Post by Eversist on Feb 21, 2013 5:17:24 GMT
***thread under construction; please direct discussion of chapters tha need to be added >here< until complete***
This is a thread to keep the ever-growing list of the comic's more general unanswered questions in a (semi) easy-to-refer-to list, and perhaps help cut down on repeated questions (frames with footprints in Chapter 2, anyone?).
This thread is built off of the original thread, and was updated with the help of azujax, Nnelg, Per, GK Sierra, and myself. I tried to avoid answers swayed by personal opinion (and my own), and you are free to contest these answers. And, of course, some of these questions may never be answered during the course of the comic (and I have marked those as answered, if Tom has stated as such).
Feel free to contribute and/or answer questions posted here. You can openly speculate here, or in the other threads available for wild theorizing and previously unnoticed details. I'll be staying at least a chapter behind the comic (because it's possible questions brought up could be answered immediately). Post links if you can, so others can refer to specific pages and forum/FormSpring answers. Thanks!
--
Chapter 1: The Shadow and the Robot
-- What's the point of the tictocs? || Surveillance, possibly alluded to here (Zimmy hates tictocs, likely because surveillance puts her on edge). By whom or to what end is unknown.
-- How did Shadow 2 get stuck at the Court? || Partially answered on p. 976; he's lived there all his life. He is possibly a decendent of these shadowmen.
Chapter 2: Schoolyard Myths
-- Why was Surma bedridden after Antimony was born? || Answered p. 819
-- Those pictures... || Has been stated by Tom that this was a dropped potential plotline, and it is a reference to "The Peanutbutter Solution." FS answer
Chapter 3: Reynardine
-- How did Reynardine know that Surma was dead just by figuring out that Antimony was her daughter? || Answered p. 804
-- Why is the court so deserted/huge?
-- How'd Eglamore get to be friends with Sivo? || Partially answered on p. 557; it could be assumed that one had a dragon counterpart when one becomes resident dragonslayer
-- How did Reynardine escape form the prison that night?
Chapter 4: Not Very Scary
-- What is the significance of the "Dulce et decorum est" inscription? Does it mark Mort's tomb? || Very slightly addressed here
Chapter 5: Two Strange Girls
-- Seriously, what the heck is Zimmy? || Sort of answered by Jones on p. 723
-- How did Zimmy know that Reynardine was more than a toy? || Sort of answered by Jones on p. 723. Also, see all of Chapter 38.
-- What is the significance of "κίνδυνος έντομο" ? || Rough run through Google Translate says it's Greek for "risk of insect."
--What was Zimmy's experiment? || Never to be known... ever
Chapter 6: A Handful of Dirt
-- What's the point of the room with the cherries? || Answered p. 607
-- Who is the gardener? || Answered p. 606
-- Where is Anthony and what's he up to?
Chapter 8: Broken Glass And Other Things
-- Why did the Tictocs save Antimony?
-- Mort is "new and inexperienced" - at what? Who was Mort? And why is he the only ghost we see around? || New and inexperienced at being dead and haunting, we can suspect.
-- What's the deal with Jeanne? How could she cross the river and why shouldn't she be able to? Why did she slash Antimony? Why is she beyond the psychopomp's reach? || The Court did something very bad
-- What is Gunnerkrigg Court? || Unanswered, but as Coyote enigmatically put it: "Man's endevour to become god.". Jones offers some origin theories here
-- Why did Red and her friend want to go to Gunnerkrigg? || Still unanswered, but now we know animals can come over too.
Chapter 9: Questions and Answers
-- Why is Robot's arm planted in an artificial habitat room? || Answered p. 607
Chapter 11: Dobranoc, Gamma
-- Why does Annie's scar show up near Zimmy? || Sort of answered indirectly - the cut is visible in the Ether, and it's implied that Zimmy's condition has something to do with the Ether.
-- Why does rain help her? || Mostly answered on p. 740; rain has "raw" ether and it helps her condition
-- Why do the tic-tocs agitate her? || Answered on p. 724. Surveilence puts her on edge.
Chapter 12: Mainly Involves Robots
-- Why are they studying so many CPUs? Is Rey right about "trouble in the ranks"?
