[2955] "They're just leaving?"

[imaginaryfriend]

They were leaving anyway. It sounds like maybe Omega predicted "something like this" happening but was a little fuzzy on the deets? Anyway, I'm surprised the distortion didn't speed up their timetable.

[Geekette]

I read that as they needed something like the distortion to make the trip actually.

Though, now the idea that they're refugees running away (like how the court started) becomes even more accurate.

[worldsong]

If nothing else this'll help convince those who were selected that they'll be better off in the new world.

[imaginaryfriend]

Jun 17, 2024 7:30:10 GMT Geekette said:

I read that as they needed something like the distortion to make the trip actually. Though, now the idea that they're refugees running away (like how the court started) becomes even more accurate.

It is confirmed that the star ocean is absorbing ether from the distortion but I thought they were using it for travel before. We know they could gather at least some quantities of ether since the power station chapters. Maybe they were keeping Zeta because they thought she'd someday make a distortion big enough to power the star ocean more so they could all go at once, or maybe they were keeping her because she'd be a land mine for Coyote or a similar being, delaying him and signifying that it's the last call for departure, or both? Either way, they probably wanted Zeta as a research subject too.

Hopefully the dialogue this page will be clarified on the next.

[lisanela]

I really hope Zimmy is fine or at least won't die in a horrible way. She and Gamma deserve a long holiday

[lightshade]

Uh, Annie, what's with the side eye and snarky comment? It's never been stated at all that the Court wants to help anyone that they take in. That may be the lip service they tell people they draw in and to themselves to feel better about what they do but it's clear everyone has only ever been used by them as a means to an end. It's surprising to see this reaction from Annie given all the deception and lies she's witnessed from them firsthand. It was never shown in those flashbacks that the Court wanted to help Omega rather than just use her as a tool, only that Charles probably felt a genuine desire to help her from the very beginning.

[gpvos]

I expect Omega to burst out in laughing at Annie's last comment.

[Corvo]

Every Court member: HAHAHAHA! "Help"! Oh boy, this girl just cracks me u-Oh wait, she's serious...?

[pylgrimm]

Jun 17, 2024 9:13:24 GMT lightshade said:

Uh, Annie, what's with the side eye and snarky comment? It's never been stated at all that the Court wants to help anyone that they take in. That may be the lip service they tell people they draw in and to themselves to feel better about what they do but it's clear everyone has only ever been used by them as a means to an end. It's surprising to see this reaction from Annie given all the deception and lies she's witnessed from them firsthand. It was never shown in those flashbacks that the Court wanted to help Omega rather than just use her as a tool, only that Charles probably felt a genuine desire to help her from the very beginning.

They did help Omega. Or that old man did, the Court just reaped the benefits. So yeah, while you would be foolish to expect anything at all from the Court, it is pretty disgusting if Omega herself doesn't see a fellow sufferer of whatever their ailments are as someone who should be helped.

[imaginaryfriend]

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."

[pyradonis]

"To help her?"

I hope Annie is being sarcastic here.

[storyteller]

Jun 17, 2024 10:24:26 GMT pyradonis said:

"To help her?"

I hope Annie is being sarcastic here.

Thing is - I don't recall her ever talking with her father as to whether he'd be leaving with the rest of the Court.

This is the project her father was working on and she has a blind spot in regards to Anthony.

[pyradonis]

Jun 17, 2024 10:58:58 GMT storyteller said:

Jun 17, 2024 10:24:26 GMT pyradonis said:

"To help her?"

I hope Annie is being sarcastic here.

Thing is - I don't recall her ever talking with her father as to whether he'd be leaving with the rest of the Court.

This is the project her father was working on and she has a blind spot in regards to Anthony.

Hm, I didn't interpret it like that, actually. Annie knows her father did research work for the Court's "blasted Omega Device", but I don't think she connects his work with the Court keeping Zeta around.

[Gemminie]

Now it appears that Omega brought them not to a street curve but to a rooftop, one with stairs. They're able to see a broad vista of the Star Ocean's coast; at least five ocean liners are docked for loading. And there's activity going on right now; distant people are visible working on the docks.

