Jones: The Facts

[eightyfour]

I think this is the time Jones has earned a forum thread of her own (there isn't one yet that I missed, is there?).

So, what is it we know of her as a fact, and what do we assume?


* She never shows any emotion. Her facial expression is always completely blank, and she uses only very limited gestures (479). Question: Is she unable to express them or doesn't she have any?

* She always dresses the same way. There are variations in color, number of pockets, length of the sleeves or style of the collar, but overall she seems to possess only one type of dress. She seems to prefer muted colors, the only exception to this is a bright pink neck scarf (269, 367, 479, 575, 721). Assumption: She is unfamiliar with human clothing.

* She refers to herself only as "Jones", not "Miss Jones" (367), however she doesn't seem to mind other people addressing her that way. Assumption: She doesn't think human forms of address apply to her.

* She has not always been gone by the name "Jones". Coyote implies that she used several different names before. He calls her "Wandering Eye" (817).

* She is aware of human etiquette (478) and she appears to have a social life (597).

* She doesn't hesitate to get soaking wet and dirty (727) and isn't uncomfortable with it either (728).

* She has superhuman strength (721, 727), but she is able to handle her strength very well, as in, she can be gentle (376, 588).

* She appears to be highly resistant to physical harm. She is able to punch through a solid concrete wall, apparently without hurting herself (727). It is unsure how hard Eglamore's sword hit her face, however it did not leave the slightest mark (380).

* She is heavier than a human of her size should be. She sank deeper than anybody else into Parley's bed (587), and she sinks like a stone when she jumped off the boat (727).

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not taught at the court. Assumption: Jones was a child once, too, because otherwise it would be unlikely for her to have social contacts to other children in a way so that one of them would want her to be on a school photo.

* Surma didn't like her, but Eglamore did (540), and apparently still does (376). Accoding to Annie there might be "something going on" between Eglamore and her (403).

* She is not a robot (728). Reynardine can't (or won't) answer as to what she is (592). He thinks even Coyote couldn't answer that question (593). Assumption: She is not a creature of purely etherical origin, there is at least some technology involved. Otherwise Coyote should know about her.

* Kat doesn't think it would be possible to build an Android that would look totally human, like she looks (404).

* She is teaching how to be a medium, but she is not a medium herself (367).

* She has some authority at the court (723) and her place at the meeting was at the right hand side of the headmaster (269), but she doesn't seem to ally herself with anybody at all (375). She considers herself "not beholden to anyone" (575).

* She knows a lot of details about the court and it's past, but in spite of her standing, there are things about the court kept secret from even her (725).

* She can't use a Blinker Stone (515).

* It has been implied that she has seen some very grotesque things (even by Court standards), which suggests that she's been "in the field" for quite a while (288).

* She has an office at the court that is in the same general area as those of other teachers (or at least Eglamore's) (161).

* She knows ancient Egyptian.


Anything I missed? Any of my assumptions that can be disproven?

[simzthedragon]

She has parallels to Beatrix Kiddo? (via: chapter 28, page 9)

[simzthedragon]

Also: your signature made me very mournful.

I'm gonna miss those dinosaur toys...

[lovecraft1024]

In spite of her standing, there are things about the court kept secret from even her (725).

[cheddarius]

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

She considers herself "not beholden to anyone" (575).

I think by this she meant this in the frame of having a boyfriend (especially since Dr. Disaster was around).

[eightyfour]

May 28, 2010 13:15:34 GMT lovecraft1024 said:

In spite of her standing, there are things about the court kept secret from even her (725).

Added that to the list, thanks.

May 28, 2010 14:11:18 GMT cheddarius said:

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

She considers herself "not beholden to anyone" (575).

I think by this she meant this in the frame of having a boyfriend (especially since Dr. Disaster was around).

This might be the quirks of the english language playing tricks on me (not a native speaker), but would one actually use the term "beholden" in that context? It seems to me to be more related to having a duty or obligation.

[Nicer Atom]

She's about as subtle as Antimony. It's only harder to notice because she never shows any emotions. [Links to be added later]

[maestro]

I'm not sure the clothing is a big deal, since every time we've seen her has been in an official capacity (teaching Annie, investigating the power station being started up by Jack, at the meeting with Coyote and helping prepare Annie to go to the forest). That may just be her "work" clothes.