-- What's the extra part on Robot's CPU? Do all robots have it?
Chapter 13: A Week for Kat
-- Why does Annie wear that makeup all the time? || Unanswered, although there are theories. and it may be as simple as her mothering having worn it. Answer sorta alluded to here; a form of protection, even if only symbolic or in memory of her mother.
Chapter 14: The Fangs of Summertime
-- How does one pronounce Ysengrin? || Tom pronounces it "is-en-grin"
-- How does Coyote know about the Eglamore/Surma/Anthony love triangle? || Possibly answered on p. 792
-- Why can't Annie trust the Court people?
-- Why did Ysengrin drop the seeds?
-- Why is Ysengrin drawing "closer to the brink of insanity?" || Certainly helped along by this.
-- Why doesn't Annie hear from her father for two years? || Still unknown; "The key word was 'hear'."
Chapter 15: Red Returns
-- Why is court education for the forest people lacking in basic vocabulary and heavy on science? || Well, on p. 22 and 520 we see that the court doesn't care for much that isn't strictly science.
-- Why did Ysengrin bury the bird and blame the court? || It is possible he does not remember.
Chapter 16: A Ghost Story
-- Why does Surma say she would be of no use to the guides anymore? || Answered p. 819
-- "The world continues to spin, pup. The boy and his family will ensure it." ?? || Answered p. 1072
Chapter 17: The Medium Beginning
-- Why does Jones speak as though she aligns herself with neither the court nor the forest? || Answered p. 1119
-- Eglamore/Jones? || (Sorta) answered p. 1118
Chapter 18: S1
-- Jones: what? || Answered p. 1113.
-- "She died and we did nothing." Why do they say this re: Jeanne? || Answered p. 657
-- So what happened between Surma and Eggers? || Partially answered on p. 1097; dated, then broke up for some reason.
-- Why is Reynardine so much more polite as a wolf? || Rey addresses this here. Also partially answered here and here.
Chapter 19: Power Station
-- What is the power station for? || Answered p. 708
-- Why does the station mess with Zimmy's head? || Answered p. 740; it could be assumed that since the Power Station is draining raw ether from the water, this perhaps agitates Zimmy's condition.
Chapter 20: Coyote Stories
-- What did the court do so nothing could cross? || Answered p. 656
-- Why does Ysengrin hate humans? || At least partially answered on p. 1077/1078
-- Why did Reynardine try to kill Annie?/Did Reynardine truly intend to kill Annie?
-- Who was the guy Reynardine killed?
-- What is the Court doing re: "Man's endeavor to become God?"
-- What is Coyote's great secret? || Answered p. 1068
-- How much control does Coyote have over Ysengrin? || Mostly answered p. 1089
Chapter 21: Blinking
-- Why did Diego make all the robots obsessed with the Jeanne painting? -- Answered p. 657
-- Why did none of the psychopomps come for Surma? -- Answered p. 804
-- What is the significance of the "crown" symbol? || Answered here. It's a representation of the fire elementals.
Chapter 22: Ties
-- Why couldn't Surma stand Jones? || Possibly because Surma had feelings for Eglamore at that point, and she knows that the two have history. Could also be that Surma, being a creature of emotion, thought Jones was a big fraud.
-- Where is Brinnie now? || We at least know this
-- Why were Anja and Surma put in, then switched from Chester? || The Court supposedly didn't realize they had any abilities above a normal human.
-- What is the purpose of the tree dogs? And why were they bringing Shadows to the court? || Partially answered on p. 607.
-- What is the original connection between the Rogat Orjak and the dragonslayers?
Chapter 23: Terror Castle of the Jupiter Moon Martians
-- What does Jones mean by "...not beholden to anyone," and why is Reynardine disappointed? || She could mean that she is not currently companioning anyone in this way.
-- What was the seed bismuth?
-- Why did humans come to Gillitie forest?
-- So, what happened between Sir Young, Diego, and Jeanne? || Partially answered on p. 774
-- Why would a lot of information about the Court's founding be deliberately hidden?
