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Post by aaroncampbell on Aug 29, 2014 22:38:55 GMT
"I will finally win the heart of Lindsey" from the previous page means that it must have harbored these feelings for a long time. I hope we get to see if Lindsey knew this or how this got started. Did you just...? |
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Post by todd on Aug 29, 2014 22:49:21 GMT
Also, when that entire ship, filled with students, becomes flesh. Where are the students then? And what will happen to them? Possibly absorbed into the ship-made-flesh as anguished faces stuck in the walls? Or metamorphosed into the kinds of creatures that would be parasites in merostomatazons (with the ship presumably hoping that they would be changed mentally as well as physically, removing any danger of resistance once their human thoughts and memories fade away, replaced by bacterial instincts). But who knows, where Zimmy is concerned. I hope this *isn't* another trick of the Court's like "Residential" - playing around with Zimmy's abilities is *not* a joke, and the Court would be foolish and irresponsible to do it just to make the cruise more exciting. Assuming that everyone's memories don't get conveniently erased at the end, as someone suggested, I think there'll be plenty of trouble all around (and story potential): 1. Kat (and maybe Annie as well) will likely be very upset with Robot for causing all that trouble with his preaching - indeed, Robot might not have any friends left for a while except maybe Shadow2 (and even Shadow2 might side with Kat and Annie when he hears about it). 2. Kat might also be upset with herself over that robot-building project that helped create the robot religion - maybe even tearing up all her plans in the workshop and smashing the equipment, then staying away from big scientific projects for a long time out of fear that the next one she gets involved in might lead to even more trouble for herself and her classmates. 3. The Court will be concerned over what to do with the robots - how many of them have been infected by Robot's doctrines? They might decide that the only safe approach is to get rid of all of them - Sky Watcher, the robot cows, the robot horse, Bobby, Boxbot, the lot. (If with the problem that they might not have enough humans to run the place on their own - and if they don't handle the round-up right, they could end up in a war once the robots fight back.) Or they might try to force Robot to recant - or offer whatever evidence they can that Kat is not a goddess or an angel. 4. Kat will probably be in trouble over this - maybe not too much at first, since she didn't know how Robot would interpret her work. But if they find out about Robot's backstory, Kat and Annie could be in trouble for harboring a fugitive (and Annie for breaking said fugitive out). Not too much, of course - not enough to have the Court bring the story to an abrupt end by expelling our heroines or placing them under such strict watch that they can't have any more adventures. But they'll most likely still be facing stern disciplinary measures. |
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Post by Ophel on Aug 29, 2014 22:54:49 GMT
Gamma's abilities limit the possible responce to "contact with Lindsey". Annie's abilities allow possible responce by BLOOPing Seraphs and boiling away parts of remotes, though the more proper solution would be melting server-side communication units. I'm under the impression that we don't know the full extent of Gamma's abilities yet. We've gotten hints that her etheric abilities are actually stronger than Annie's but we've never seen them in use beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and clearing nobodies out of the way. Or perhaps she's not "strong" in the sense of potential, but rather in the sense of specialisation. She's just that good at dissipating nobodies. Gamma may have specific etheric nullification abilities that, if trained enough, can shut down any etheric phenomena. Now that would be pretty powerful in an of itself. |
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Post by Daedalus on Aug 30, 2014 0:33:01 GMT
How I see it: Zimmy is essentially a walking nuclear reactor of etheric power*. Gamma is the equivalent of a nuclear reactor's control rods: move them too far from each other and the reactor goes into meltdown. Now, that releases a lot of energy. If the robots can somehow harness that energy**, that would be interesting...and dangerous.
*to clarify: she can't manipulate it like Jack and Annie (shown in her saying she doesn't understand what they do), but she is a raw reserve of power, like the Ether Station would be.
**the ship appears to be more intelligent (or at least genre savvy) than the other robots we've seen, so I'd assume it does not plan for a destructive, uncontrolled event like most of Zimmy's things have been.
Also, IT'S (maybe) HAPPENING!!!! Holiday for the Cult of Kat!
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Post by Vilthuril on Aug 30, 2014 0:44:12 GMT
Okay, so back to, "The Court ignored their Philosophy of Star Trek course." (Yes, this was an actual class during Short Term at the college I attended lo these many years ago.) Key lesson: "Never give a computer sole control of a huge ship, a planet destroyer, or a planetary (or ship-wide) government." Inevitably it's gonna end in a bad scene.
