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Post by thedoctor on Sept 20, 2014 7:27:53 GMT
..maybe because she can hear the whitelegs that are still around. Thousands of spiders whispering telepathically. Jack almost went mad from the whispering of one whiteleg. Egad! Hadn't thought of that. Of course, until we know how a Level 6 Etheric Distortion is different, we won't know if we'll see any whitelegs... or worse. Can't remember where I saw it, but I feel like there's a Word of Tom out there that states that the whitelegs were disposed of after the Jack-possession-incident. However, that WoT then says that there are far worse things in Zimmingham...I'm sure she can hear something whispering!  |
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Post by todd on Sept 20, 2014 10:32:52 GMT
Jack said in "Faraway Morning" that the Whitelegs' influence hadn't entirely gone away, that he felt there was a piece of it still in his mind, left behind. Maybe it's growing again.
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Post by todd on Sept 20, 2014 11:12:14 GMT
My gut feeling is that the robots came up with this idea on their own. They used Court resources, but the idea/plan was theirs. Yes, I think that's possible as well. We know that the robots are - well - eccentric, and the flaws in their plan might not have occurred to someone who thinks that the best way of hiding robot parts is to stuff them in a closet with a "no robot parts" sign on the door. (Someone pointed out another problem with their plan - it would have been far simpler to approach Kat in her workshop before the cruise began and ask for her assistance, rather than going to the more complicated lengths of doing it during the cruise, and getting an entire year of students pulled into Zimmy's world - though since Zimmy was apparently necessary to their plan, and she doesn't care about anyone other than Gamma and would have been uninterested in helping, there'd still have been that problem.) |
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Post by keef on Sept 20, 2014 13:51:45 GMT
Can't remember where I saw it, but I feel like there's a Word of Tom out there that states that the whitelegs were disposed of after the Jack-possession-incident. However, that WoT then says that there are far worse things in Zimmingham...I'm sure she can hear something whispering! there are no whitelegs left outside Zimmingham, and Jack is no longer possessed, but there are probably enough whitelegs left in Zimmingham. |
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Post by chrisjenl on Sept 20, 2014 15:07:03 GMT
My gut feeling is that the robots came up with this idea on their own. They used Court resources, but the idea/plan was theirs. Yes, I think that's possible as well. We know that the robots are - well - eccentric, and the flaws in their plan might not have occurred to someone who thinks that the best way of hiding robot parts is to stuff them in a closet with a "no robot parts" sign on the door. (Someone pointed out another problem with their plan - it would have been far simpler to approach Kat in her workshop before the cruise began and ask for her assistance, rather than going to the more complicated lengths of doing it during the cruise, and getting an entire year of students pulled into Zimmy's world - though since Zimmy was apparently necessary to their plan, and she doesn't care about anyone other than Gamma and would have been uninterested in helping, there'd still have been that problem.) And i think that Kat don't want to go in Zimmy's word after all the story's of Annie. |
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Post by thedoctor on Sept 20, 2014 15:43:18 GMT
Can't remember where I saw it, but I feel like there's a Word of Tom out there that states that the whitelegs were disposed of after the Jack-possession-incident. However, that WoT then says that there are far worse things in Zimmingham...I'm sure she can hear something whispering! there are no whitelegs left outside Zimmingham, and Jack is no longer possessed, but there are probably enough whitelegs left in Zimmingham. Oh, that's what it was; I couldn't remember exactly. My bad... |
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Post by aaroncampbell on Sept 20, 2014 18:30:57 GMT
My gut feeling is that the robots came up with this idea on their own. They used Court resources, but the idea/plan was theirs. That's what I was thinking; something like this. I get creeped out imagining spiders in the walls and whatnot...but to be able to HEAR their thoughts? She may be used to the normal insects in our world, but these spiders are different. They rank quite a bit higher on the cognitive abilities scale. (No offense meant, Ketrak.) Presumably, anyways; I've never spoken with a normal spider. But I'm deducing from the fact that I've never seen ours work together in large groups in order to accomplish a coordinated and complex task. If anyone has scientific documentation -- or worse, videos of such abilities, please for the sake of my sanity DO NOT post them here! I'm in dread of them enough; I don't need evidence of my suspicions about their malevolent intelligence. Thank you! |
