[2958]: "Wait. Wait..."

[arf]

"... Why would I want to do that?"

Now we come to it.
Why indeed?

[artezzatrigger]

Been waiting for that penny to drop.

Still, what exactly is her plan for living in a wrecked...pocket dimension? Can't imagine living a decent life in there. Though I guess when you otherwise live life with that much sensory overload anything is better.

[blahzor]

And thus with this. Zimmy dies from Omega via Kat on accident trying to avoid being a computer vegetable

[philman]

Jun 24, 2024 7:14:28 GMT artezzatrigger said:

Been waiting for that penny to drop.

Still, what exactly is her plan for living in a wrecked...pocket dimension? Can't imagine living a decent life in there. Though I guess when you otherwise live life with that much sensory overload anything is better.

From what we have seen of it so far, it doesn't seem that wrecked. There are some weird etheric effects such as Robot etc, but most people seem... fine, the New People are with Kat, who seems fine, we see Anthony here, who is also fine. What is the problem, at least from Omega's point of view? (Although maybe Omega has only been showing us those who are "fine" and not those who aren't I suppose)

[bicarbonat]

I knew I was right to distrust that energy. It really is a lot like Coyote: someone who has played an incredibly long game but will absolutely stop to roll through an interesting bit of chaos like a dog in clover, and God help you if you try to pull them along.

Her job's over, her employers are leaving, and she has a new, better(?) than human body – give it up?

Unless someone can redirect her, I'm predicting a brightly ominous finality in her response.

[laaaa]

At this point, I think our protagonists should be wary even if she agrees to help. For a being as omniscient and knowledgable as she, it should be pretty easy for her to propose some sort of action that SEEMS like it would help, but would in reality trigger a chain of events that will seal the weird ether-bubble in the state SHE wants.
Be careful Annnie.
...Probably should not involve Kat in any way.

[guntherkrieg]

"The time you could have closed the distortion vanished 35 minutes ago"

[hoob]

I think Annie's going to offer one of Kat's NP bodies in exchange for her help with Zimmy. I don't know if that'll work since there's probably no CPU, but maybe the distortion could alter Meg and the transfer machine

[gpvos]

So how far does the distortion extend? Apparently they are still in it here, since they could bwip here. But maybe it just thins out, and that may explain why Renard was so disoriented after the bwip? But is there a limit beyond which Meg's new body wouldn't be able to exist? Would disabling the distortion cause everything to revert back, regardless of how far away they moved from the centre?

[Sky Schemer]

Jun 24, 2024 9:38:36 GMT hoob said:

I think Annie's going to offer one of Kat's NP bodies in exchange for her help with Zimmy. I don't know if that'll work since there's probably no CPU, but maybe the distortion could alter Meg and the transfer machine

This is what I'm thinking as well. Omega has every reason to go for it, too. As bicarbonate said, her job's over (not that she's been able to do it since Annie's fall) and her employers are leaving. She doesn't have much of a future, and the court may literally pull the plug on her for all we know.

New body, though? Chance to live a normal life? Sounds promising.

[Sky Schemer]

Jun 24, 2024 9:24:13 GMT laaaa said:

At this point, I think our protagonists should be wary even if she agrees to help. For a being as omniscient and knowledgable as she, it should be pretty easy for her to propose some sort of action that SEEMS like it would help, but would in reality trigger a chain of events that will seal the weird ether-bubble in the state SHE wants.

Except she's not able to see/predict the future very well anymore. So that's maybe beyond her ability these days.

[Igniz]

IT seems that some of you, fellow Gunners, are forgetting that, more than the body part (which Kat maaaybe could replace, somehow), Omega's main issue in the regular dimension is the constant "noise of information", from which she is free in the distortion. Of course she doesn't want to get things back to normal, at least for the page being.

[Corvo]

"And that's the story of how things became like this forever, kids. Now take your bazookas and go kill some spiders!

[eyemyself]

Jun 24, 2024 11:46:39 GMT Corvo said:

"And that's the story of how things became like this forever, kids. Now take your bazookas and go kill some spiders!