I wonder if the pink scarf was a gift from Randy, since the only time we've seen her wearing it was around him.

[the bandit]

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not a student there herself (can anyone provide a link to where Tom said that?). Assumption: Jones was a child once, too, because otherwise it would be unlikely for her to have social contacts to other children in a way so that one of them would want her to be on a school photo.

Someone once pointed out that Jones's ruffling of Eglamore's hair is a possible indication of a time when Jones was taller than Eglamore.

[thelizard]

In #288, Jones says of Ysengrin, "The way he has distorted his body... I've seen similar, but nothing quite like that." And the headmaster says, "Coming from you that disturbs me greatly."

EDIT:

Assumption: Jones was a child once, too, because otherwise it would be unlikely for her to have social contacts to other children in a way so that one of them would want her to be on a school photo.

That's a big assumption. If Annie and Kat were having a school photo taken, they might want Reynardine to be in it... and Robot... and Shadow 2... (though he might not appreciate the camera flash)

[basser]

Eggy: "Aw, I wanted to have Jones in the photo."
Surma: "Dude she's like, hella old and creepy!"
Eggy: "Surma, any woman who can punch through a concrete wall is worthy of being in my school photo."

[wolkenser]

We know that she understands emotions and can see emotional weaknesses. She understands Parleu's feelings for Smitty and shows tenderness towards Eggy. Also, she could have been older than Eggy, surma, and the gang back when they were in school. Or she could have just been tAller than Eggy. A lot ofgirls during their preteen years are taller than boys.

[eightyfour]

May 28, 2010 15:12:23 GMT the bandit said:

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not a student there herself (can anyone provide a link to where Tom said that?). Assumption: Jones was a child once, too, because otherwise it would be unlikely for her to have social contacts to other children in a way so that one of them would want her to be on a school photo.

Someone once pointed out that Jones's ruffling of Eglamore's hair is a possible indication of a time when Jones was taller than Eglamore.

May 28, 2010 15:52:35 GMT basser said:

Eggy: "Aw, I wanted to have Jones in the photo."
Surma: "Dude she's like, hella old and creepy!"
Eggy: "Surma, any woman who can punch through a concrete wall is worthy of being in my school photo."

May 28, 2010 15:21:30 GMT thelizard said:

That's a big assumption. If Annie and Kat were having a school photo taken, they might want Reynardine to be in it... and Robot... and Shadow 2... (though he might not appreciate the camera flash)

That makes sense. I'm gonna remove that assumption for now.

[King Mir]

I think that Jones does show emotion on her face. It's just subtle. She's not deadpan.

And she's quite capable of faking passive anger. Panel 3 is definitely a frown.

[todd]

May 28, 2010 15:21:30 GMT thelizard said:

If Annie and Kat were having a school photo taken, they might want Reynardine to be in it... and Robot... and Shadow 2... (though he might not appreciate the camera flash)

Probably not Robot or Shadow2, since they're hiding both of them from the Court.

[imaginaryfriend]

Jones knows Egyptian which got me thinking about Greek myths (Egypt was a strong influence on the Greeks from even before they were really Greeks). The one that best fits the bill is Pygmalion's statue, sometimes called Galatea. If Jones was a stone or ivory statue brought to life by Aphrodite it would explain the attention she gets from the opposite sex and also why she would want to encourage Parley and Smit.

The only thing that doesn't quite fit is that Pygmalion and Galatea had one or more kids in some versions of the myth while Jones doesn't have any, but Tom recasts the mythic figures a bit for the comic.

[tyler]

You know, if the Court and the Wood are opposite sides of a coin, and that's a definite if not a definite is, then does anyone else see the following?

Jones:The Court::Coyote:The Wood

[hal9000]

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

I think this is the time Jones has earned a forum thread of her own (there isn't one yet that I missed, is there?).

So, what is it we know of her as a fact, and what do we assume?


* She never shows any emotion. Her facial expression is always completely blank, and she uses only very limited gestures (479). Question: Is she unable to express them or doesn't she have any?

* She always dresses the same way. There are variations in color, number of pockets, length of the sleeves or style of the collar, but overall she seems to possess only one type of dress. She seems to prefer muted colors, the only exception to this is a bright pink neck scarf (269, 367, 479, 575, 721). Assumption: She is unfamiliar with human clothing.

* She refers to herself only as "Jones", not "Miss Jones" (367). Assumption: She doesn't think human forms of address apply to her.