Chapter 24: Residential
-- What's up with the spider and spiderwebs on Jack's etheric face? || Answered p. 737
Chapter 25: Sky Watcher and the Angel
--Are the tic-tocs really older than the Court? What kind of "divine being" created them?
--Who was the member of the Court that refused to participate in the "abhorrent plan?"
--What exactly did Diego's device do to Jeanne, and how does it protect the Court? || Well, it is supposed to prevent people from crossing the river except for over the bridge.
--What changes will Robot bring about in the robot society? || Partially answered on p. 1146 and a few previous pages of Chapter 41.
Chapter 26: The Old Dog's Tricks
-- Why did Coyote want Annie to see Ysengrin out of his tree suit? Which does Coyote consider to be the "real Ysengrin/way others see Ysengrin/way he sees himself"?
-- What are Coyote's ulterior motives behind giving Annie his tooth? Is he just trying to make trouble Court-side?
Chapter 27: Spring Heeled
-- Why do the Chester and Folley houses warrant being blocked off from the main server?
-- Jack says a student can talk to animals. Who is it? || First panel implies it's Paz.
-- What is the Court trying to achieve with the ether at the power station?
-- Why does Jack want to find Zimmy so badly? || Answered p. 927
Chapter 28: Spring Heeled Part 2
-- Jones exhibits superhuman strength, a high density, and possibly a need not to breathe in this chapter. How is she able to do this? Because she is not a robot. || See entirety of Chapter 40
-- What would have happened if Jack had gotten all of the Jack's gathered together? || This will never be answered in the comic.
Chapter 29: A Bad Start
-- What is the meaning of Kat's symbol (shown both on p. 755 and the treatises)? || Shown to be related Diego here
Chapter 30: The Coward Heart
-- Why is Jeanne able to affect things in the corporeal world if her physical body is gone? Is this the intended effect of the green device?
-- Why did Jeanne show the girls her story if she intended to kill them?
-- What is the significance of the interactions between Steadman and Jeanne? What was the nature of their relationship?
Chapter 31: Fire Spike
-- Does the shield/Eglamore's powers of flight have to do with Anja's computer? || It's likely linked somehow to that based on color choice. Also, Tom has stated that Eglamore has no etheric powers of his own.
-- Why does Coyote call Jones Wandering Eye? What does he mean, "latest name you've stolen..."? || Answered here and here.
-- What kind of interaction has Coyote and Jones had in the past, considering Jones is confident that she could take Annie back to the court (seemingly using force), and Coyote's question phrasing?
-- Why didn't Coyote see fit to tell Ysengrin (or anyone else) that he knew Reynard was tricked by Surma/the Court?
-- Why doesn't Coyote want anyone to know about the tooth? How does Ysengrin know about the nature of the binding?
-- How was the first of Annie's line concieved? || Tom has stated he has an idea of an extra comic about this story.
-- Coyote also knows that Jones is meant to be impartial to the court or forest... yet she is not medium. What is her role? || Answered p. 1119
Chapter 32: From the Forest She Came
-- What does Ysengrin know of Jones?
-- What other abilities did Annie learn over the summer with her blinker stone?
-- Lindsey's/Bud's backstory?
Chapter 33: Give and Take
-- What's the nature of Kamlen and Annie's relationship? || Implied romantic.
-- Is Jeanne's Anwyn related to Khepi's family?
-- What is Annie trying to show Kat on p. 875? || Answered on p. 986
--
Chapter 34: Faraway Morning
Chapter 35: Parley and Smitty Are In This One
Chapter 36: Red Gets A Name
Chapter 37: Microsat 5
Chapter 38: Divine
Chapter 39: The Great Secret
Chapter 40: The Stone
-- Jones states the Court could not be found "by accident." What kind of wards does the Court have up to remain mostly undisturbed by the outside world?
This is a thread to keep the ever-growing list of the comic's more general unanswered questions in a (semi) easy-to-refer-to list, and perhaps help cut down on repeated questions (frames with footprints in Chapter 2, anyone?).
This thread is built off of the original thread, and was updated with the help of azujax, Nnelg, Per, GK Sierra, and myself. I tried to avoid answers swayed by personal opinion (and my own), and you are free to contest these answers. And, of course, some of these questions may never be answered during the course of the comic (and I have marked those as answered, if Tom has stated as such).