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Post by todd on Sept 20, 2014 22:04:58 GMT
And i think that Kat don't want to go in Zimmy's word after all the story's of Annie. I wonder if there were more harmless ways of altering Kat's experiment to make the ship flesh (say, the etheric properties of Anya's computer) - though it's too late now to investigate those. (As I've mentioned before, I'd say that even that goal was questionable at best, with Lindsey being married - though since the ship's desire to be with her is only mentioned in one panel of the chapter so far, Tom may not have intended it to be more than just a device to impel the robots to carry out their mad experiment.) |
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Post by todd on Sept 20, 2014 22:10:12 GMT
Can't remember where I saw it, but I feel like there's a Word of Tom out there that states that the whitelegs were disposed of after the Jack-possession-incident. However, that WoT then says that there are far worse things in Zimmingham...I'm sure she can hear something whispering! there are no whitelegs left outside Zimmingham, and Jack is no longer possessed, but there are probably enough whitelegs left in Zimmingham. Having Jack possessed again would be repetitive anyway, making my speculation this morning that the Whitelegs was rebuilding itself in his head (though there was some support for that theory in his remark in "Faraway Morning" - see www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=928 ) less likely. But he might have gotten enough of a rush out of the place (look at his response on Wednesday's page) that it could have formed a dark attraction to him - almost an addiction. |
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Post by keef on Sept 20, 2014 22:16:33 GMT
That's what I was thinking; something like this. I get creeped out imagining spiders in the walls and whatnot...but to be able to HEAR their thoughts? She may be used to the normal insects in our world, but these spiders are different. They rank quite a bit higher on the cognitive abilities scale. (No offense meant, Ketrak.) As to be expected in the Gunnerverse they're nightmare spiders, they're our fears made flesh. Or Zimmy's fears. Spiders are not very social beings, they tolerate each other only when very young. Then they make a web or trap, or find a nice place to jump their prey and meditate about the structure of the universe. If you want to get a good impression of the variety and beauty of nature read a bit about spider mating rituals. (or maybe in your case don't) But seriously, in the real world they're mostly harmless, and they do not work together.
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Post by todd on Sept 20, 2014 22:47:38 GMT
Really creepy possibility:
Paz is killed - or at least, seriously injured - by one of the horrors lurking in Zimmy's world, and as a devastated Kat kneels over her, holding Paz in her arms, the Seraph robots surround her and chant "In the words of Creator Kat, 'It was worth it.'" (Though from what we saw of the Seraphs on last Monday's page, they probably won't even remember Robot's teachings.)
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Post by Lightice on Sept 21, 2014 0:50:14 GMT
Spiders are not very social beings, they tolerate each other only when very young. Then they make a web or trap, or find a nice place to jump their prey and meditate about the structure of the universe. If you want to get a good impression of the variety and beauty of nature read a bit about spider mating rituals. (or maybe in your case don't) But seriously, in the real world they're mostly harmless, and they do not work together. There are... exceptions to that rule. Social spiders do exist and they cooperate to build absolutely ginormous webs together. Case of point: |
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Post by ctso74 on Sept 21, 2014 5:38:26 GMT
Spiders are not very social beings, they tolerate each other only when very young. Then they make a web or trap, or find a nice place to jump their prey and meditate about the structure of the universe. If you want to get a good impression of the variety and beauty of nature read a bit about spider mating rituals. (or maybe in your case don't) But seriously, in the real world they're mostly harmless, and they do not work together. Cal-Berkeley did a recent study on Peacock Spider dances. Fascinating and awesome! Makes me think. Unless Lindsey's in on it, I somehow doubt Love Boat knows Etheric Crustacean mating rituals. |
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Post by keef on Sept 21, 2014 9:44:12 GMT
Spiders are not very social beings, they tolerate each other only when very young. Then they make a web or trap, or find a nice place to jump their prey and meditate about the structure of the universe. If you want to get a good impression of the variety and beauty of nature read a bit about spider mating rituals. (or maybe in your case don't) But seriously, in the real world they're mostly harmless, and they do not work together. There are... exceptions to that rule. Social spiders do exist and they cooperate to build absolutely ginormous webs together. Case of point: Damn, I was so sure, so didn't check.. We live and learn.
