[583]Bismuth

"Why Jones, I didn't know you cared. But mightn't you get in trouble, me being underage and all?"

I was already wondering where the heck the choclates came from anyway, but seriously Jones, a single red rose? Are you trying to make Parley jealous?

...The chocolates came from Dr. Disaster, like 8 pages ago. Or were you kidding?

wow, how pretty.

Yeah! Look, Annie and Reynardine recognize him, too; in the second panel they're looking at each other and Annie's face is all "Holy crap it's DIEGO." I hope they discuss/further investigate this topic very soon!

...honestly, I'm almost more interested in finding out Jeanne & Diego's backstory and the origins of the ghost at the Annan Waters than I am in learning how the divide came about (does that make me a bad person? ...alas).

I'd guess that she wants Smit to use that rose for something. But then I'm wrong more often than not.

As for the Bismuth thing, I'd hypothesize that it was named because of the Court's love affair with the element and not the other way around, since they have no idea what it ACTUALLY was.

Also, a red rose has several meanings in alchemy, but I don't see how any of them apply here. Except, you know, love to make George jealous.

Since no one has put one up:
That is the symbol for bismuth, in case anyone was wondering.

I'm a bit confused about positioning. Annie and Reynardine are in front of Hat-man and Collar-man, Diego's behind Hatty and Collar in the last comic, and Annie and Reynardine are behind Diego with no sign of motion.

Meh, I guess they just moved?

Jones is, as always, totally inscrutable.

I think that its quite possible that Diego being here is not particularly important, when compared to the fact that Diego's undeniable presence in this simulation means that there is some active record of him in the court. Somebody else knows about Diego, which means that its quite possible that somebody else knows about Jeanne. Even if we don't learn as much as we want right now, the fact that Diego is in this simulation nearly guarantees that someone out there has the answers.

Coyote, for starters, leaps to mind.

I'd like to add something else to the time period question.

Jones stated that the humans who would eventually found the Court came to Gillitie Wood apparently as exiles or refugees. We know that they were interested in delving into science, and especially the etheric matters often called "magic".

That suggests that they might have fled to the Wood after being suspected by others of being guilty of sorcery and witchcraft, especially since early attempts at scientific investigation often were mistaken as delving into sorcery. In a century before the 18th, this would be probable. But in the 18th century, at least in England, the Age of Reason was established, and while many people among the lower classes probably still had such superstitious fears, scientific investigation had become far more respectable. So the human founders would have had less reason to fear being at the receiving end of a witch-hunt.

Unless their investigations were too obviously "fringe science" for the day. Or unless their need to take flight was not entirely because of their work. Perhaps they'd been the losing side in a political struggle and had to hide in the forest to save themselves from being hanged for treason.

Or maybe British history in the world of "Gunnerkrigg Court" has some strong differences with British history in our world. We don't know as yet.

Did the mention of "seed" make anyone think of the results of burying a Tic Toc?

Woah woah, does this mean that court was actually grown? Like a plant!?

So the Court has artificial-looking buildings, people, robots, and science, while the Woods have trees, animals, nature spirits, and magic.

But the Court was grown from a seed, noone seems to know the entire depths of either side, it appears the robots sustain themselves, and the Court studies the etheric sciences, which is just a hair shy of magic.

So it's seems to be just a difference in time of creation, physical appearance, and occupants.

Methinks the Court/Woods duality does not run nearly as deep as appearances would suggest...

Let's also not forget the seed Ysengrin planted in Robot's body.