Pretty much this.

And, Annie darling, I think it’s worth also worth asking the question who is missing and see if a pattern emerges. This isn’t like Zimmy’s other distortions or like your forays into the aether. Omega just said it’s exactly what she and Charles were working towards and the Court is moving forward with their plans. It may not be as random or as accidental as you think.
Omega calmed down a lot when she found out why you were focused on Robot. Since then she’s had the relaxed air of someone who knows the real action is elsewhere and hasn’t a care in the world. Everyone else may feel befuddled, but I have a feeling even with out her predictive powers our Girl Friday has a fairly firm handle on the situation. And, Zimmy and Loup may already be effectively doomed - along with anyone caught in this so-called distortion who isn’t invited to the party in the stars.

In fact, that might be the cost of a ticket out of the pocket dimension. Sacrifice Zimmy & Loup, save everyone else who wasn’t allowed on the boat.

[eyemyself]

Jun 24, 2024 12:07:26 GMT eyemyself said:

Jun 24, 2024 11:46:39 GMT Corvo said:

"And that's the story of how things became like this forever, kids. Now take your bazookas and go kill some spiders!

Pretty much this.

And, Annie darling, I think it’s worth also worth asking the question who is missing and see if a pattern emerges. This isn’t like Zimmy’s other distortions or like your forays into the aether. Omega just said it’s exactly what she and Charles were working towards and the Court is moving forward with their plans. It may not be as random or as accidental as you think.
Omega calmed down a lot when she found out why you were focused on Robot. Since then she’s had the relaxed air of someone who knows the real action is elsewhere and hasn’t a care in the world. Everyone else may feel befuddled, but I have a feeling even with out her predictive powers our Girl Friday has a fairly firm handle on the situation. And, Zimmy and Loup may already be effectively doomed - along with anyone caught in this so-called distortion who isn’t invited to the party in the stars.

In fact, that might be the cost of a ticket out of the pocket dimension. Sacrifice Zimmy & Loup, save everyone else who wasn’t allowed on the boat.

Which, oh gods, makes this a trolly problem. 😅

[Hatredman]

Jun 24, 2024 12:07:26 GMT eyemyself said:

Sacrifice Zimmy & Loup, save everyone else who wasn’t allowed on the boat.

Sacrifice Zimmy, Gamma, Coyote, Ysengrin, Lana and the already dead bald boy (wassisname?).

I liked Lana very very much.
She was naïf but a strong assertive woman. I value that a lot.

And, on another note, I'm still uncomfortable with the lack of news about Jones. She is important in all this somehow and I would be very much disappointed if she'd just vanished.

[morrahadesigns]

*Attenborough voice* This is The Other Shoe. It is a very common yet vital member of the storytelling biosphere. Here we see it in action, dropping down to break a thread of tension that has been building for some time. While the tension itself is also a vital aspect to storytelling, it must, on occasion, be broken in order to relax the readers and refresh or electrify them them in preparation for the next phase.

Beautiful.

[ctso74]

Either she's about to give an Option C, or this going into Flowers for Omega territory.

[Corvo]

Jun 24, 2024 13:20:00 GMT ctso74 said:

Either she's about to give an Option C, or this going into Flowers for Omega territory.

She probably hasn't eaten a chocolate in centuries. A box of those, and she'll be ours!

[rafk]

This is the moment in a JRPG where the slow build of the boss combat music would be starting underneath the dialogue while the good guys realised that the person they are dealing with has been an antagonist all along after all.

"Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"

- Auron, Final Fantasy X

[atteSmythe]

First, Tom, wow, man...knocked it out of the park on this one with composition, poses, expressions. Fantastic page.

Jun 24, 2024 12:09:12 GMT eyemyself said:

Jun 24, 2024 12:07:26 GMT eyemyself said:

In fact, that might be the cost of a ticket out of the pocket dimension. Sacrifice Zimmy & Loup, save everyone else who wasn’t allowed on the boat.