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Post by todd on Sept 21, 2014 10:29:40 GMT
Makes me think. Unless Lindsey's in on it, I somehow doubt Love Boat knows Etheric Crustacean mating rituals. I don't think we'll be seeing that much more of the ship's pursuit of Lindsey this chapter (at most, maybe something near the end, if the Court authorities are deciding what to do about the ship's conduct in this affair) - the ship now seems to have been absorbed into Zimmy's town, for one thing. (I still think it was mainly a plot device to give the robots a motive for their experiment.) And I don't know if this talk about spider habits is that critical to the Whitelegs - they're etheric beings that just look like spiders. |
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Post by lordofpotatoes on Sept 21, 2014 14:43:53 GMT
Other things seem to be the hot topic right now but if I'm allowed to change the topic, what will Renard do? Will he swim there? Call for help? Will resue boats come? What? Will Eglamore, Anja or Donlan be badass? Maybe this is an opportunity for Anthony to be in the comic.
Who knows, what do you know, I mean think. What do you think?
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Post by Corvo on Sept 21, 2014 15:21:08 GMT
Other things seem to be the hot topic right now but if I'm allowed to change the topic, what will Renard do? Will he swim there? Call for help? Will resue boats come? What? Will Eglamore, Anja or Donlan be badass? Maybe this is an opportunity for Anthony to be in the comic. Who knows, what do you know, I mean think. What do you think? No one will believe in him, and then he'll be imprisoned after his "attempted escape". Yes, I'm a pessimist. |
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Post by Daedalus on Sept 21, 2014 15:28:13 GMT
Other things seem to be the hot topic right now but if I'm allowed to change the topic, what will Renard do? Will he swim there? Call for help? Will resue boats come? What? Will Eglamore, Anja or Donlan be badass? Maybe this is an opportunity for Anthony to be in the comic. Who knows, what do you know, I mean think. What do you think? I'm a little less pessimistic than Corvo here. I think he'll go to someone high up in the Court (probably Eggers), who might believe him. Regardless, the Headmaster probably won't. Rey will enlist the help of Parley and Smitty to reach them. This is assuming, of course, that Zimmingham can even be teleported to - or that there's still a spacial rift in between the beacons that allows passage. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Sept 21, 2014 17:17:44 GMT
Other things seem to be the hot topic right now but if I'm allowed to change the topic, what will Renard do? Will he swim there? Call for help? Will resue boats come? What? Will Eglamore, Anja or Donlan be badass? Maybe this is an opportunity for Anthony to be in the comic. Who knows, what do you know, I mean think. What do you think? I'm a little less pessimistic than Corvo here. I think he'll go to someone high up in the Court (probably Eggers), who might believe him. Regardless, the Headmaster probably won't. Rey will enlist the help of Parley and Smitty to reach them. This is assuming, of course, that Zimmingham can even be teleported to - or that there's still a spacial rift in between the beacons that allows passage. I don't think Rey has to make others believe him. He may just need to get the blinker stone to one of a number of people (Jones, Anja, etc) and Annie can communicate directly with them as easily as she can communicate with Rey. Unless the distance and rift between Annie and the stone becomes to great, in which case Rey will know something is up/wrong, but not know hat or where. They may regret not sending a note along with the blinker stone. |
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Post by Corvo on Sept 21, 2014 17:31:32 GMT
I don't think Rey has to make others believe him. He may just need to get the blinker stone to one of a number of people (Jones, Anja, etc) and Annie can communicate directly with them as easily as she can communicate with Rey. Unless the distance and rift between Annie and the stone becomes to great, in which case Rey will know something is up/wrong, but not know hat or where. They may regret not sending a note along with the blinker stone. I don't think there is that many people who could see Annie's etheric form. Jones and Kat can't. Anja probably could, but she's more likely miles away from the Court now, enjoying her vacation with Donnie. And now that I think about it, what'd happen if Smith got to Zimmingham? I can't imagine a more chaotic place right now. How it'd react with Eyebrown's power? |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Sept 21, 2014 17:37:55 GMT