For some reason Annie is surprised that the Court isn't doing anything about the distortion, just continuing their preparations to leave as if nothing's happened.

Omega then basically says outright that she predicted that something like the distortion would eventually happen if the Court brought Zimmy in, and they would then be able to siphon off enough energy to use for their trip. Annie, giving her major side eye, clearly judges Omega for thus using Zimmy instead of helping her, as the Court helped Omega.

Of course, the degree of actual control Omega has over the Court is unclear, especially at this point when her predictions are so uncertain.

[morrahadesigns]

I appreciate the very suspicious and accusing slant of Antimony's eyes in that last panel. Well drawn Tom.

[ctso74]

Annie. Shady and dubious Court will remain shady and dubious.

[bicarbonat]

Jun 17, 2024 13:25:11 GMT morrahadesigns said:

I appreciate the very suspicious and accusing slant of Antimony's eyes in that last panel. Well drawn Tom.

Too right. Annie has endless stores of sarcasm and suspicion for the Court, especially since the discovery of Jeanne's torture/murder. She expects their competency, but never forgets their ruthlessness.

She's gotten to the point that a lot of young people eventually get to – the crumbling of the idea that there is a clean "side," rather than (if lucky) a few decent individuals to be found wherever individuals can be.

[Gemini Jim]

Jun 17, 2024 10:24:26 GMT pyradonis said:

"To help her?"

I hope Annie is being sarcastic here.

yeah, Annie's too smart and been through too much at the hands of the Court to be naive enough to actually believe that the Court is "helping" Zimmy in a non-sarcastic helpful sort of way.

Or Meg, either, since she throws in that "Like they helped you?" at the end.

I'd say "Devil's Advocate" is more likely. Both of those "helps" need air quotes around them.


It's funny to think of Annie arguing with the supercomputer device that knew everything.


=

On a separate note, if the Court is using the Distortion to boost their escape, how are they not taking the Distortion with them, like an unwanted stowaway?

[drmemory]

I guess Annie is still painfully naive?

More worried about Omega though. If the court is still leaving, wouldn't they take their equipment with them? Isn't Omega still technically inside some of that? She might be getting a rude awakening shortly.

A new thought (new for me, at least): I've always said that Coyote is the master schemer, and that basically everything going on has been to his plan. I still think that, for the most part. But. The court obviously had more going on than we knew about. I wonder what THEIR master plan is, and who the planners are? Who is the inner circle of the court? Is anyone still alive from the early days of the court, directing events?

What triggered this is Omega's comment about them keeping Zeta there, even though they don't like the ether and don't like things they can't fully predict and control. They've had Zimmy there since she was much younger. They also had Surma's generation there, even though they weren't close to leaving back then. So all along they've kept powerful people and critters in the court. Actual creatures of mythology too, like the Valkyrie. A lot of other supernatural entities seem to hang around the court as well, like the psychopomps. It makes me wonder when their long term plans started, who made them, and if the planners in question are still around. Maybe Jones knows? Maybe not though, the court likes to keep secrets.

Obviously some this was due to Omega and her predictions but surely that isn't the whole story.

[yellowb]

Jun 17, 2024 18:22:41 GMT drmemory said:

I guess Annie is still painfully naive?

More worried about Omega though. If the court is still leaving, wouldn't they take their equipment with them? Isn't Omega still technically inside some of that? She might be getting a rude awakening shortly.

A new thought (new for me, at least): I've always said that Coyote is the master schemer, and that basically everything going on has been to his plan. I still think that, for the most part. But. The court obviously had more going on than we knew about. I wonder what THEIR master plan is, and who the planners are? Who is the inner circle of the court? Is anyone still alive from the early days of the court, directing events?

What triggered this is Omega's comment about them keeping Zeta there, even though they don't like the ether and don't like things they can't fully predict and control. They've had Zimmy there since she was much younger. They also had Surma's generation there, even though they weren't close to leaving back then. So all along they've kept powerful people and critters in the court. Actual creatures of mythology too, like the Valkyrie. A lot of other supernatural entities seem to hang around the court as well, like the psychopomps. It makes me wonder when their long term plans started, who made them, and if the planners in question are still around. Maybe Jones knows? Maybe not though, the court likes to keep secrets.