Feel free to contribute and/or answer questions posted here. You can openly speculate here, or in the other threads available for wild theorizing and previously unnoticed details. I'll be staying at least a chapter behind the comic (because it's possible questions brought up could be answered immediately). Post links if you can, so others can refer to specific pages and forum/FormSpring answers. Thanks!
--
Chapter 1: The Shadow and the Robot
-- What's the point of the tictocs? || Surveillance, possibly alluded to here (Zimmy hates tictocs, likely because surveillance puts her on edge). By whom or to what end is unknown.
-- How did Shadow 2 get stuck at the Court? || Partially answered on p. 976; he's lived there all his life. He is possibly a decendent of these shadowmen.
Chapter 2: Schoolyard Myths
Chapter 3: Reynardine
-- Why is the court so deserted/huge?
-- How'd Eglamore get to be friends with Sivo? || Partially answered on p. 557; it could be assumed that one had a dragon counterpart when one becomes resident dragonslayer
-- How did Reynardine escape form the prison that night?
Chapter 4: Not Very Scary
-- What is the significance of the "Dulce et decorum est" inscription? Does it mark Mort's tomb? || Very slightly addressed here
Chapter 5: Two Strange Girls
-- Seriously, what the heck is Zimmy? || Sort of answered by Jones on p. 723
-- How did Zimmy know that Reynardine was more than a toy? || Sort of answered by Jones on p. 723. Also, see all of Chapter 38.
Chapter 6: A Handful of Dirt
-- Where is Anthony and what's he up to?
Chapter 8: Broken Glass And Other Things
-- Why did the Tictocs save Antimony?
-- Mort is "new and inexperienced" - at what? Who was Mort? And why is he the only ghost we see around? || New and inexperienced at being dead and haunting, we can suspect.
-- What's the deal with Jeanne? How could she cross the river and why shouldn't she be able to? Why did she slash Antimony? Why is she beyond the psychopomp's reach? || The Court did something very bad
-- What is Gunnerkrigg Court? || Unanswered, but as Coyote enigmatically put it: "Man's endevour to become god.". Jones offers some origin theories here
-- Why did Red and her friend want to go to Gunnerkrigg? || Still unanswered, but now we know animals can come over too.
Chapter 9: Questions and Answers
Chapter 11: Dobranoc, Gamma
-- Why do the tic-tocs agitate her? || Answered on p. 724. Surveilence puts her on edge.
Chapter 12: Mainly Involves Robots
-- Why are they studying so many CPUs? Is Rey right about "trouble in the ranks"?
-- What's the extra part on Robot's CPU? Do all robots have it?
Chapter 13: A Week for Kat
-- Why does Annie wear that makeup all the time? || Unanswered, although there are theories. and it may be as simple as her mothering having worn it. Answer sorta alluded to here; a form of protection, even if only symbolic or in memory of her mother.
Chapter 14: The Fangs of Summertime
-- How does Coyote know about the Eglamore/Surma/Anthony love triangle? || Possibly answered on p. 792
-- Why can't Annie trust the Court people?
-- Why did Ysengrin drop the seeds?
-- Why is Ysengrin drawing "closer to the brink of insanity?" || Certainly helped along by this.
-- Why doesn't Annie hear from her father for two years? || Still unknown; "The key word was 'hear'."
Chapter 15: Red Returns
-- Why is court education for the forest people lacking in basic vocabulary and heavy on science? || Well, on p. 22 and 520 we see that the court doesn't care for much that isn't strictly science.
-- Why did Ysengrin bury the bird and blame the court? || It is possible he does not remember.
Chapter 16: A Ghost Story
Chapter 17: The Medium Beginning
Chapter 18: S1
-- So what happened between Surma and Eggers? || Partially answered on p. 1097; dated, then broke up for some reason.
-- Why is Reynardine so much more polite as a wolf? || Rey addresses this here. Also partially answered here and here.
Chapter 19: Power Station
Chapter 20: Coyote Stories
-- Why did Reynardine try to kill Annie?/Did Reynardine truly intend to kill Annie?
