Gunnerkrigg Court 7: Psychopomp and Circumstance

[guttering flame]

The robots also watch the recording of Diego and Jeanne. He gives her little robots to love her just as he does.

[Giggling Ghast]

I can't help but wonder if it's Diego's influence. All the Court robots are his, or descended from his works if I recall correctly. Their AI (by design or not) might lean towards forming these kinds of attachments, and Arthur is just lucky that Juliette reciprocated.

I agree. For that very reason, I still think giving Arthur flesh is a horrible idea that will end tragically. Diego's robots know obsession, not love.

But I could be wrong. Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned.

[guttering flame]

I agree. For that very reason, I still think giving Arthur flesh is a horrible idea that will end tragically. Diego's robots know obsession, not love.

But I could be wrong. Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned.

Who knows. But the robots have evolved some since Diego and Cat is taking them through the next great step. Even if current robots' love is lacking doesn't mean the new flesh robots golems will too.

[eee]

IIRC, someone pointed out at the time of the remembered scene that the tall robot was wearing a symbol we'd seen before. Good eye to whoever it was.

I wonder if Arthur is a loyal cult follower or a double agent.

[eschmenk]

I didn't remember that scene, but I found it.

[guttering flame]

I was wondering, when the comic started, the art and particularly the faces were drawn in a really weird manner (remember the cheek triangles?). Was it intentional to alienate us from these characters and place or just weird art that improved over time?

[Oneris]

I was wondering, when the comic started, the art and particularly the faces were drawn in a really weird manner (remember the cheek triangles?). Was it intentional to alienate us from these characters and place or just weird art that improved over time?

I was at the reader meetup Tom Siddell held yesterday and he answered a similar question.
Basically, at the beginning he was trying to draw the comic characters in a very stylized and somewhat symbolic manner, similar to Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
As time passed he realized he didn't feel comfortable in his level of skill to continue drawing the characters in such a different way from his normal art style, so he deliberately evolved the art with the characters as they grew up.

---
I was rereading old pages and just discovered this, which people may have discovered years ago. Was Annie's hair clip originally Anja's? Surma even used to call Anja "Anny". I wonder if she named her child after her old friend when she left the court...

[guttering flame]

I was at the reader meetup Tom Siddell held yesterday and he answered a similar question.
Basically, at the beginning he was trying to draw the comic characters in a very stylized and somewhat symbolic manner, similar to Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
As time passed he realized he didn't feel comfortable in his level of skill to continue drawing the characters in such a different way from his normal art style, so he deliberately evolved the art with the characters as they grew up.

---
I was rereading old pages and just discovered this, which people may have discovered years ago. Was Annie's hair clip originally Anja's? Surma even used to call Anja "Anny". I wonder if she named her child after her old friend when she left the court...

Interesting! Thnks for the info.

[Giggling Ghast]

Is there any information on the population size of Gunnerkrigg Court? I know that it's city-sized in terms of infrastructure, but my impression is that it's mostly empty. How large is it in terms of non-robot population?

[AdmiralCheez]

Yeah, I also recall Annie saying how most of the buildings were empty, and how weird that was. So, the population is probably way smaller than expected. Not sure if there any actual numbers, though.

[eee]

Uh-oh. Defectors.

[stsasser]

"Kat, there is a Mr. Prometheus on Line 1 and a Dr. Frankenstein on Line 2 that wish to speak with you. They both say ithat the matter is urgent.'

[137beth]

Guesses for who this other person could be:
Anthony--would Kat even be willing to work with him? Maybe, if it would give her leverage to get information out of him.

Anja or Donald--Juliette's wording seems to suggest that only one other person knows, and it would seem odd for either of Kat's parents to find out without telling the other one. However, maybe she just meant that she only told one other person, and so both of Kat's parents would probably now know what Juliette and Aurthur want from Kat.

Brinnie-- I'm going way further out on a limb, here, but it could well be someone who Kat hasn't met, but we have. And Brinnie is the only other person I can think of who might be able to help and isn't living in the forest (I'm assuming they won't be able to get help from Ys, Coyote, Kamlin, or anyone else who isn't supposed to be in the Court.) Given Brinnie's connection to the Norse gods, she may have a better idea of how to make organic life. But then, I have no idea what her motivation would be.

[eschmenk]

Anja or Donald--Juliette's wording seems to suggest that only one other person knows, and it would seem odd for either of Kat's parents to find out without telling the other one. However, maybe she just meant that she only told one other person, and so both of Kat's parents would probably now know what Juliette and Aurthur want from Kat.

It would be a bit odd if it were one of Kat's parents, but Juliette didn't mention it. I certainly hope Juliette and Arthur would have notice the last names being the same and would have checked into it. After all, they do a lot of surveillance.

I think Jones is another possibility. She worked with the Shadow Men, so she could be regarded as a colleague and she would be a safe person to talk to. It would be interesting if it were Anthony, though. Of course, it could easily be a completely new character.

[eee]

RE it being Anthony: Is he a member of the Shadow Men? Also, Juliette indicates whoever it is knows about her and Arthur. Would Anthony be willing to keep quiet about a robot / human love affair? He doesn't strike me as the romantic type, where others are concerned.