Obviously some this was due to Omega and her predictions but surely that isn't the whole story.

I think Annie's being sarcastic, not naive at all. Also, why would the court want to take Omega - or the machinery attached to her - with them? Also also, Omega just explained (well, kind of) why the court doesn't need her or any of that "pesky ether". They've created (replicated?) a map, or a model, or whatever it is, based on how she... sees the world, I guess? But it's now completely ether free. Or so they say.

As for Zimmy, Omega predicted that a distortion like this would be inevitable if she was around. So the court kept Zimmy around and calibrated the star ocean for her, so now they can harness enough ether for the voyage.

[bedinsis]

I don't think Annie is being naive here; I think she is a friend of Zimmy and lets those emotions override whatever image of the Court she has.

[hoob]

I think Annie's just pushing back on Omega's callous nature. Stating it that way shows that helping Zimmy should be normal/expected rather than the cold and machivellian court that she knows.

Edit: Omega is used to viewing people as potential events, or for what function they might fulfill. She defines being dead as having "no further influence on the world."

The court felt that way about Jeanne, valuing her more as a languishing sentinel than a breathing subject with her own life. At the very least Omega sees that the court is treating Zimmy in a similar way and isn't too cut up about it.

[Sky Schemer]

I am getting the feeling that Omega lost her humanity long before she got into slug voyeurism.

[OGRuddawg]

Jun 17, 2024 10:58:58 GMT storyteller said:

Jun 17, 2024 10:24:26 GMT pyradonis said:

"To help her?"

I hope Annie is being sarcastic here.

Thing is - I don't recall her ever talking with her father as to whether he'd be leaving with the rest of the Court.

This is the project her father was working on and she has a blind spot in regards to Anthony.

Annie does have a bit of a blind spot related to Anthony, but she isn't naiive about the amorality of the Court as a whole. So far: she's seen what they did to Jeanne and got a whole team together to free her. She witnessed their attempt to capture/steal Loup's powers firsthand. She's also seen them override the robot bodies with their own less-than-friendly operating system.

To speculate a bit on Anthony, we did not see him at the meeting by the shore, so we don't have confirmation he was invited yet. He doesn't have any etheric powers so it's assumed he's at least eligible for consideration. However, despite his and Annie's difficult relationship I don't think he would go if it meant abandoning Annie a second time. He does genuinely regret how he treated her, even if his "mind cage" prevents him from saying that to her face.

[silicondream]

Jun 17, 2024 23:07:50 GMT OGRuddawg said:

Jun 17, 2024 10:58:58 GMT storyteller said:

Thing is - I don't recall her ever talking with her father as to whether he'd be leaving with the rest of the Court.

This is the project her father was working on and she has a blind spot in regards to Anthony.

Annie does have a bit of a blind spot related to Anthony, but she isn't naiive about the amorality of the Court as a whole. 

She's also (over)heard about the amorality of the Court from Anthony...and Jones...and Eglamore...and Kat...and Renard...and basically everyone she respects. The only person who cheerleads for the Court in her circle of acquaintances is Paz, and she has no credibility with Annie.

I think Annie was just pointing out the apparent contradiction between Omega's own fairly happy memories of the Court and how it helped and empowered her, and her dismissal of Zimmy as unimportant to the Court except as a walking magical battery. Is Omega just being a self-centered jerk, and rating her own usefulness to the world as vastly above Zimmy's? Or is she implying that the character and policies of the Court have changed significantly between her time and the present?

I also love how inexorable the Court's plans are.  90% of the events we see in the comic, the Court just files under "inconsequential etheric bullshit" and keeps on doing what it's doing.  It's a mirror image of Ysengrin's attitude toward human affairs.

[morrahadesigns]

Jun 17, 2024 15:37:45 GMT bicarbonat said:

Jun 17, 2024 13:25:11 GMT morrahadesigns said:

I appreciate the very suspicious and accusing slant of Antimony's eyes in that last panel. Well drawn Tom.

Too right. Annie has endless stores of sarcasm and suspicion for the Court, especially since the discovery of Jeanne's torture/murder. She expects their competency, but never forgets their ruthlessness.