* She is aware of human etiquette (479) and she appears to have a social life (597).

* She doesn't hesitate to get soaking wet and dirty (727).

* She has superhuman strength (721, 727), but she is able to handle her strength very well, as in, she can be gentle (376, 588).

* She appears to be highly resistant to physical harm. She is able to punch through a solid concrete wall, apparently without hurting herself (727). It is unsure how hard Eglamore's sword hit her face, however it did not leave the slightest mark (380).

* She is heavier than a human of her size should be. She sank deeper than anybody else into Parley's bed (587), and she sinks like a stone when she jumped off the boat (727).

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not a student there herself (can anyone provide a link to where Tom said that?). Assumption: Jones was a child once, too, because otherwise it would be unlikely for her to have social contacts to other children in a way so that one of them would want her to be on a school photo.

* Surma didn't like her, but Eglamore did (540), and apparently still does (376). Accoding to Annie there might be "something going on" between Eglamore and her (403).

* According to Reynardine she is not a robot (592), but he can't (or won't) answer as to what she is. He thinks even Coyote couldn't answer that question (593). Assumption: She is not a creature of purely etherical origin, there is at least some technology involved. Otherwise Coyote should know about her.

* Kat doesn't think it would be possible to build an Android that would look totally human, like she looks (404).

* She is teaching how to be a medium, but she is not a medium herself (367).

* She has some authority at the court (723) and her place at the meeting was at the right hand side of the headmaster (269), but she doesn't seem to ally herself with anybody at all (375). She considers herself "not beholden to anyone" (575).

* She knows a lot of details about the court and it's past, but in spite of her standing, there are things about the court kept secret from even her (725).

* She can't use a Blinker Stone (515).

* It has been implied that she has seen some very grotesque things (even by Court standards), which suggests that she's been "in the field" for quite a while (288).


Anything I missed? Any of my assumptions that can be disproven?

I think that the possibility that she's a Gynoid or Ghost in the Shell-style cyborg could account for many of the things on this list.

If it turns out that she is a cyborg, her apparent dearth of facial expressions could be a limitation of the process that created her body, similar to Kuze Hideo from the second Ghost in the Shell series. It would also put that bit from (288) into more context, since she and the headmaster are discussing body modification and the headmaster seems to imply that she herself has been the subject of something similar.

[Mezzaphor]

May 29, 2010 0:08:06 GMT tyler said:

You know, if the Court and the Wood are opposite sides of a coin, and that's a definite if not a definite is, then does anyone else see the following?

Jones:The Court::Coyote:The Wood

Yes, I definitely can see that.

Pity that the Court's resident divine powerhouse is so... neutral, but considering that Coyote's not a native of Gillitie, I could easily see Coyote being slightly more detached from Gillitie than his citizens would prefer.

[vennificus]

Made an account just to remind people of Jone of Arc. AKA Jeanne d'arc
Also to point out the blond hair. And let you figure it out from there

[tremere]

Actually, it's Joan of Arc (at least in British). But I do think that Jones is related to Jeanne.

[basser]

Not sure how much I favour the nephilim theory, since it seems that those were all supposed to be dudes (but then, the Bible does generally have a thing against ladies) but, if it were true and Jones was a hybrid between a supernatural being (angel or not) and a human, wouldn't it be conceivable that Coyote might not know about it because it's not in his "area", so to speak?

I mean, if a Christian/Hebrew angel came down and boinked a lady, I wouldn't expect a Native American god to know or care about it. Especially considering said god is a large canine with little apparent knowledge of human clothing, let alone mating practices.

I guess what I'm saying is, Jones could still be 'etherical', that is, of a supernatural quality, without Coyote necessarily knowing (or caring) what she is.

Also, Reynardine could know her story through being in the Court for so long. (Maybe Surma even told him about it?) If she were an angel hybrid, he'd probably think it's hilarious. I mean jeez, that Judeochrisian god can't even keep his angels from doing the humans! Haha what a loser! Coyote would think that was SO funny if he knew about it! Hahaha! (Rey then determinedly ignores why he's in the Court in the first place.)


Still, though, I think Jones might be something else. She seems more like a construct to me than a hybrid of anything. I like the idea of a wizard or alchemist's golem that just sort of... kept on living. That could mean she's been around for a long long time, and doesn't feel beholden to anyone cause hey, her master died forever ago. OR she's Galatea, and doesn't feel beholden cause the dude who sculpted her died forever ago. I dunno, man. We'll all just have to find out.