I suspect we're in for a surprise.

[eschmenk]

RE it being Anthony: Is he a member of the Shadow Men?

It doesn't look like it. He seems to be mainly a school teacher now. If he's still working on the Omega device and Juliette is somehow involved, too, that might be enough for her to call him a colleague. ADDED: He might want to see if Kat's tech could be used to make a working hand for him. Still, I think he's a long shot.

ADDED: If I had to pick someone, it would be Jones. I could easily imagine her being curious and wanting to work with Kat. Jones might not have that much technical expertise, but Kat doesn't lack that. Jone might be able to provide some historical information and sound advice and might help Kat avoid some mistakes that could get her in trouble with the Court.

ADDED #2: Near the end of the last chapter, there was some discussion of whether or not the arrow device was safe. Annie said that she trusted Kat to keep it safe. Maybe it won't be so safe with the other person around? Maybe they are after it, even?

[137beth]

I personally don't expect it to be Jones, because I would think that might violate her "neutral observer" status. She will occasionally take on teaching roles, but will only teach knowledge as discovered by current findings.

Then again, she was willing to help catch Jack in Springed Heel, so I could be completely wrong.

ADDED #2: Near the end of the last chapter, there was some discussion of whether or not the arrow device was safe. Annie said that she trusted Kat to keep it safe. Maybe it won't be so safe with the other person around? Maybe they are after it, even?

Hmm, up until now I was assuming the rest of the Court didn't know about the arrow (seeing as they didn't know about Jeanne, either). If anyone who we already know is after the arrow, I'd think Anthony would be the most likely candidate, and yea, he probably shouldn't be trusted with it. Or it could be someone new.

[guttering flame]

Jones might be fascinated by the possibility of turning into a mortal. She's lived a very long life. Her invulnerability means she can't really feel the world around her. It can't affect her superhard body.

[eee]

The problem with it being Jones is, why would she need Juliette and Rome-... I mean, Arthur, to approach Kat? She's already got a powerful in with Annie, she could just ask and Annie'd fall all over herself to bring the two strongest female influences in her life together. And what sort of scientific expertise could Jones bring, anyway? It MIGHT be her, but I'm inclining towards an even more extraordinary option. Namely, we're about to see a major cross-over, and Kat's new partner will be...

AGATHA HETERODYNE, GIRL GENIUS!!

[John Campbell]

If we're doing crossovers with other comics, I vote Rosalind Narbon, who is about Kat and Annie's age. Give or take. Depending on when she borrowed the time machine.

[eschmenk]

And what sort of scientific expertise could Jones bring, anyway?

I guess it wasn't clear from what I wrote, but I wasn't thinking that her contribution would be to provide scientific expertise. That isn't what Kat seems to lack. I was thinking that Jones might be able to guide Kat and help see the bigger picture and make decisions. She might be able to point Kat to research that other people have done. I agree that she wouldn't need to go through Juliette, though. Also, it's less that I think it's her and more that I don't know who else it would be. It could easily be a new character, I think.

If we're doing crossovers with other comics, I vote Rosalind Narbon, who is about Kat and Annie's age. Give or take. Depending on when she borrowed the time machine.

Um, Helen Narbon wasn't just a mad scientist, she was a consciously evil one. What about Rosalind? I would find it hard to vote for someone who wants to be evil to help Kat.

[137beth]

Coo Coo Cool Beans

I can't tell whether this is Annie walking towards Anthony's house, or Annie the next day after she's already talked with Anthony.

[eee]

Well. That's surprisingly casual for her. (There's been a time skip. Her hair is longer.

http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1836)

If the laughter is Kat and her new partner, then we can either rule out Tony or the universe has changed dramatically in just a few months.

[Chromascope3D]

Dang, I want that top.

[eschmenk]

Coo Coo Cool Beans

I can't tell whether this is Annie walking towards Anthony's house, or Annie the next day after she's already talked with Anthony.

It's at least couple of days afterwards. You can see three days and two nights are passing on the bottom right of the previous page. Given how much longer her hair is, maybe that's not supposed to represent a specific number of days? Maybe her hair grew really fast?

[137beth]

Yea, I see the hair growth now, which suggests a couple months at least have passed. But then, some people's hair grows faster than others, even without etheric power factored in.

[Giggling Ghast]

It's ... it's ...

Spoiler

Show

... that guy we were all expecting! I mean, Antony Carver.

Wait, what happened to Kat's hair?

[eee]

I am finding this quite difficult to accept. Not merely that it's tony, but that Kat is laughing around him, and Annie appears shocked at his presence. Kat hasn't told her that for several months she's been partnering with her father?

Do we know of any shape changers or illusionists in GK?

[stsasser]

I am finding this quite difficult to accept. Not merely that it's tony, but that Kat is laughing around him, and Annie appears shocked at his presence. Kat hasn't told her that for several months she's been partnering with her father?

Do we know of any shape changers or illusionists in GK?

Kat has obviously been having an affair with Tony behind Paz and Annie's backs. I wonder if she promised to give him a hand?

[eschmenk]

I guess Kat likes Tony's dry humor.

Characters acting in ways that surprise Annie (and us) seems to be becoming a pattern lately.