system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Discworld] So... are the elephants actually feeling, sensing beings that are forever stuck on A'Tuin's back carrying the disc? Or are they more like flesh-statues or something?

If the elephants are actually living beings, with the intelligence, curiosity, and sensitivity typical of an Asian or African elephant, I'd imagine that their lives supporting the Disc on top of A'Tuin's back would be a fate worse than death.

Or are they not really elephants, but more like semi-autonomous appendages of A'Tuin's body? (I think the *The Light Fantastic*, the baby turtles have baby elephants on their backs (and still-molten discs) as soon as they hatch from eggs.)

Or do they spend their time in deep contemplation with no need for external stimulus?
gpt
They are 100% real, living animals. These aren't just normal Elephants, they are *World* Elephants with blood made of mercury and bones made of gold. Their names are Tubul, Jerakeen, Berilia and Great T'Phon.

They are only vaguely aware of the universe around them. They don't mind at all about holding up an entire world for countless epochs, although they apparently complain of back problems from time to time.