[1146] The mark of the creator

[hnau]

Just like cows. Only with lasers.

[GK Sierra]

Isn't that the symbol that was in her little light bulb of inspiration? I remember it being used in conjunction with Diego...

[foresterr]

That is not bismuth (EDIT: and ninja edits are evil ;-) ). It is not an alchemical symbol at all, and it was always associated with Kat in the Treatises, and other places (the thought bubble you mention being one notable example). I used to obsess over what it means, and only got out of Tom (on formspring) that this is a symbol of his own creation ;-)
If it was used in conjunction with Diego, then I can't remember where, and would appreciate a reference from anyone who remembers :-)

[nightrain]

Isn't that symbol just a side view of Diego's face? See the huge nose...

[sapientcoffee]

Jan 25, 2013 8:05:55 GMT GK Sierra said:

Isn't that the symbol that was in her little light bulb of inspiration? I remember it being used in conjunction with Diego...

It was indeed.

[jasmijn]

nightrain said it, I thought it.

Anyone sufficiently bored to go through the archives to find every last occurrence of this symbol?

[King Mir]

I don't remember it being anywhere other than what's already been mentioned: a few treatises, and in a Bad Start. If it was somewhere else, I know I missed it.

[hnau]

The robots draw the lines of the symbol in a different order. In the last page, one robot draws the horizontal line first. The other draws the lower half circle first. Here, the laser robot starts with the upper left zigzag.

[arf]

Protection? From what?

Also, is it implied that 'You're with us, Donlan'?

[imaginaryfriend]

Something irrelevant to ponder: Since the "traitorous robot" was depicted with similar eyes to these guys does that mean they believe she is armed and dangerous?

[wlerin]

There are only four occurrences of this symbol in the comic (that I could find, and not counting today):
gunnerkrigg.com/?p=293
gunnerkrigg.com/comics/00000558.jpg
gunnerkrigg.com/comics/00000755.jpg
gunnerkrigg.com/comics/00000832.jpg

As well as, possibly, the door on this page:
gunnerkrigg.com/comics/00000646.jpg


All except the last, which may just be a coincidence, are associated with Kat. The only non-treatise/title page is in her eureka moment.


The symbol is, curiously, *never* used in conjunction with Diego. I believe it is safe to guess that he is therefore NOT the creator referred to. So then either a) the robots mean the creator of something else (e.g. the Tic-Tocs), b) Diego did not create the original robots--he was a maker and a builder of robots but he learned his craft from someone else, or c) the "creator" is not a specific individual, but an inspiration, a 'genius' in the old sense--the spirit or influence behind Kat's designs and perhaps Diego's, even though as stated the symbol never occurs in reference to him.

All in all, a time travelling Kat is become more and more likely.

[Earin]

Jan 25, 2013 8:51:37 GMT arf said:

Protection? From what?

Also, is it implied that 'You're with us, Donlan'?

"Welcome to the Robot Mafia."

[theoldwolf]

Nice sleuthing work, wlerin.

[Stately Buff-Cookie]

Squeeeeee!

[lemarc]

If the robots have laser eyes, those buttons on their heads wouldn't be much good if they decided to get violent. I assume it's more like the emergency shutdown for runaway factory machines.

[darklao]

I bet Jones has that symbol as a tramp stamp.

[Lightice]

Jan 25, 2013 9:20:27 GMT wlerin said:

All in all, a time travelling Kat is become more and more likely.

I'm still more inclined to think that Kat is the descendent, reincarnation and/or successor of the original Creator. Ofcourse it would be pretty cool symmetry if she held a some sort of original machine-spirit inside her like Annie has the fire elemental.

[arf]

Just like real robots, with lasers.

Huh! Having taken the appearance of 113 as a sign of a
conspiracy with the laser cows, I quite missed that!
Too many other revelations.

[Sivo]

Jan 25, 2013 8:51:37 GMT arf said:

Protection? From what?

Possibly from beings that see the human capacity to extrapolate imaginatively upon reality as a disease?

[Toloc]

That robot is wielding the lower gate segments together;
therefore preventing it from ever being fully opened again.
Not relevant, but not nice.

I imagine Kat's could have quite an interesting conversation with her parents by now:

Mom, Dad,
I found a way to revive the original Court Robots,
am trying to create a whole new life form,
and kind of caused a robot cult to form around me as their prophesied messiah because of that
_{and I think I might be gay...}

[smjjames]

So that's why their eyes are shaped like that, they double as lasers. I wonder if the original seraph model had laser eyes (never mind that lasers are a 20th century invention) or it's a later upgrade.

[0o0f]

Well, at least they aren't going to wreck her place.

[King Mir]

The interesting thing about the fact that the symbol appeared in A Bad Start, is that it has at least one of one of two implications: Either Kat really is the Angle, and the existence of her is true prophecy, or they symbol retroactively applies to her inspiration. Either way, something's etheric about the court robots.

Which I guess isn't surprising, given that they are capable of worship, and what Zimmy sees. But it raises questions like is robot-ether the same as human-ether, and how do they influence the either when alive if they don't enter the ether when they die?

[Per]

Jan 25, 2013 13:59:56 GMT 0o0f said:

Well, at least they aren't going to wreck her place.

But they didn't say yet what they expect to be protecting her from.

"ULTRAGOLEM SEE BAD SIGN ON HOUSE. ULTRAGOLEM WRECK!"

[quoodle]

Jan 25, 2013 9:20:27 GMT wlerin said:

The symbol is, curiously, *never* used in conjunction with Diego. I believe it is safe to guess that he is therefore NOT the creator referred to. So then either a) the robots mean the creator of something else (e.g. the Tic-Tocs), b) Diego did not create the original robots--he was a maker and a builder of robots but he learned his craft from someone else, or c) the "creator" is not a specific individual, but an inspiration, a 'genius' in the old sense--the spirit or influence behind Kat's designs and perhaps Diego's, even though as stated the symbol never occurs in reference to him.

The "Creator" is Diego - he's referred to as "Father" here and "creator" here.

But I agree we never directly see the symbol associated with him.

[Lightice]

Jan 25, 2013 15:32:34 GMT quoodle said:

The "Creator" is Diego - he's referred to as "Father" here and "creator" here.

There may be an older Creator than Diego present in the robot mythology. See this page, which directly states that the Tic-Tocs are older than the Court and created by a "divine being". This Creator may refer to the creator of the Court, rather than the robots, considering that the symbol seems to be associated with the Court itself, as well as Kat, in the treatises. I think that there is a distinction between specific "our creator" and grandiose "the Creator", in this case.

[dipti]

Hi long time lurker first time poster!! ;D
First i would like to say that i think Kat really is an Angel do to the following the mark of the creater appearing next to and so often and how she appears to Zimmy in the ether.
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1049
Now i would like to link this to Coyote showing Carter the 3 faces of Ysengrim.
www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=685
I'm going on the interpretation that the ether view of an individual is the persons true face here.

[Rafael]

Throwing a little Occam's Razor into the discussion, don't you guys think maybe the symbol was never used in conjunction with Diego just because Tom didn't want to give that away so soon?

[King Mir]

Jan 25, 2013 16:20:03 GMT Lightice said:

I think that there is a distinction between specific "our creator" and grandiose "the Creator", in this case.

It could also be "a Creator". As in, they are marking Kat as a Creator.

[Ophel]

Awesome! Changes indeed!

But now the question is: Can the Seraph robots really reliably guard Kat?
Or are they implying that by "our protection", they mean the whole Gunnerkrigg robot community as a whole?

Either way, I think it would be a great idea that she should at least not trust them to keep a secret. Both the Seraphs and the whole robot community.