Post by todd on May 28, 2009 22:47:43 GMT
In preparation for Chapter Twenty-three of "Gunnerkrigg Court" next week, I thought I'd briefly sum up the important developments in Chapters Fifteen to Twenty-two.
We learned a lot during those eight chapters. Among the big discoveries:
1. Ysengrin deliberately buried the "dead" Tic-Toc Bird, apparently as part of a plan to provide a pretext for war with the Court. (Though I hope he was telling the truth about all that machinery sprouting from the bird's remains - it's a great idea.)
2. Annie didn't just get to know the Guides at Good Hope; she also helped them with some of their work, such as with Martin. (Which may explain why she's so ready to handle problems himself, rather than turning to the grown-ups for help.)
3. Gunnerkrigg was founded by humans who took refuge in Gillitie Wood, studied its secrets, and built the Court as a refuge when the forest's inhabitants objected to their studying etheric science. It tries to balance straightforward science with etheric science.
4. Jones impartially observes the failings of both the Court and the Wood, and trains the future mediums while not being a medium herself. She may or may not be a robot in human form (though if she is a robot, she must be from a different line than the regular Court robots, since she's far more level-headed and sensible than they are). She appears to have a relationship with Eglamore.
5. Smith's etheric ability is being able to make order out of chaos. Parley has (apparently) no etheric abilities, but is attending medium class because her father hopes that she may pick up the psychic abilities he predicted that she'd have by assocating with young people who *do* have etheric abilities. (Though I still wonder, in light of one of Jones' remarks about him, whether Parley Sr. himself really is a psychic.)
6. Surma and Anja used to study the robots in the secret workshop that Kat and Annie have discovered.
7. The robots at the Court apparently are a mixture of regular technology with etheric technology, and seem to have been initially built by Diego - who might be responsible for the Tic-Toc Birds (though this last is also Annie and Kat's speculation, and might not be true). He seems to have been in love with Jeanne, and apparently programmed two of the robots in his workshop to re-enact a battle relating to her death.
8. Jeanne is the name of the ghost girl with the sword who attacked Annie. The Guides want Annie to help Jeanne pass on to the Aether, which was why they had Mort send her the Blinker Stone, as a way of bending the law that forbade them to interfere in the affairs of the living.
9. Gunnerkrigg is conducting experiments involving the lake - which as a side-effect, are wreaking havoc on Zimmy.
10. Zimmy lies to Gamma about what the other children at Gunnerkrigg say about her, to make certain that she's Gamma's only friend.
11. Zimmy is somehow linked to a dark parody of her home city, inhabited by the mysterious Nobodies that only Gamma (and to a lesser extent, Annie) can dispel. One of the Nobodies was able to impersonate Kat.
12. Coyote came to Britain from his old home in the southwestern United States to have some fun with his cousin Renard, and settled in Gillitie Wood. He found the people of Gunnerkrigg trying to capture and tame the beasts of the forest, and so made the ravine through which the Annan Waters flow to stop their actions.
13. Coyote gave Reynardine the ability to possess others, but with the flaw (maybe deliberate, maybe not) that those whom Reynardine possesses die. When Reynardine fell in love with Surma, he possessed a young man at the Court, the crime for which he's being held prisoner. (The young man can't have been Anthony, since he had dark hair and Anthony has sandy brown hair.)
14. Blinker Stones serve as a way of training people to use their etheric talents, among other things. (They are also often gifts between couples, such as the Donlans.)
15. Anja tattooed Eglamore with a symbol to keep Reynardine from possessing him (which was why Reynardine couldn't jump into Eglamore's body in Chapter Three). She also set up computer programs that allow her and Donald to project barriers (though presumably with some etheric content - since we know after Chapter Twenty-two that Anja really does have etheric abilities of her own).
16. Surma was far less formal than her daughter, speaking in a (presumably) Yorkshire dialect and being far more fiery and impulsive.
17. A few of the shadow-people were stranded in the Court after a disastrous raid by a half-tree half-dog creature from Gillitie. Presumably Shadow2 was one of them, or else descended from them.
18. The third girl in the photograph is really Brynhild the Valkyrie from Norse mythology, sent to school by Odin for disobeying him.
19. Anthony was formal and solitary even as a boy, with many character traits much like those of his daughter's.
We also were introduced to Jack (who has etheric talents, though combined with a skill for technology similar to Kat's), and found out that the fairies had finally received human bodies (thanks to Ysengrin) - but most of the big developments have been revelations rather than outright changes.
