Girl Genius XVIII: Invisible Hand of the Legendary Smoke Knights

[HandofShadows]

Right up until Europa is entirely undermined and caves in on itself due to the thousands of tunnels criss-crossing its underground.

All it might need was a hard rain.

[factotum]

Right up until Europa is entirely undermined and caves in on itself due to the thousands of tunnels criss-crossing its underground.

Except the train must be filling in the tunnel behind it with the stuff that's being dug out at the front, or else it wouldn't travel very far...I see it as travelling more like an earthworm than a mechanical digger.

[The Glyphstone]

Except the train must be filling in the tunnel behind it with the stuff that's being dug out at the front, or else it wouldn't travel very far...I see it as travelling more like an earthworm than a mechanical digger.

Why? Based on that one shot, it looks to me like they've mounted some sort of energy weapon to the front that is melting/vaporizing the earth in its path. There's going to be a net loss of material even if they can somehow move all that earth down behind it afterwards.

[Lethologica]

Can I just say, this train has a magnificent mustache.

[Emperordaniel]

Except the train must be filling in the tunnel behind it with the stuff that's being dug out at the front, or else it wouldn't travel very far...I see it as travelling more like an earthworm than a mechanical digger.

"Logic" and "MAD SCIENCE" are not usually on speaking terms.

[factotum]

Why? Based on that one shot, it looks to me like they've mounted some sort of energy weapon to the front that is melting/vaporizing the earth in its path. There's going to be a net loss of material even if they can somehow move all that earth down behind it afterwards.

Er, no? Melting or vapourising something doesn't make it magically disappear--it just makes it much, much hotter. In open air the vapourised stuff would dissipate (and probably condense out nearby), but in an entirely enclosed space you would need to deal with the hot material just as much as you would if it were solid.

[petersohn]

Maybe they are not actually digging a tunnel, but replacing the earth behind themselves.

[Divayth Fyr]

Er, no? Melting or vapourising something doesn't make it magically disappear--it just makes it much, much hotter. In open air the vapourised stuff would dissipate (and probably condense out nearby), but in an entirely enclosed space you would need to deal with the hot material just as much as you would if it were solid.

We were told that for a strong Heterodyne it will take about two hours to truly warp the laws of nature. Here we have a strong Heterodyne and the work of many lesser Sparks, so the train magically disposing of the stuff wouldn't exactly be out of the question...

[factotum]

Maybe they are not actually digging a tunnel, but replacing the earth behind themselves.

That's what I said I thought they were doing, but The Glyphstone disagreed?

@Divayth Fyr: Oh, I've no doubt something like that would be possible in the GG universe, but it seems to me that filling in the tunnel behind as it travels would make more sense and would be just as unachievable in real life--after all, a real-life earth moving machine travels at inches per hour, not the speeds this underground train is managing!

[BannedInSchool]

It could be compacting the earth into stable walls, but that would actually make Europa more stable, I think.

[halfeye]

That's what I said I thought they were doing, but The Glyphstone disagreed?

IMHO He's probably correct.

@Divayth Fyr: Oh, I've no doubt something like that would be possible in the GG universe,

Which is exactly the universe in question.

but it seems to me that filling in the tunnel behind as it travels would make more sense and would be just as unachievable in real life--after all, a real-life earth moving machine travels at inches per hour, not the speeds this underground train is managing!

They leave behind double tracked, ventilated tunnels.

This seems to be single tracked, and is in the GG universe. If the result is a coherent system of underground rail routes that ordinary trains can travel, that will be a huge improvement over the current wrecked and surrounded overland rail network.

It seems to me that this is the Beast's powerset with a Corbetite mind at the controls, and is a potentially hugely good thing for Europa, though not necessarily that story relevant. What the ex-Beast becomes in its contained state might be interesting, if it isn't simply dropped, which maybe it should be.

[memnarch]

The comic you will try to remember after reading the latest one.

[Egneil]

Spoiler: New Comic

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And now we know why the Dreen are so powerful. With the power to look at time differently they can seemingly look into the future and likely avoid attacks.

Alternatively they might be able to move through time and thus move their past or future selves to the present to take a powerful blow to a time where they can heal it off.

[Qwertystop]

Spoiler: New Comic

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And now we know why the Dreen are so powerful. With the power to look at time differently they can seemingly look into the future and likely avoid attacks.

Alternatively they might be able to move through time and thus move their past or future selves to the present to take a powerful blow to a time where they can heal it off.

Spoiler: New Comic

Show

Alternately, all of their abilities might not stem from one thing. They can be from outside of time, while also being quite agile and strong for unrelated reasons.

Odd, though - the description in terms of centimeters made me think they would be significantly smaller than a person. I suppose metric doesn't really have an equivalent for feet to use for moderate distances, though.

[Temporal Echo]

Now THIS should be interesting. Even Bang is scared!

[Grey_Wolf_c]

The comic you will try to remember after reading the latest one.

Thank you for tracking that down. I had completely forgotten that trip even happened, much less any clues given in it.

Edit: it also explains why the Dreen are unstoppable. It would be like trying to run over with a train a creature that can step off the rails at will.

GW

[Marcelinari]

Hmm. How many Dreen have we seen at once in the Wulfenbachs' employ? No more than 2, I think.