Which, oh gods, makes this a trolly problem. 😅

A potential reversal here is really interesting - after freeing Jeanne, will Annie and crew have to put themselves in the position of the Old Court and choose to doom someone to save everyone else?

[pyradonis]

Jun 24, 2024 9:38:36 GMT hoob said:

I think Annie's going to offer one of Kat's NP bodies in exchange for her help with Zimmy. I don't know if that'll work since there's probably no CPU, but maybe the distortion could alter Meg and the transfer machine

The question is, would it be able to keep her free from the Etheric noise she was subjected to in the past? Transferring her consciousness into a machine didn't stop it before, so I'm not sure an NP body does.

[silicondream]

Jun 24, 2024 7:39:51 GMT philman said:

From what we have seen of it so far, it doesn't seem that wrecked. There are some weird etheric effects such as Robot etc, but most people seem... fine, the New People are with Kat, who seems fine, we see Anthony here, who is also fine. What is the problem, at least from Omega's point of view? (Although maybe Omega has only been showing us those who are "fine" and not those who aren't I suppose)

I mean, Sam's not fine. Admittedly, it was basically proximity to Annie that killed him, but I'd like to think that she was doing a decent job protecting him before that. Many of the Court personnel stuck in the distortion are probably in comparable danger, though of course Omega may not be concerned about them.

Jun 24, 2024 12:09:12 GMT eyemyself said:

Jun 24, 2024 12:07:26 GMT eyemyself said:

Pretty much this.

And, Annie darling, I think it’s worth also worth asking the question who is missing and see if a pattern emerges. This isn’t like Zimmy’s other distortions or like your forays into the aether. Omega just said it’s exactly what she and Charles were working towards and the Court is moving forward with their plans. It may not be as random or as accidental as you think.
Omega calmed down a lot when she found out why you were focused on Robot. Since then she’s had the relaxed air of someone who knows the real action is elsewhere and hasn’t a care in the world. Everyone else may feel befuddled, but I have a feeling even with out her predictive powers our Girl Friday has a fairly firm handle on the situation. And, Zimmy and Loup may already be effectively doomed - along with anyone caught in this so-called distortion who isn’t invited to the party in the stars.

In fact, that might be the cost of a ticket out of the pocket dimension. Sacrifice Zimmy & Loup, save everyone else who wasn’t allowed on the boat.

Which, oh gods, makes this a trolly problem. 😅

A trollish trolley problem, even! To complicate matters, what if Omega's survival is dependent on the distortion as well? I would imagine that her pre-distortion cyborg form still has a limited lifespan, especially if the Court personnel who normally maintain her are leaving for the Science Planet.

Jun 24, 2024 15:55:55 GMT pyradonis said:

Jun 24, 2024 9:38:36 GMT hoob said:

I think Annie's going to offer one of Kat's NP bodies in exchange for her help with Zimmy. I don't know if that'll work since there's probably no CPU, but maybe the distortion could alter Meg and the transfer machine

The question is, would it be able to keep her free from the Etheric noise she was subjected to in the past? Transferring her consciousness into a machine didn't stop it before, so I'm not sure an NP body does.

She's probably not fully mechanical yet; the machinery is shown connecting to the inside of her skull, so I'm guessing her original brain is still alive in there.  If her consciousness is transferred with the arrow, she wouldn't have any of her original bits and that might make the difference.

[pyradonis]

Jun 24, 2024 16:35:47 GMT silicondream said:

Jun 24, 2024 15:55:55 GMT pyradonis said:

The question is, would it be able to keep her free from the Etheric noise she was subjected to in the past? Transferring her consciousness into a machine didn't stop it before, so I'm not sure an NP body does.

She's probably not fully mechanical yet; the machinery is shown connecting to the inside of her skull, so I'm guessing her original brain is still alive in there.  If her consciousness is transferred with the arrow, she wouldn't have any of her original bits and that might make the difference.

Good point, though maybe a bit too easy a solution to bring up the dilemma in the first place then? But I expect Annie to offer her a permanent NP body on the next page, so we should find out this week.