There are probably a few things that I've forgotten, but these are the biggies.
We learned a lot during those eight chapters. Among the big discoveries:
1. Ysengrin deliberately buried the "dead" Tic-Toc Bird, apparently as part of a plan to provide a pretext for war with the Court. (Though I hope he was telling the truth about all that machinery sprouting from the bird's remains - it's a great idea.)
2. Annie didn't just get to know the Guides at Good Hope; she also helped them with some of their work, such as with Martin. (Which may explain why she's so ready to handle problems himself, rather than turning to the grown-ups for help.)
3. Gunnerkrigg was founded by humans who took refuge in Gillitie Wood, studied its secrets, and built the Court as a refuge when the forest's inhabitants objected to their studying etheric science. It tries to balance straightforward science with etheric science.
4. Jones impartially observes the failings of both the Court and the Wood, and trains the future mediums while not being a medium herself. She may or may not be a robot in human form (though if she is a robot, she must be from a different line than the regular Court robots, since she's far more level-headed and sensible than they are). She appears to have a relationship with Eglamore.
5. Smith's etheric ability is being able to make order out of chaos. Parley has (apparently) no etheric abilities, but is attending medium class because her father hopes that she may pick up the psychic abilities he predicted that she'd have by assocating with young people who *do* have etheric abilities. (Though I still wonder, in light of one of Jones' remarks about him, whether Parley Sr. himself really is a psychic.)
6. Surma and Anja used to study the robots in the secret workshop that Kat and Annie have discovered.
7. The robots at the Court apparently are a mixture of regular technology with etheric technology, and seem to have been initially built by Diego - who might be responsible for the Tic-Toc Birds (though this last is also Annie and Kat's speculation, and might not be true). He seems to have been in love with Jeanne, and apparently programmed two of the robots in his workshop to re-enact a battle relating to her death.
8. Jeanne is the name of the ghost girl with the sword who attacked Annie. The Guides want Annie to help Jeanne pass on to the Aether, which was why they had Mort send her the Blinker Stone, as a way of bending the law that forbade them to interfere in the affairs of the living.
9. Gunnerkrigg is conducting experiments involving the lake - which as a side-effect, are wreaking havoc on Zimmy.
10. Zimmy lies to Gamma about what the other children at Gunnerkrigg say about her, to make certain that she's Gamma's only friend.
11. Zimmy is somehow linked to a dark parody of her home city, inhabited by the mysterious Nobodies that only Gamma (and to a lesser extent, Annie) can dispel. One of the Nobodies was able to impersonate Kat.
12. Coyote came to Britain from his old home in the southwestern United States to have some fun with his cousin Renard, and settled in Gillitie Wood. He found the people of Gunnerkrigg trying to capture and tame the beasts of the forest, and so made the ravine through which the Annan Waters flow to stop their actions.
13. Coyote gave Reynardine the ability to possess others, but with the flaw (maybe deliberate, maybe not) that those whom Reynardine possesses die. When Reynardine fell in love with Surma, he possessed a young man at the Court, the crime for which he's being held prisoner. (The young man can't have been Anthony, since he had dark hair and Anthony has sandy brown hair.)
14. Blinker Stones serve as a way of training people to use their etheric talents, among other things. (They are also often gifts between couples, such as the Donlans.)
15. Anja tattooed Eglamore with a symbol to keep Reynardine from possessing him (which was why Reynardine couldn't jump into Eglamore's body in Chapter Three). She also set up computer programs that allow her and Donald to project barriers (though presumably with some etheric content - since we know after Chapter Twenty-two that Anja really does have etheric abilities of her own).
16. Surma was far less formal than her daughter, speaking in a (presumably) Yorkshire dialect and being far more fiery and impulsive.
17. A few of the shadow-people were stranded in the Court after a disastrous raid by a half-tree half-dog creature from Gillitie. Presumably Shadow2 was one of them, or else descended from them.
18. The third girl in the photograph is really Brynhild the Valkyrie from Norse mythology, sent to school by Odin for disobeying him.
19. Anthony was formal and solitary even as a boy, with many character traits much like those of his daughter's.
We also were introduced to Jack (who has etheric talents, though combined with a skill for technology similar to Kat's), and found out that the fairies had finally received human bodies (thanks to Ysengrin) - but most of the big developments have been revelations rather than outright changes.
There are probably a few things that I've forgotten, but these are the biggies.
