Forum:2021-04-09 (Friday)

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Discussion for comic for 2021-04-09 (Friday) ✣ .

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Okay, what's topologically similar to knitting socks but less dangerous? Bkharvey (talk) 05:12, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

More dangerous. But topologically speaking, knitting doesn't change anything. The topology of a skein of yarn is the same as the topology of a sock made from a single piece of yarn. Which is the same as the topology of any component of a magic trick that doesn't involve actual cutting/tearing/breaking, and the topology of a student in teaching (if you don't get to the level of neurons changing) or of a lion in lion taming. Argadi (talk) 09:32, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

A thneed is knitted and would easily be more topologically dangerous than socks. DLcygnet (talk) 15:08, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

But from the perspective of knot theory (a branch of topology which would apply if you connect one end of the yarn making up the sock to the other) ... I suppose it still doesn't change anything, since I guess you can unravel the sock and still not have a knot. So... Okay, we know kids love vozzlers. Maybe vozzlers do one or more interesting things with threads (perhaps time threads) without changing the topology. ⚙Zarchne (talk) 20:46, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

I still say they're clowns. The context in which he said "kids love us" made it sound constitutive, not contingent. Bkharvey (talk) 00:23, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

Well, the Professors are tickling the Experimental Subjects again with what a Vozzler does. I guess it'll be revealed someday.

About the same time we learn what exactly Gomorrity entails. So we have two items for a list of that category; I'm sure there are many others. "Nonce word referents and other mysteries." ⚙Zarchne (talk) 20:24, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Which will likely be when the readable edition of the Heterodyne Dictionary of Nifty Concepts is available. Doug Relyea (talk) 01:48, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

The ... ? Oh, I see (in vol VII). Yes, precisely then. ⚙Zarchne (talk) 02:24, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Must be a Heterodyne cultivar on the Snail berries, that ripen in late winter.

Strategic advantage? Hmmmm, Denial of the resources of Mechanicsburg, including the Castle, and Lucrezia's Secret Lab with the alternative to the Summoning Engine. And it could be something else we haven't seen yet. After all, Otilia was chained up in some forgotten hallway until Lucrezia found her. Doug Relyea (talk) 05:18, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Lucrezia will develop Time Travel, someday. Securing a Mechanicsburg frozen in Time would be very desirable. Bosda Di'Chi 11:26, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

I think Tarvek's face in panel 1 looks like it was drawn by Picasso. Svesjo (talk) 05:27, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Yeah good point. But, in panel 4, I guesss he doesn't know about Grandmother working with Zola? Which is confusing since Grandmother is said to hate the Other. Bkharvey (talk) 07:26, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Geandmama does hate the Other (Lucrezia). But Zola is using the knowledge from a copy of Lucrezia and Grandmama is using Zola. She may well know about the copy. Fred1740 (talk) 10:40, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

The snailberries may ripen in the spring. You probably develop a long view of time being a Jäger, and spring is coming. Argadi (talk) 09:32, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

They could be like rowan berries, which ripen in the fall, but have very bitter taste. But the bitterness decreases during winter, and birds love them in late winter and spring. Svesjo (talk) 17:08, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

• I still feel that the timing was far to convenient for Albia. I'm not sure the Polar Lords are attacking. Or if they are, I think Albia started it somehow. 68.40.63.173 14:20, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Seffie slipped to Tarvek that Grandma was focused on Zola before she shipped him off. Has he forgotten? A good way for Seffie to prove her worth there too. 'Black' Victor Cachat (talk) 14:27, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

I had a sudden, important thought. Do we have any direct evidence that Zola has any ability to command the Other's servants through the Lucrezia copy she has captive? She may be a diva, but I'm not sure she has the Voice. Zola has certainly been the public face of the Other in Northern Europa, but I'm not sure her power isn't based solely on the Geister's belief in her legitimacy. Lunevka, on the other hand, does have ability to vocally command slavers, and this attack comes immediately after her failure to retrieve Lucrezia-in-Agatha, who she knows has been removed and is now in Albia's custody. I don't know why this would spur her to attack Mechanicsburg, specifically, but I am DYING to know what the state of things between Zola and Lunevka has been for the past few years. PhoenixTalion (talk) 04:40, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