She's gotten to the point that a lot of young people eventually get to – the crumbling of the idea that there is a clean "side," rather than (if lucky) a few decent individuals to be found wherever individuals can be.

I'm nearly 39 and I am still bitter over that realization. 

[mturtle7]

Jun 17, 2024 23:50:52 GMT silicondream said:

Jun 17, 2024 23:07:50 GMT OGRuddawg said:

Annie does have a bit of a blind spot related to Anthony, but she isn't naiive about the amorality of the Court as a whole. 

She's also (over)heard about the amorality of the Court from Anthony...and Jones...and Eglamore...and Kat...and Renard...and basically everyone she respects. The only person who cheerleads for the Court in her circle of acquaintances is Paz, and she has no credibility with Annie.

I think Annie was just pointing out the apparent contradiction between Omega's own fairly happy memories of the Court and how it helped and empowered her, and her dismissal of Zimmy as unimportant to the Court except as a walking magical battery. Is Omega just being a self-centered jerk, and rating her own usefulness to the world as vastly above Zimmy's? Or is she implying that the character and policies of the Court have changed significantly between her time and the present?

Funny thing - I suspect that's what Annie THINKS she's doing, but I don't think it's going to provoke the response she thinks it will. After hearing good ol' Meg tell her own life story, one of the first things Annie asked was "why would the Court do such a monstrous thing to you?", to which Meg replied "The Court did nothing to me I didn't want." Afterwards, Meg also cheerfully mentioned that the Court "didn't need her anymore" and that her "job was over." To Annie, this all might imply that Meg is grateful to the Court for "helping" her (even if Annie doesn't believe they were actually doing that), and was happy to do a job for them in return! We, however, have the benefit of actually seeing Omega's old life through flashbacks, which give a much clearer picture of how she and the Court actually saw each other: she saw them as a convenient way to harness her power, and they saw her as a well of glorious possibilities to mine. They both took advantage of each other, knowingly and selfishly.

I'm guessing that as far as Omega's concerned, the main difference between her and Zimmy is that she was smart enough to constantly take advantage of the Court's interest in her as much as possible, while Zimmy just kinda sat there and took it from 'em, like a chump. Annie isn't exactly naive, but I predict that she's going to have some trouble grasping Omega's particular brand of cynicism.

I also love how inexorable the Court's plans are. 90% of the events we see in the comic, the Court just files under "inconsequential etheric bullshit" and keeps on doing what it's doing. It's a mirror image of Ysengrin's attitude toward human affairs.

I also love this. Especially because the 10% of events in the comic the Court HAS cared enough to notice, they probably could have avoided EXTREMELY EASILY if only they had paid the slightest amount of attention to the other 90% of the comic. I mean, SO much stuff had to happen in order to create exactly the right conditions for Loup to arise, and the Court had so many opportunities to intervene...but no...

[blahzor]

Omega (looking out into the star ocean): Look at all these chickens!!!

[blahzor]

Jun 17, 2024 7:06:27 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

They were leaving anyway. It sounds like maybe Omega predicted "something like this" happening but was a little fuzzy on the deets? Anyway, I'm surprised the distortion didn't speed up their timetable.

free gasoline. you just don't know exact when you need to flee with it

[mturtle7]

Jun 18, 2024 5:45:58 GMT blahzor said:

Jun 17, 2024 7:06:27 GMT imaginaryfriend said:

They were leaving anyway. It sounds like maybe Omega predicted "something like this" happening but was a little fuzzy on the deets? Anyway, I'm surprised the distortion didn't speed up their timetable.

free gasoline. you just don't know exact when you need to flee with it

"Guys, the gas pump we were going to use just laughed in our faces, called us idiots, and then disappeared without a trace. What the hell do we do now?"

"Hmm..."

"Hmmmmmm...."

"Hey...you know that one girl who cries tears of fire and gasoline sometimes? The one I wrote my thesis paper on?"

"Yeah?"

"What if we watch and wait for her to have a REALLY BIG tantrum, then gather up as much unexploded gasoline as we can from her tears, load them into the gas tank, and get the h*ll out of Dodge?"

"BRILLIANT!"