|
Post by Charlotte on Jul 6, 2010 7:21:19 GMT
This chapter marks the end of my expectations that this comic will be inherently logical or cohesive with previous chapters beyond what is necessary to tell an interesting tale, but I just wanted to mention, if there is any malfeasance to be discussed, perhaps it should be the Court's for exposing the students to something that could infect them and drive them insane.
If Zimmy cares so much for the dangers she puts people in, all she had to do was splat the spider when she first saw it on Jack, something she loves to do as recreation. However, I suspect Zimmy is a long-term nice person and this was just a one-off out-of-character act to drive the plot along. Like soap opera.
|
|
|
Post by warrl on Jul 6, 2010 8:30:09 GMT
If Zimmy cares so much for the dangers she puts people in, all she had to do was splat the spider when she first saw it on Jack, something she loves to do as recreation. However, I suspect Zimmy is a long-term nice person and this was just a one-off out-of-character act to drive the plot along. Like soap opera. It would be nice if she waited until she could get close enough to splat the spider... preferably without having to assault Jack in the process. And as far as we know, neither she nor Annie saw the spider in the Power Station chapter. It apparently grew later.
|
|
|
Post by todd on Jul 6, 2010 10:31:28 GMT
This chapter marks the end of my expectations that this comic will be inherently logical or cohesive with previous chapters beyond what is necessary to tell an interesting tale, but I just wanted to mention, if there is any malfeasance to be discussed, perhaps it should be the Court's for exposing the students to something that could infect them and drive them insane. The Court would probably argue that Jack knew that he wasn't supposed to go sneaking outside after dark, that he was aware that he was breaking curfew, and that if he'd been asleep in bed during the power station experiments, he wouldn't have been exposed to Zimmy's illusion. (Of course, it could be counter-argued that the Court's tone of "Don't get caught" rather than "Don't break the rules" probably encourages the children to indulge in rule-breaking if they think they can get away with it.)
|
|
|
Post by Charlotte on Jul 7, 2010 6:35:26 GMT
The Court would probably argue that Jack knew that he wasn't supposed to go sneaking outside after dark, They're going to tell this to the parents of the other kids who are still in danger of it happening to them? (In theory, of course. In the story, each plot line only gets used once). "We allow a situation in which your child could be driven insane but it is highly unlikely as long as she doesn't break any rules or doesn't get extremely unlucky." If this were happening in RL, my lawyer would say the power station was an attractive nuisance and they were responsible for the students' safety at all times.
|
|
|
Post by Charlotte on Jul 7, 2010 6:49:11 GMT
It would be nice if she waited until she could get close enough to splat the spider... preferably without having to assault Jack in the process. And as far as we know, neither she nor Annie saw the spider in the Power Station chapter. It apparently grew later. He grabbed her arm in a plea for help and she rejected him, knowing something was wrong (it sucks to be you, mate). By now, if this weren't just a one-off out of character act to move along plot ("oooocatmap"), some grownup along the way would have told her she had to report it to someone in charge if her condition affected someone in a way that she couldn't indo. Or *should* have told her same to insure the safety of the people she is around. Either way, it's an interesting story but not logically coherent. I still enjoy it, I just no longer expect plot cohesion.
|
|
|
Post by todd on Jul 7, 2010 11:17:31 GMT
It was already established in the comic that Zimmy didn't care about anyone except for Gamma (tolerating Annie because she knew that Gamma needed an occasional understudy), so I don't see what's so out-of-character for her initial response to Jack's condition.
Do we even *know* that the Court personnel had expected (before the events of Chapter Nineteen) that something like Jack's infection could be a side-effect of their experiments?
|
|
jon77
Full Member
Posts: 245
|
Post by jon77 on Jul 7, 2010 12:32:54 GMT
It would be nice if she waited until she could get close enough to splat the spider... preferably without having to assault Jack in the process. And as far as we know, neither she nor Annie saw the spider in the Power Station chapter. It apparently grew later. He grabbed her arm in a plea for help and she rejected him, knowing something was wrong (it sucks to be you, mate). I thought he grasped her arm to ask what the hell happened. The "sucks to be you, mate" referred to the unpleasantness of having been brought to zimmingham in the first place. Your interpretation assumes that both Jack and Zimmy knew that Jack was infected at that point. There is no evidence for this. The spider did not appear until later. It is not always visible. As for Jack, it seems to me he never realized that he was infected.