Edit:
Also, for the whole Golem thing, there doesn't seem to be anything I can find that suggests that a human-looking golem is possible. Add to that, they are supposed to be perfectly obedient unless you muck it up, and then you end up with a pissed-off, willful one. Jones doesn't seem to be either of those extremes. So, never mind dudes, alchemical construct out.

Plus I also wanted to add that, even if she once had human emotions and acted normal (like, say, if she was Galatea and in love with Pygmalion) she might have essentially shed all emotion after living for however-many years. I mean, she'd be so incredibly old that everything would just be dead boring to her. Plus she's indestructible, so no fear. Back when she was a newly-created being, maybe everything was sunshine and rainbows, but I can see things starting to cool down after a few centuries. You also wouldn't want your emotions to get away with you and let you get attached to people... they're all gonna die in like a blink for you. ("Not beholden", indeed.) Might explain why she likes Reynardine and Coyote, who aren't going anywhere. And then the "coming from you" comment from the headmaster would mean that, well holy crap, Jones has been around for ages. Her not having seen this means it's pretty unique.

So yeah, add to my assumptions that she may have once had emotions, but chooses to ignore them now because why bother caring about anything when you're over 2000 years old? All you'd be looking for in life is the next moderately interesting thing to do (like watching a crazy thirteen year-old kid who can fly mess around with another crazy thirteen year-old with demons in her head.)



... Wow I can write long posts when I'm bored.



Edit again:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NS3sll2aXU
This is what I was thinking of with the bored of life thing.
(For those who don't know, that shows the Q Continuum from Star Trek. They're a race of immortal, all-powerful beings who eventually stop doing or saying anything at all because they're absolutely bored of life. The guy explaining everything is trying to convince the other Q to let him kill himself because he's so tired of living.)

I'll stop modifying this post now.

[Mylian]

There's really only one answer, if Jones is not a machine.

Jones is The Juggernaut. She's got the Bands of Cittorak under those sleeves.

[cortin]

Jones has an office at the court
www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=161
How it looks from inside is unknown.

Also, the title on her door proclaims her as "Ms. Jones," so the third bullet may not be true.

[cortin]

Another interesting thing, looking back, is that she is not willing to enter a conflict between the forest and the court. Knowing her power now, her absence in this scene is more striking.
www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=285

[eightyfour]

Updated the first post according to current developments (in the comic and this thread).

May 28, 2010 17:42:11 GMT King Mir said:

I think that Jones does show emotion on her face. It's just subtle. She's not deadpan.

And she's quite capable of faking passive anger. Panel 3 is definitely a frown.

Hmm, I don't agree. I don't see any more of a frown there as in pretty much every other panel that shows her face.

May 30, 2010 18:10:33 GMT cortin said:

Jones has an office at the court
www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=161
How it looks from inside is unknown.

Also, the title on her door proclaims her as "Ms. Jones," so the third bullet may not be true.

Well, Annie addresses her as "Miss", too, regarless of being told "just Jones will suffice". Jones has never been shown to object to that habit.

[Aricos]

Maybe she's a golem made out of a dead person? Rather gruesome and makes one wonder how she's preserved so well... Although I may be very wrong...

[TBeholder]

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not a student there herself (can anyone provide a link to where Tom said that?).

Was not taught. It's not the same.

May 30, 2010 18:24:29 GMT cortin said:

Another interesting thing, looking back, is that she is not willing to enter a conflict between the forest and the court. Knowing her power now, her absence in this scene is more striking.
www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=285

Yes, but she could expect the situation to develop as it did. Doesn't say much.

[eightyfour]

May 31, 2010 9:59:17 GMT TBeholder said:

May 28, 2010 11:37:53 GMT eightyfour said:

* She was around when Eglamore and Annie's and Kat's parents were students at Gunnerkrigg (540), but according to Tom she was not a student there herself (can anyone provide a link to where Tom said that?).

Was not taught. It's not the same.

Thanks, that kind of detail is exactly why I wanted a source.

[jon77]

This thread is an excellent idea! Great initiative, eightyfour.

I'd say 727 also implicitly shows her walking along the bottom of the pond, which might imply that she can hold her breath for a long time - assuming she breathes at all