So...the question becomes, "What would Kirk and Spock do?" As I remember, large explosives dropped on or shot at the main processor are usually involved. Or on a happier note of course, there's the Kirk/Mudd approach:
Come to think of it, a really cheesed-off Zimmy could make a heck of a central-processor bomb.
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Post by atteSmythe on Aug 30, 2014 1:09:17 GMT
...and if not, this is why you send real, adult, human chaperons on your technomagical school field trips. Isn't that why Lindsey is there? The best she could offer, at this point, seems to be to try to talk the ship out of its crush. If it comes to having to physically intervene, though...what could she do? Eggers and Anja would be good to have right now. Man, when did we last see Anja? After Anthony's phone call? I miss her. |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Aug 30, 2014 2:25:49 GMT
I'm under the impression that we don't know the full extent of Gamma's abilities yet. We've gotten hints that her etheric abilities are actually stronger than Annie's but we've never seen them in use beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and clearing nobodies out of the way. Or perhaps she's not "strong" in the sense of potential, but rather in the sense of specialisation. She's just that good at dissipating nobodies. Gamma may have specific etheric nullification abilities that, if trained enough, can shut down any etheric phenomena. Now that would be pretty powerful in an of itself. Indeed. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. The fission pile metaphor analogy works better in reverse methinks; Gamma is a critical mass of "Anne of Green Gables" surrounding the Zeta uncontrol rod and bathing her in particles of happy reality and positive thoughts, keeping Zeta's effects from happening. |
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Post by eyemyself on Aug 30, 2014 5:15:10 GMT
Or perhaps she's not "strong" in the sense of potential, but rather in the sense of specialisation. She's just that good at dissipating nobodies. Gamma may have specific etheric nullification abilities that, if trained enough, can shut down any etheric phenomena. Now that would be pretty powerful in an of itself. Indeed. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. The fission pile metaphor analogy works better in reverse methinks; Gamma is a critical mass of "Anne of Green Gables" surrounding the Zeta uncontrol rod and bathing her in particles of happy reality and positive thoughts, keeping Zeta's effects from happening. According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. According to Zimmy Gamma can do "magical crap" like Annie does and indeed is the one who suspects Jack can as well. I seem to recall Jones saying something about how powerful Gamma is etherically as well but I can't for the life of me remember where that line is. I am pretty sure Gamma's abilities go beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and that she is capable of things we have not yet seen in the comic. |
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Post by csj on Aug 30, 2014 5:45:36 GMT
Zimmy is a gigantic power plant churning out magical energy essentially. That energy actively warps the world around here unless there is someone there to act as a 'power sponge'. What we seem to know right now, is that those able to tap into the 'ether' are able to absorb a great deal of that energy, or focus it in a safe manner.
In other words, they want Kat to create an enormous blueprint for a robotic biomachine, which via controlled and sustained use of Zimmy's abilities could (they did say 'theoretically') replicate in the real world.
The real worrying question is how they expect to enforce their compliance. Other than capsizing the passengers (or threats against Gamma) of course.
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Post by TBeholder on Aug 30, 2014 12:17:42 GMT
Okay, so back to, "The Court ignored their Philosophy of Star Trek course." (Yes, this was an actual class during Short Term at the college I attended lo these many years ago.) It's either tautology or oxymoron. =D Key lesson: "Never give a computer sole control of a huge ship, a planet destroyer, or a planetary (or ship-wide) government." Really? Mine is "Never trust a collectivist utopia enthusiast with engineering". But then, it's just needlessly specific. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. Uh, they actually communicated. According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. At what point? |
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Post by eyemyself on Aug 30, 2014 13:13:00 GMT
According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. At what point? You have as much context as I do from that link. |
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Aug 30, 2014 14:13:31 GMT