|
|
|
Post by idonotlikepeas on Jul 7, 2010 12:49:19 GMT
Are we actually expecting Zimmy's delusional reality-warping fantasy world to have consistent logic? There might be one or two solid rules, but beyond that I would assume that anything is possible, up to and including the streets of Birmingham swarming with herds of wild pencils or nuclear explosions cratering the entire Court. As long as it's horrible.
|
|
|
Post by Aris Katsaris on Jul 7, 2010 16:05:44 GMT
Are we actually expecting Zimmy's delusional reality-warping fantasy world to have consistent logic? Some of us were expecting it to be so, yes. However Tom has verified that we can't expect such consistency in a recent formspring answer to me.
|
|
lkm
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by lkm on Jul 7, 2010 17:02:50 GMT
Regarding Charlotte's question of why Zimmy didn't help earlier if she cares so much about people -- I didn't get the impression it was feasible before now. Back in Dobronac, Gamma, we saw her becoming progressively more unhinged due to Gamma's unconsciousness, which did not seem to be alleviated in any meaningful way when Gamma woke up until it rained. In the original Power Station chapter we saw what happens when the rain doesn't contain its mitigating etheric content, which is, apparently, a total loss of control. Speculating wildly here, I suspect the build of the storm creates some sort of psychic pressure for Zimmy ( www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=458 ) -- usually not a problem because the pressure will be released when the storm breaks, but it seems to spring back in a nasty way when the rain's been de-etherized, depriving her of an outlet. Again speculating, but I got the impression Zimmy couldn't have squashed the whitelegs until her head was clear. Hell, she just spent half a chaper thinking she was a different person entirely, and from what Gamma said this is not uncommon. This is probably not the optimal time to confront a creature that crawls into brains. It appears to be the only time she's fully in control and able to defend herself/other people from the things she sees. I also checked a bit, and she's shown no ability to do so in her hallucinations ( www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=190 ), having to instead rely on Gamma ( www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=192 ). I think this might actually be the first time we've ever seen her have any intentional effect on the supernatural things. As to Zimmy's initial coldness . . . I almost feel she's not really herself unless she's in the rain. We never see smiles like the ones she gives under the rain -- we never even see her eyes. So perhaps it's less a case of not caring and more a case of "not normally in the frame of mind TO care". (And as to the Court's abyssmal safety record: Most of the kids we know appear to have had parents who attended/worked in/still work in the Court, so it's unlikely they didn't know what they were getting. I assume the Court itself is just a strong proponent of natural selection.)
|
|
|
Post by hal9000 on Jul 7, 2010 20:41:05 GMT
There is no evidence for this. Sure there is; why else would Zimmy be apologizing for not helping him sooner if she had no idea that something was wrong with him? I think you might be rationalizing here.
|
|
|
Post by todd on Jul 7, 2010 22:13:18 GMT
I remember the speculation that the Court's so focused on defending itself from the dangers without (the inhabitants of Gillitie Wood) that it may not have considered the possibility that it should be defending itself from the danger within (curious students who want to go exploring).
Maybe the Court really *does* need some students who take a "I don't think that's such a good idea" angle towards adventuring - and who might even be prepared to tell their classmates bent on sneaking out in the middle of the night, "If you don't come back to bed right away - I'm - I'm telling the teachers!"
|
|
|
Post by warrl on Jul 12, 2010 19:22:40 GMT
It was already established in the comic that Zimmy didn't care about anyone except for Gamma (tolerating Annie because she knew that Gamma needed an occasional understudy), so I don't see what's so out-of-character for her initial response to Jack's condition. Do we even *know* that the Court personnel had expected (before the events of Chapter Nineteen) that something like Jack's infection could be a side-effect of their experiments? First, Zimmy is usually under extreme stress. She's nearly a different person after a good rain (and the one they got the first time the group was on that rooftop, was not a good one) because of the release from stress. When she finally did help Jack, it was after a good rain. Second, possibly Zimmy thought about [ur=http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=463]what Annie said to her the first time they were in Birminghell together[/url], and has made some progress in that regard - perhaps relieving the stress a bit and making her generally more respectful of other people.
|
|
whosit
Full Member
So totally a self-portrait.
Posts: 105
|
Post by whosit on Jul 13, 2010 4:08:57 GMT
First, Zimmy is usually under extreme stress. She's nearly a different person after a good rain (and the one they got the first time the group was on that rooftop, was not a good one) because of the release from stress. When she finally did help Jack, it was after a good rain. Second, possibly Zimmy thought about what Annie said to her the first time they were in Birminghell together, and has made some progress in that regard - perhaps relieving the stress a bit and making her generally more respectful of other people. I agree with your first point. However, if Zimmy actually took Annie's comment to heart like that, I'd be extremely surprised.
|
|