I don't think Rey has to make others believe him. He may just need to get the blinker stone to one of a number of people (Jones, Anja, etc) and Annie can communicate directly with them as easily as she can communicate with Rey. Unless the distance and rift between Annie and the stone becomes to great, in which case Rey will know something is up/wrong, but not know hat or where. They may regret not sending a note along with the blinker stone. I don't think there is that many people who could see Annie's etheric form. Jones and Kat can't. Anja probably could, but she's more likely miles away from the Court now, enjoying her vacation with Donnie. And now that I think about it, what'd happen if Smith got to Zimmingham? I can't imagine a more chaotic place right now. How it'd react with Eyebrown's power? You're right about Jones. I forgot for a second that she is a non-etheric rock. I assume that no one outside Zimmingham can get in if they weren't there when the Zimmy snapped . If/when they get to the ship, they will have to something to knock Zimmy out of it, like Jones did by having the power station collect etheric moisture and dump it back as rain instead of extracting and sending it somewhere else. |
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Post by Corvo on Sept 21, 2014 17:55:59 GMT
I don't think there is that many people who could see Annie's etheric form. Jones and Kat can't. Anja probably could, but she's more likely miles away from the Court now, enjoying her vacation with Donnie. And now that I think about it, what'd happen if Smith got to Zimmingham? I can't imagine a more chaotic place right now. How it'd react with Eyebrown's power? You're right about Jones. I forgot for a second that she is a non-etheric rock. I assume that no one outside Zimmingham can get in if they weren't there when the Zimmy snapped . If/when they get to the ship, they will have to something to knock Zimmy out of it, like Jones did by having the power station collect etheric moisture and dump it back as rain instead of extracting and sending it somewhere else.That's what I'd assume, judging by Power Station and Spring Heeled 2, but then there is this page. Looks to me like the ship really vanished into Zimmingham. I really don't know if it'll be that simple to bring them back this time. And I still want to see Smith in Zimmingham. It'd be either hilarious or terrifying. Maybe both. XD |
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Post by arkadi on Sept 21, 2014 19:13:41 GMT
Or it might be part of the solution. Smith's power is to 'generate' order: could he be able to revert the disruption and bring everybody back from Zimmingham?
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Post by keef on Sept 21, 2014 21:45:29 GMT
I don't think we'll be seeing that much more of the ship's pursuit of Lindsey this chapter (at most, maybe something near the end, if the Court authorities are deciding what to do about the ship's conduct in this affair) - the ship now seems to have been absorbed into Zimmy's town, for one thing. (I still think it was mainly a plot device to give the robots a motive for their experiment.) You may well be right, but we don't know what has happened to the ship. It could be in fleshy form without any help from Kat, probably not looking like a potential lover to Lindsey.. The funniest outcome would be if we saw it as an exact copy of Bud, running from sharks in the bonus-page. I don't expect to see much action from the Court authorities anyway, they don't seem to be that interested in the school. If it looks like a spider, swims like a spider, and quacks like a spider, then it probably is a spider. And we all love spiders. |
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Post by todd on Sept 21, 2014 23:25:08 GMT
If it looks like a spider, swims like a spider, and quacks like a spider, then it probably is a spider. And we all love spiders. Real spiders can't possess people. As for Reynardine - I think that he'll have some trouble convincing the Court about the ship being in danger, because of its distrust of him. The Headmaster certainly would be convinced that Reynardine's lying (though I think that Rey has better sense than to go to him). After the events of "Quicksilver", Eglamore might be more ready to give Rey the benefit of the doubt. And someone (Mrs. Donlan, Eglamore, Jones, say) is going to think of trying to contact the ship by radio - and when they can't get through, will realize that something's wrong, whatever they think of the honesty of our favorite fox-trickster-in-a-wolf-plush-doll. Though I also suspect, as many have pointed out, that even if the Court does send a rescue mission (and I suspect that the Headmaster will have to give in - if for no other reason than that if anything happens to Annie: a) Reynardine will be free, which the Court doesn't want, and b) diplomatic problems with Gilltie Wood over the loss of its medium), they might not be able to penetrate Zimmy's world; it could be a case of "nothing gets in or out while the situation lasts". Shutting down the siphons might be the