Indeed. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. The fission pile metaphor analogy works better in reverse methinks; Gamma is a critical mass of "Anne of Green Gables" surrounding the Zeta uncontrol rod and bathing her in particles of happy reality and positive thoughts, keeping Zeta's effects from happening. According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. According to Zimmy Gamma can do "magical crap" like Annie does and indeed is the one who suspects Jack can as well. I seem to recall Jones saying something about how powerful Gamma is etherically as well but I can't for the life of me remember where that line is. I am pretty sure Gamma's abilities go beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and that she is capable of things we have not yet seen in the comic. Thus sayth Formspring: Are Gamma's powers only related to Zimmy or could she use them in some other way if she were so inclined? She's pretty much only capable of helping Zimmy. Think this chain of events through to its logical conclusion, guys. What happens to the old Zim-miester if Gammygams starts trying to learn to bend reality with her abilities? Even you've got a substitute with the exact same ability the lack of the psychological crutch for extended periods is gonna cause Zimmy to go apeshit because Gamma is going to be increasingly independent and the bond between the two will weaken. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. Uh, they actually communicated. Zimmy can communicate to Antimony Anthony and Kat without Gammy. And do other stuff. Can Gamma communicate telepathically without Zeta?  |
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Post by goldenknots on Aug 30, 2014 15:15:55 GMT
According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. According to Zimmy Gamma can do "magical crap" like Annie does and indeed is the one who suspects Jack can as well. I seem to recall Jones saying something about how powerful Gamma is etherically as well but I can't for the life of me remember where that line is. I am pretty sure Gamma's abilities go beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and that she is capable of things we have not yet seen in the comic. I don't see anything on that page to justify thinking that 'Gamma can do "magical crap"'. |
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Post by sidhekin on Aug 30, 2014 15:44:34 GMT
According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. According to Zimmy Gamma can do "magical crap" like Annie does and indeed is the one who suspects Jack can as well. I seem to recall Jones saying something about how powerful Gamma is etherically as well but I can't for the life of me remember where that line is. I am pretty sure Gamma's abilities go beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and that she is capable of things we have not yet seen in the comic. I don't see anything on that page to justify thinking that 'Gamma can do "magical crap"'. The plural "you guys" suggests someone besides Annie. That someone is not Jack (as he's the one compared to "you guys"). Nor has Zimmy mentioned anyone other than those present. Unless she pulls that plural out of thin air (and Zimmy is no magician), it must refer to Gamma. And then, there's the very idea that "Gamma thinks" Jack may be able to do "magical crap". How would she know? Just guessing? Nah, I'm pretty sure Gamma can do some "magical crap". |
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Post by goldenknots on Aug 30, 2014 17:28:16 GMT
I don't see anything on that page to justify thinking that 'Gamma can do "magical crap"'. The plural "you guys" suggests someone besides Annie. That someone is not Jack (as he's the one compared to "you guys"). Nor has Zimmy mentioned anyone other than those present. Unless she pulls that plural out of thin air (and Zimmy is no magician), it must refer to Gamma. And then, there's the very idea that "Gamma thinks" Jack may be able to do "magical crap". How would she know? Just guessing? Nah, I'm pretty sure Gamma can do some "magical crap". You're reading into it something that you wish were so. Go right ahead, it's not my problem. |
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Post by smurfton on Aug 30, 2014 18:34:53 GMT
You have as much context as I do from that link. The last question answered through formspring was obviously asked during The Great Secret. On the other hand, the question was poorly worded, and only asked after ability to help Zimmy. |
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Post by keef on Aug 30, 2014 19:56:26 GMT
Nah, I'm pretty sure Gamma can do some "magical crap". If you follow imaginaryfriend's link, you will read the following: I think that means the only magical crap she can do is help Zimmy. |
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Post by sidhekin on Aug 30, 2014 20:11:20 GMT
Nah, I'm pretty sure Gamma can do some "magical crap". If you follow imaginaryfriend's link, you will read the following: I think that means the only magical crap she can do is help Zimmy. Only if "pretty much only" means "only". |
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Post by Per on Aug 30, 2014 20:27:36 GMT
You're reading into it something This is webcomics readers board, a forum filled with webcomics readers. Enjoy the world of webcomics readers. |
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Post by keef on Aug 30, 2014 20:33:52 GMT
If you follow imaginaryfriend's link, you will read the following: I think that means the only magical crap she can do is help Zimmy. Only if "pretty much only" means "only". That's pretty much correct I think. These discussions about Word of Tom, it's pretty much like theology.. |
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Post by chrisjenl on Aug 30, 2014 23:59:20 GMT
Is Zimmy the Etheric generator or is there a another reason they took her?
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Post by effulgentether on Aug 31, 2014 0:38:22 GMT
They're restraining Gamma and dragging Zimmy from what I can tell, so they're just gonna use her to screw with reality. Her mind is in tune with the ether, and the stress from Gammas distance will result in distortion of reality and the conjuring of memories or future images. A gods power stuck in the mind of a human girl. Sucks for Zim.
