Dear Mr. Stroud,

I was curious if any other Magicians or Commoners with the ability, would venture into the Other Place. And having Kitty around as an example of one who has crossed over, would they not try to study her and see what exactly where the ramifications of her visit and if they could counteract the effects. There are people who are in a coma, who have their muscles stimulated, their breathing done for them and their bodies basically preserved. Could not a technically savvy Magician with a little medical know-how create a way to safely travel through Ptolemy's Gate? It sounds as though Kitty has absorbed some of the Essence of the Other Place. If someone were to stay in the Other Place for an extended period of time, without having their physical body dying, could they not become very powerful? I know one must be invited by a Spirit to the Other Place, calling their name three times and the like, but could someone trick a Spirit or perhaps impersonate Kitty? And if time does not exist in the Other Place, would it be possible to impersonate Ptolemy?

Also, did they kill all the hybrids? If one got away, how do they maintain their bodies? Nouda started to pop through his skin. It's true that he was an extra powerful spirit, but would the flesh eventually fall away and leave just the dancing bag of bones like Honorius?

Very curious to hear your thoughts on this!

Simplicity Always,
Andrew

Andrew! Even Bartimaeus would baulk at the amount of time you've had to wait for a reply, for which FULSOME apologies. It's a good question, that whole Other Place travel idea. I doubt that there are many magicians who would dare trying to masquerade as Kitty, or Ptolemy, in order to gain admittance to the OP. You're right, though, that there would be plenty who would be interested in the after-effects that Kitty displays (even though we don't fully see them in PG, it's clear that she has gained a certain spiritual luminosity from her ordeal), and would be keen to take advantage of them. It's possible that a really talented magician might attempt to copy Ptol/Kitty's achievement, while taking good care of his mortal body... Maybe that'll be a story told, one day.

As for the hybrids, I think they all perished. The 'fusion' of spirit and mortal that Faquarl and his friends were attempting just wasn't a stable combination. Only Bart and Nat managed the appropriate balance. If any hybrid survived the battle, it wouldn't be long before the mortal body began to betray the spirit within, and some kind of disintegration would result.