the characters. In modern literature the expression is used to indicate an unexpected resolution of a difficult situation, which does not follow from the natural course of events. In Russian there is a similar expression, “a piano in the bush”.