Also noticed this: Zimmy looks a lot cleaner (well, her clothing). Makes sense though. Just an observation.
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Post by Ophel on Aug 31, 2014 2:14:25 GMT
This comic is the only thing I look forward to when it comes to Mondays. And the only reason for me to ask for its quick arrival. Naw, really, I look forward to every day. 'Cuz there's no other feeling like being not depressed! |
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Post by Brother_Spartacus on Aug 31, 2014 3:50:58 GMT
This comic is the only thing I look forward to when it comes to Mondays. And the only reason for me to ask for its quick arrival. Naw, really, I look forward to every day. 'Cuz there's no other feeling like being not depressed! I have an anti depressive personality too! My only moods are happy and annoyed. |
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Post by Ophel on Aug 31, 2014 12:55:03 GMT
This comic is the only thing I look forward to when it comes to Mondays. And the only reason for me to ask for its quick arrival. Naw, really, I look forward to every day. 'Cuz there's no other feeling like being not depressed! I have an anti depressive personality too! My only moods are happy and annoyed. My fam are all full of sourfaces. It's like their default mood is surly. No disrespect though. Still, I try to defy the system and be cheerful or happy. Or not surly. |
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Post by TBeholder on Aug 31, 2014 19:01:47 GMT
Zimmy can communicate to Antimony Anthony and Kat without Gammy. And do other stuff. Can Gamma communicate telepathically without Zeta? Other than by talking?  On her own Zimmy can communicate with nobodies and head-pigeons. Assuming she can remember which participant of the discussion she is, of course. The plural "you guys" suggests someone besides Annie. That someone is not Jack (as he's the one compared to "you guys"). Nor has Zimmy mentioned anyone other than those present. See, the problem here is - who are "those present"? Given that it's Zimmy we're talking about... Also, she could lump Annie together with Parley, Anja or anyone else without mentioning. |
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Post by sidhekin on Aug 31, 2014 19:38:33 GMT
The plural "you guys" suggests someone besides Annie. That someone is not Jack (as he's the one compared to "you guys"). Nor has Zimmy mentioned anyone other than those present. See, the problem here is - who are "those present"? Given that it's Zimmy we're talking about... ... point taken.  Also, she could lump Annie together with Parley, Anja or anyone else without mentioning. Now that's pulling Parley, Anja or anyone else out of thin air. Not impossible, though I'm not buying it, but very awkward phrasing. |
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Post by davidm on Aug 31, 2014 19:57:22 GMT
Indeed. I don't see any reason for Gamma to have any powers other than the ability to project a constant stream of good vibes. The fission pile metaphor analogy works better in reverse methinks; Gamma is a critical mass of "Anne of Green Gables" surrounding the Zeta uncontrol rod and bathing her in particles of happy reality and positive thoughts, keeping Zeta's effects from happening. According to word of Tom Gamma's etheric powers are stronger than Annie's. According to Zimmy Gamma can do "magical crap" like Annie does and indeed is the one who suspects Jack can as well. I seem to recall Jones saying something about how powerful Gamma is etherically as well but I can't for the life of me remember where that line is. I am pretty sure Gamma's abilities go beyond acting as a ground for Zimmy and that she is capable of things we have not yet seen in the comic. "Are Gamma's etheric powers (namely her power of canceling out Zimmy's otherworldly hallucinations) stronger than Antimony's? Yes. [78]" Zimmy herself says Annie can help but Gamma can help better to cancel the bad stuff. We still have no idea what Gamma can do if anything beyond this and talking to Zimmy without using words. Gamma was right about Jack having magical abilities... Zimmy says doesn't understand magic, Gamma understands it better, but Zimmy can also do magic to punch Annie's dad when he was trying to "save Annie" from her fire elemental part that killed her mother. We know Jack can do a little of Annie (magic) and a little of Kat (manipulate robots). He possibly can also do a little bit of Zimmy at least when spiders controlled him. Jack may really mean "Jack of all trades, master of none", possible that his gift is ability to learn to do poorer copies of everyone elses special abilities. Possibly he also gets their weaknesses at same time to lesser degree (eg Annie's strong emotions) |
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Post by Ophel on Sept 1, 2014 1:00:29 GMT
Gracious mercy, I'm really getting anxious for the next page. I only hope it doesn't turn out too badly, but things are gonna turn out bad either way.
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Post by TBeholder on Sept 1, 2014 5:18:10 GMT
So-o-o... any bets on who will quote Lindsey's first phrase?
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