Spoiler

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Given that they seem to be the 'angels from beyond time', of which there were 'dozens', how many are wandering around as terrifying and unstoppable free agents?

[anon62453]

Hmm. How many Dreen have we seen at once in the Wulfenbachs' employ? No more than 2, I think.

Spoiler

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Given that they seem to be the 'angels from beyond time', of which there were 'dozens', how many are wandering around as terrifying and unstoppable free agents?

The question I had is why hasn’t the Baron used them more often? Heck, why didn’t he unleash them on the Knights of Jove or in Stürmhälten? What’s the drawback to using them more often (I mean the Baron is supposed to know the right monster for the job)?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Hmm. How many Dreen have we seen at once in the Wulfenbachs' employ? No more than 2, I think.

For all we know, there is only one Dreen in total, who just happens to have intersected with our timeline in the same spots more than once.

GW

[Porthos]

Oh. ****! How the HELL did none of us see that coming!

The patented Foglio curveball strikes and strikes HARD!!!!

The comic you will try to remember after reading the latest one.

I just reread it yesterday, too! I mean, HOLY ****!! I am in awe, I tell you.

[Temporal Echo]

The question I had is why hasn’t the Baron used them more often? Heck, why didn’t he unleash them on the Knights of Jove or in Stürmhälten? What’s the drawback to using them more often (I mean the Baron is supposed to know the right monster for the job)?

I would say that it just goes to show how important the situations involving the Dreen are. A town full of wasped people you can easily obliterate, but the Dreen have only been used when a Heterodyne or the Other is involved. The first time they were mentioned was when Klaus wanted them to guard Punch and Judy. We didn't see them again until he sends one after post-Other Agatha during the siege when everything/everyone else is occupied with his entire army.

Now we find out that there are 'free' Dreen and that they have a unique perception of time which is something that, considering Agatha's future, could be invaluable to stopping the Other. Perhaps he wants to use them sparingly to avoid giving anyone a chance to figure out exactly how they work and how you can counter them before he can finish off the Other.

Also, we are left with a good question; was that Dreen imprisoned by the monks or was it just waiting there to push Gil to Paris and control the situation?

[Radar]

Since I got the jaw-droping out of my system before writing this post, I'll get right to the point:

1. Concerning the Dreen and the Baron you all assume he was controling them, while it might not have been so. Maybe they simply lent Baron a hand in serious cases and if he tried to use them in trivial (at least from their perspective) situations, they would refuse.

2. I think Du Pree has aquired an aversion to pastry for a completly unknown reason.

[Emperordaniel]

Also, we are left with a good question; was that Dreen imprisoned by the monks or was it just waiting there to push Gil to Paris and control the situation?

Considering we first saw that Dreen in the Beast-wrecked basement of the monastery, I believe it used to be one of their prisoners. How they ever managed to pull that off remains a mystery.

Also, is anyone else mentally screaming their head off in terror right now?

[Lizard Lord]

Considering we first saw that Dreen in the Beast-wrecked basement of the monastery, I believe it used to be one of their prisoners. How they ever managed to pull that off remains a mystery.

Maybe it just let them think they did but in fact was just waiting in place until it knew it would be needed.

Also, is anyone else mentally screaming their head off in terror right now?

I am.

[The Mormegil]

Oh. ****! How the HELL did none of us see that coming!

The patented Foglio curveball strikes and strikes HARD!!!!



I just reread it yesterday, too! I mean, HOLY ****!! I am in awe, I tell you.

Actually I did. One of the first comics ever had a Dreen in a time window. I thought it was likely they were related to time travel. Then, when the hats were referenced, I just put 2+2 together.

[Emperordaniel]

Actually I did. One of the first comics ever had a Dreen in a time window.

Wait, what? To me, that's pretty clearly not a Dreen.

[PePe QuiCoSE]

Actually I did. One of the first comics ever had a Dreen in a time window. I thought it was likely they were related to time travel. Then, when the hats were referenced, I just put 2+2 together.

You know you are going to get called on that, right?

You mean this comic? I took it to be clankcrezia (and never read something suggesting otherwise, but haven't read much.

There is hardly any clues in the comic about the dreen to link them that way (dunno about the novel though). And hell, if the "hats" thing was a reference, I would have first guessed that the Jaegers were the time travelers.

[datalaughing]

I think the more relevant question here is, what are the Dreen's motives? If they came from outside of our temporal frame of reference in the same way as the freaky giant monster is coming, then are they trying to help it get in? Do they want to stop it from getting in? Why? Because, depending on what exactly they're after here, Gil might not want to listen to this one. In fact, why would any of them work for the Baron in the first place?

[tonberrian]

Oh. ****! How the HELL did none of us see that coming!

The patented Foglio curveball strikes and strikes HARD!!!!



I just reread it yesterday, too! I mean, HOLY ****!! I am in awe, I tell you.

I did! I have a post in the last thread about it, too.

Hrmm. I wonder if the Dreen are the funny things that came the last time time was meddled with.

[datalaughing]

And now that I think about it, second most important question: Did Gil just discover the way to save Mechanicsburg? They don't seem to think that big guy is going to be effected by the time stop field once he gets into the human world. So if he's immune to it, would the Dreen be also? Could Gil just send one of them in to destroy the Baron's device?