best hope - but I suspect that Tom will make certain that undoing this tangle will be difficult and require a lot of peril for the cast - maybe even one or two losses. (I wouldn't have expected that a year ago - but as I've said before, after reading the "So Long" chapter with Mort's departure, being a recurring character no longer seems like a guarantee of safety.) I wonder whether even reuniting Zimmy with Gamma will be enough - the robots probably made enough of a mess in their meddling. (We can at least hope that after this, everyone will know better than to try using Zimmy's abilities to get something - reading an incantation from the Necronomicon seems marginally safer than that. And let's also hope that the lesson doesn't come too late for some of the characters.) |
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Post by todd on Sept 21, 2014 23:42:01 GMT
Or it might be part of the solution. Smith's power is to 'generate' order: could he be able to revert the disruption and bring everybody back from Zimmingham? I doubt that Tom will ever let Andrew solve problems that way except in spacemonaut simulations, where, since it was just a simulation and not a real problem, it doesn't matter (and can lead to some comical moments of Parley yelling at Smith that he just ruined the adventure). |
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Post by TBeholder on Sept 22, 2014 0:28:47 GMT
It's not a deduction. It's induction. And specifically "I've never seen" is a mild form of solipsism, unless you're clairvoyant. Spiders are not very social beings, they tolerate each other only when very young. Then they make a web or trap, or find a nice place to jump their prey and meditate about the structure of the universe. If you want to get a good impression of the variety and beauty of nature read a bit about spider mating rituals. (or maybe in your case don't) But seriously, in the real world they're mostly harmless, and they do not work together. They do... Admittedly, only 20-30 species, which is less than 1 in 1000.  The most widespread is Argyroneta aquatica - diving bell spider. The most impressive is Anelosimus eximius: they can have multiple big nests connected together. In load-bearing parts silk gets reinforced until it becomes comparable to thin cloth in strength. So, you know, arachnophobes may want to steer clear of Brazil. Given that ~1E4 spiders sitting on high-windage cloth + 1 tornado all too easily make a surprise in the style dubious even for those who otherwise don't mind them, if you catch my drift (or did read press e.g. in February 2013). |
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Post by Corvo on Sept 22, 2014 1:01:04 GMT
So, you know, arachnophobes may want to steer clear of Brazil. Given that ~1E4 spiders sitting on high-windage cloth + 1 tornado all too easily make a surprise in the style dubious even for those who otherwise don't mind them, if you catch my drift (or did read press e.g. in February 2013). As a brazilian person guy myself, I'm not sure about this data. I mean, last time I went for a walk there was almost no spiders in the air. |
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Post by Daedalus on Sept 22, 2014 1:04:50 GMT
I suspect that the Headmaster will have to give in - if for no other reason than that if anything happens to Annie Also, his daughter was on the ship and is now in Zimmingham. He knows how dangerous that place is; I don't think he's heartless enough to let her die. I don't think Rey has to make others believe him. He may just need to get the blinker stone to one of a number of people (Jones, Anja, etc) and Annie can communicate directly with them as easily as she can communicate with Rey. Unless the distance and rift between Annie and the stone becomes to great, in which case Rey will know something is up/wrong, but not know hat or where. They may regret not sending a note along with the blinker stone. I don't think there is that many people who could see Annie's etheric form. True, though Annie's communicated with Kat before and Kat (as far as we know) has no ability to perceive the ether. Thus, she might be able to alert a non-etheric character like Jones. However, distance may prevent this from working... |
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Post by sapientcoffee on Sept 22, 2014 2:09:08 GMT
So, you know, arachnophobes may want to steer clear of Brazil. Given that ~1E4 spiders sitting on high-windage cloth + 1 tornado all too easily make a surprise in the style dubious even for those who otherwise don't mind them, if you catch my drift (or did read press e.g. in February 2013). As a brazilian person guy myself, I'm not sure about this data. I mean, last time I went for a walk there was almost no spiders in the air. I thought it'd be that video. Ain't no party like a Brazilian party cuz a Brazilian party got legs up to there! |
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