Forum:Timing Issues - Gil's and Agatha's age & attact on CH

There has been much discussion about the timeline of events in the story. The biggest seems to be the question of how long ago Castle Heterodyne was attacked and how old is Agatha. Maybe it's an error by the authors early in telling the story or a clue to what happened. Here's my speculation on the matter.

First, a review of what the reader knows. Klaus Wulfenbach is shipped off to Skifander two years and three months before the birth of Klaus Barry Heterodyne. Castle Heterodyne is attacked (and Klaus Barry dies) one year and almost one month after that. Current passage ot time: three years four months.

Lucrezia disappears when Castle Heterodyne is attacked. Agatha is born sometime after that. Word-of-God aside, elements within the story state Agatha's parents are Bill Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish Heterodyne. I have been under the impression that it was canon that Bill is Agatha's father and Barry is her Uncle.

BUT, from the second novel, we find that Gil, apparently born in Skifander, is roughly five years older than Agatha. Hmmm. Even adding nine months to the 3 years 4 months, assuming Lucrezia WAS pregnant when she flew the coop, only makes 4 years 1 month. Even if Klaus lands in the middle of a Skifanderan religious festival upon arrival, there's not enough time. Accounting for Gil's gestation, Castle Heterodyne is attacked two years and seven months after his birth, IF he is conceived IMMEDIATELY upon Klaus' arrival in Skifander.

Note that I say assuming Lucrezia was pregnant. Agatha apparently is the product of genetic manipulation, specifically selected to be female. She was supposed to just be a vehicle for her mother, a sort of android-like shell if you will. We all have seen how well that turned out.

Possible solution: Agatha was conceived In Vitro. Her father was not present at this event. Lucrezia used "tissue" (she could use something other than semen, though that would be the easiest) to merge her ova with Bill's DNA making certain his had only an X chromosome. The pregancy could happen roughly around a year after the CH attack. Which leaves sufficient time for the five year gap between Gil and Agatha. Also helps with the attack on CH being "almost twenty years ago" and Agatha being eighteen when the story opens. We don't know the exact time Lucrezia reveals her pregnancy to the Geisterdamen. It does not have to coincide with the attack. She is very pregnant in Vrin's story. Were Bill and Barry now in hot pursuit of Lucrezia at that time? AndyAB99 (talk) 20:04, July 31, 2012 (UTC)