[Gemini Jim]

OK, so it seems pretty obvious to me that Meg was lying when she said she that Zimmy was "hidden" from her. . At the very least, she's stretching the truth. (Maybe Zimmy is hidden, but Meg could find her with a little effort - which she doesn't want to do.)

Meg has every reason to want to keep the Distortion going, because it gave her a shiny, new body.


"I only see events" is also highly suspicious. There are so many ways that a prediction can be twisted.


I don't know how, but Annie is going to have to find a way to force Meg to cooperate, perhaps by providing some incentive (like finding a way for her to stay fleshy).

Otherwise, Meg is edging close to villain territory here (selfishly keeping the Distortion going, because it helps her, even if it hurts others).

[ophidiophile]

The distortion might have made things better for not just Omega. We don't know how Zimmy and Coyote/Loup are doing. Zimmy might no longer be plagued by ether-induced hallucinations, and Coyote might have found Robot Jesus.

[Hatredman]

Jun 24, 2024 13:24:37 GMT rafk said:

This is the moment in a JRPG where the slow build of the boss combat music would be starting underneath the dialogue while the good guys realised that the person they are dealing with has been an antagonist all along after all.

"Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain, or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"

- Auron, Final Fantasy X

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!

[Gemminie]

After a bit of awkwardness about Omega possibly manipulating Annie into existence, Tony brings up the current biggest problem: nobody can contact anyone in the interior of the Court; many people are "lost." Annie says "we" are working on a way to get things back to normal, and that it all has to do with snapping Zimmy/Zeta out of whatever state she's in. Annie turns to Omega and says that Omega's knowledge may be able to guide them to Zimmy and help her. Omega, however, interrupts and asks why she would want to assist with this plan.

Why indeed? Omega has just managed to achieve her fondest dream: the ability to live a normal life, able to walk and talk and see and hear without being overwhelmed by all the information in the world. If they snap Zimmy out of it and end the distortion, what happens to Omega? Does she go back to being a machine? Or at the very least, does she become very much like what she was before Charles found her – trapped in a catatonic body and again overwhelmed by her ethereal ability, only it's a New Person body instead of a human body, but otherwise much the same? What would be her incentive to help with this? In fact, why wouldn't she do everything in her power to hinder this plan and ensure that this distortion lasts as long as possible?

Of course, it can't last forever, and she probably knows that – Zimmy will become exhausted, or perhaps even die, and the distortion will end, or Coyote will decide it's no longer serving whatever his current purpose is and change things. Omega can't currently predict what's going to happen, but she can't possibly truly think that she's free forever unless she has some sort of plan for when the distortion inevitably ends. But that doesn't mean she wants to end it prematurely.

When Tony says that many people are "lost," he probably means that their current status is unknown; there's no contact. And when Annie says that "we" are working on a plan, she probably means Renard, Kat, and herself; she may be including Omega, not yet disabused of the notion that Omega will help. But when Annie says "We just need to –" Omega interrupts her. What was she going to say? Annie's expression looks tired or perhaps sad in that frame; was she going to say that they need to do something terrible, or something really difficult? Or both?

[crater]

Imo Annie clearly knew Omega is going to stall here, look how resigned she is. Omega is more surprised.

Infact Annie has been on point the whole arc. She doesn't want her friend to become a murderer. Hopefully she no sales Omegas bs like she did with Coyote.

[silicondream]

Jun 24, 2024 16:59:27 GMT Gemini Jim said:

I don't know how, but Annie is going to have to find a way to force Meg to cooperate, perhaps by providing some incentive (like finding a way for her to stay fleshy).

Otherwise, Meg is edging close to villain territory here (selfishly keeping the Distortion going, because it helps her, even if it hurts others).

Somewhat less selfishly, the Court needs to keep draining the distortion for power until it's done leaving Earth, and perhaps until it actually arrives on Planet Science.  Obviously a lot of personnel and equipment haven't even left yet, and who knows what happens if the Star Ocean gets powered down while people are actually traveling through space? They'd probably all die, or be stranded on a semi-metaphorical asteroid, or something.