There's no direct evidence that Zola can command Geisterdamen. Against that however, is the fact she convinced Lunevka that she (Zola) was a copy of Lucrezia. Add to that Zola's part of the Mongfish clan hid Milvistle for years, and I would think it likely that yes, Zola can command Geisterdamen. The Lucrezia-in-Agatha is the only Lucrezia that knows of Zola's duplicity, and she and Lunevka didn't have time to compare organizational charts in the Science dome.Doug Relyea (talk) 05:55, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

My thoughts on Zola in the Great Hospital, talking with Lunevka: Zola is badly injured and weakened to where the Lucrezia copy is in control. It's possible Zola is acting, using information from Lucrezia, but she seems to have the personality down if that's the case. Enough to fool another Lucrezia. Fred1740 (talk) 01:07, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Could cut both ways. Lunevka might be making allowances for Zola's injuries and therefore less vigilant than she would be under other circumstances. Bkharvey (talk) 01:10, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

That's my other thought, that Lucrezia gained control after the beating Tarvek administered. Against that was Zola shooting the Geisterdamen in Paris. (Zola's preference appears to be firearms, while Lucrezia appears to prefer blades and verbal commands though she did shoot Tarvek.) Granted a Lucrezia-in-Zola would not want to reveal herself by ordering the Geisterdame to die. So I'm still up in the air, though leaning towards that's Zola running the show. Doug Relyea (talk) 01:49, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

The novelization confirms that Zola is in charge during that exchange. (and also usefully, confirms Gil knew that Lunevka was not a mere copy of Anevka Sturmvarous and was the one controlling Klaus -- it had been niggling at the back of my mind that while the Hospital staff apparently discovered she was not a puppet, Tarvek was the only one who knew she wasn't just a clank who acted like his sister.) But if Zola can't command Geisters, it would explain why she was apparently keen to dispose of as many of them as possible during the attack on Paris. It's worth a note, too, that the Mongfish family is based on Novaya Zemlya, in the Arctic Ocean, and we have no idea what they might be doing in addition to Zola's personal plans or what their relation to the Polar Lords is. PhoenixTalion (talk) 03:38, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Interesting, the location of the Mongfish lands. By chance was the location of their Summer Home revealed? Doug Relyea (talk) 06:19, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Well, "The Airship City" says Novaya Zemlya, whereas "Siege of Mechanicsburg" gives "an extinct volcano somewhere to the west of Minsk" as the location of the family lair, specifically in relation to Demonica Malfeazium (née Mongfish). Assuming both are true, rather than one superseding the other, I'd say the first is their 'Summer Home', because you sure as hell wouldn't want to live there in winter. (Where did the Mongfish Summer Home being a keystone in Lucrezia's plan come from, btw? I've seen it referenced a number of times, but never been able to find a source for it.) PhoenixTalion (talk) 01:08, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

One of the early Reddit AMA's (ask me anything) it was given forth that the Citadel of Light, the Geister base, is located near the Mongfish Summer Home. The west of Minsk location might be the Malfeazium lands but I don't know that for certain. Doug Relyea (talk) 01:37, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Oh. So, does that mean the Geisterdamen are Terrestrial in origin? Bkharvey (talk) 01:40, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

I would think the Geisters are not Terrestrial in origin. The lack of a pupil, and their name for "Earth" being 'the Shadow Lands' makes me think they are from a place with no rotation for night and day. It's possible they brought the Citadel with them when Lucrezia made them move to Earth to look for the infant Agatha, Vrin didn't say.Doug Relyea (talk) 01:56, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Is that stated as the location for the Citadel, or just an access point? Since the home of the Geisters seems to be accessible only by portal (which I think we can safely assume at this point to be a Queen's Mirror or an adaptation of the technology). I'm personally convinced the Geisters are from the moon. No, really. In the prologue of the first novel, we find out that the hive engines are very probably being dropped from space. On Othar's Twitter, we find out most Geisters seem to be frightened by the sight of the moon specifically (as opposed to generalized agoraphobia). It's been hinted that Skifander may be Mars (her mother is Guardian of the Red Mountain, she seems to experience zero gravity on the trip back), reinforcing that the Mirror Network may not be strictly terrestrial. PhoenixTalion (talk) 05:13, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

It was only stated that the Citadel is near the Mongfish Summer Home. My thoughts are similar to yours though, that it's hidden inside something that one would never think to put something in and it's connected to the rest of the world by a pair of Queen's Mirrors tuned to each other only. Doug Relyea (talk) 08:40, 12 April 2021 (UTC)