-- Who was the guy Reynardine killed?
-- What is the Court doing re: "Man's endeavor to become God?"
Chapter 21: Blinking
Chapter 22: Ties
-- Why couldn't Surma stand Jones? || Possibly because Surma had feelings for Eglamore at that point, and she knows that the two have history. Could also be that Surma, being a creature of emotion, thought Jones was a big fraud.
-- Where is Brinnie now? || We at least know this
-- What is the purpose of the tree dogs? And why were they bringing Shadows to the court? || Partially answered on p. 607.
-- What is the original connection between the Rogat Orjak and the dragonslayers?
Chapter 23: Terror Castle of the Jupiter Moon Martians
-- What does Jones mean by "...not beholden to anyone," and why is Reynardine disappointed? || She could mean that she is not currently companioning anyone in this way.
-- What was the seed bismuth?
-- Why did humans come to Gillitie forest?
-- So, what happened between Sir Young, Diego, and Jeanne? || Partially answered on p. 774
-- Why would a lot of information about the Court's founding be deliberately hidden?
Chapter 24: Residential
Chapter 25: Sky Watcher and the Angel
--Are the tic-tocs really older than the Court? What kind of "divine being" created them?
--Who was the member of the Court that refused to participate in the "abhorrent plan?"
--What exactly did Diego's device do to Jeanne, and how does it protect the Court? || Well, it is supposed to prevent people from crossing the river except for over the bridge.
--What changes will Robot bring about in the robot society? || Partially answered on p. 1146 and a few previous pages of Chapter 41.
Chapter 26: The Old Dog's Tricks
-- Why did Coyote want Annie to see Ysengrin out of his tree suit? Which does Coyote consider to be the "real Ysengrin/way others see Ysengrin/way he sees himself"?
-- What are Coyote's ulterior motives behind giving Annie his tooth? Is he just trying to make trouble Court-side?
Chapter 27: Spring Heeled
-- Why do the Chester and Folley houses warrant being blocked off from the main server?
-- What is the Court trying to achieve with the ether at the power station?
Chapter 28: Spring Heeled Part 2
Chapter 29: A Bad Start
-- What is the meaning of Kat's symbol (shown both on p. 755 and the treatises)? || Shown to be related Diego here
Chapter 30: The Coward Heart
-- Why is Jeanne able to affect things in the corporeal world if her physical body is gone? Is this the intended effect of the green device?
-- Why did Jeanne show the girls her story if she intended to kill them?
-- What is the significance of the interactions between Steadman and Jeanne? What was the nature of their relationship?
Chapter 31: Fire Spike
-- Does the shield/Eglamore's powers of flight have to do with Anja's computer? || It's likely linked somehow to that based on color choice. Also, Tom has stated that Eglamore has no etheric powers of his own.
-- What kind of interaction has Coyote and Jones had in the past, considering Jones is confident that she could take Annie back to the court (seemingly using force), and Coyote's question phrasing?
-- Why didn't Coyote see fit to tell Ysengrin (or anyone else) that he knew Reynard was tricked by Surma/the Court?
-- Why doesn't Coyote want anyone to know about the tooth? How does Ysengrin know about the nature of the binding?
-- How was the first of Annie's line concieved? || Tom has stated he has an idea of an extra comic about this story.
Chapter 32: From the Forest She Came
-- What does Ysengrin know of Jones?
-- What other abilities did Annie learn over the summer with her blinker stone?
-- Lindsey's/Bud's backstory?
Chapter 33: Give and Take
-- What's the nature of Kamlen and Annie's relationship? || Implied romantic.
-- Is Jeanne's Anwyn related to Khepi's family?
-- What is Annie trying to show Kat on p. 875? || Answered on p. 986
--
Chapter 34: Faraway Morning
Chapter 35: Parley and Smitty Are In This One
Chapter 36: Red Gets A Name
Chapter 37: Microsat 5
Chapter 38: Divine
Chapter 39: The Great Secret
Chapter 40: The Stone
-- Jones states the Court could not be found "by accident." What kind of wards does the Court have up to remain mostly undisturbed by the outside world?