Girl Genius IV: Because SCIENCE! is my mistress

[Midnight Lurker]

BTW: Tarvek's last line, "The loons! I hear the loons!" is a spin on a dying womans last words in the '70's seminal tear-jerker "Love Story". The line wen't something like, "I can hear the loons..." (the couple fell in love at a lake where there were loons if I remember correctly).

I had thought this was a fairly classic line, but I can't find the quote ANYWHERE on the 'net. Go figure.

I figured that was where it was originally from, but I know it from a Bloom County strip back in the Eighties (uttered by an obsolete computer )

[Zazu Yen]

Funny, I remember seeing it first in a Doonesbury cartoon (I don't even remember the situation it was used for) and having to go ask around as to what it meant. I don't think I've ever seen the movie myself.

I can see Grantz being sent in to extract Gil from the castle while Othar goes after Agatha. Bang might invite herself in for the fun, or she might be sent in after Zetha... or after Von Pinn if the Baron finds out Pinn left Castle Wulfenbach during the attack.

A Bang/Pinn dust-up in the castle would be epic.

[Aidan305]

But Bang has to remain behind to protect the Baron.

Edit: Interesting, when did Gil appear on the cast page for this volume?

[Oracle_Hunter]

New comic

Huh, well I was half-right. That certainly is a rather malevolent reason to have convenient med centers... and one I would never have thought of.

How evil

[FoE]

Huh, well I was half-right. That certainly is a rather malevolent reason to have convenient med centers... and one I would never have thought of.

How evil

It's kind of like being a little kid on Christmas Eve; you just can't wait to run downstairs to the tree and start tearing your presents open once morning. Except, in these circumstances, replace "tree" with "operating table" and "presents" with "people" ...

No doubt the scream emulator is there for the ambience. Then again, it does have an ecstasy setting.

[Rockphed]

Then again, it does have an ecstasy setting.

Hey, sometimes you want people to think you are an omnicidal maniac, sometimes you want a...softer image.

[Ganurath]

Hey, sometimes you want people to think you are an omnicidal maniac, sometimes you want a...softer image.

Or a different sort of hardness. Heh.

[Porthos]

Good 'ol Heterodynes. Lookin' out for the Working Man.

Love those either/or settings on the scream machine as well as the ever-present Big Switch in the background.

[Ganurath]

...Blood Curdler should be a Heterodyne device of its own. Have I mentioned how much I love this place?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Y'know what I just realized?

Agatha is going to have to do SCIENCE to Tarvek

I wonder whether she'll go with Steampunk Limbs or Jaeger Organs. I bet he'd look great with a Death Ray Eye!

[Hamilkar]

Given the fact that torture and healing are related subjects, I am quite optimistic that the tools in this room will be helping Agatha to get Tarvek fixed. It will be a bit crude of course and they will be side effects... but I think this fits to the 'master doll maker' very well.

I wonder whether she'll go with Steampunk Limbs or Jaeger Organs. I bet he'd look great with a Death Ray Eye!

Exactly!

But why a scream emulator? Helpful if you want to pretend that you are 'working'?

[lord_khaine]

because the bloodthirsty maniacheterodyne who had it build liked the screams, but sometimes your patient is just not able to scream, like fx when you are replacing his/her lungs

[Oracle_Hunter]

But why a scream emulator? Helpful if you want to pretend that you are 'working'?

Well, The Castle did say Iago loved the sound of screaming. Perhaps he build the emulator for times when he was stitching together something fresh, or when his subject could no longer scream.

[Ganurath]

But why a scream emulator?

...Why not?

[Evil DM Mark3]

Dear lord I need one of those.

[Mauve Shirt]

Oh I do love Der Kestle.

[Matuse]

But why a scream emulator?

The same reason you own CDs and mp3s, because hearing music live isn't always practical, and listening to the radio doesn't guarantee that the song you want to hear will be playing.

Scream emulator controls:
Lever: Guilty/Innocence
Knob: ow --> OW
Lever: Agony/Ecstasy
Lever: Sad/Mad
Knob: Loud --> Louder
Blood Curdler Lever: Low/High
Knob: Not sure on this one. One of the sides reads "Hope", but I can't make out the others.

[Gez]

Knob: Not sure on this one. One of the sides reads "Hope", but I can't make out the others.

"Hope" on one side, "Hopeless" on the other.

Also, there's a typo in Tarvek's tiny print. It's a madeleine, not a madeline. For people who don't have good eyesight, he says:
"Ack! Pigeons!"
"Why, yes! I'd love a madeline!" [sic]
"I think we should honeymoon in Venice, don't you? It's so lovely this time of year."

[Zazu Yen]

Knob: Not sure on this one. One of the sides reads "Hope", but I can't make out the others.

It says "Hope Less" - EDIT: Erg, Gez beat me to it.

And if I read it correctly the Scream Emulator is set on medium loud hopeless blood curdeling sad innocent ecstasy, which brings to my mind Von Pinn for some reason that I don't really want to explore.

In a perfect world there would already be plans being drawn up for a Mechanicsburg theme park with a full scale interactive Castle Heterodyne at it's heart. I mean they're building a Hogwarts with a Hogsmeade village aren't they, this isn't so different...

Okay, now I'm picturing a Hogwarts field trip to Castle Heterodyne, wacky hijinks ensue! Those that survive unharmed get full credits.

Yeah, I'm going to get LOTS of work done today I can tell. Happy Friday the 13th!

[Midnight Lurker]

Also, there's a typo in Tarvek's tiny print. It's a madeleine, not a madeline.

Are you sure? Perhaps some Parisian spark has set up a cloning factory...

[Johnny Blade]

Also, there's a typo in Tarvek's tiny print. It's a madeleine, not a madeline.

Heh...you know, I was really wondering what the hell a made-line is...

[SnowballMan]

In a perfect world there would already be plans being drawn up for a Mechanicsburg theme park with a full scale interactive Castle Heterodyne at it's heart.

I have a new goal in life. I WILL see this made!

[memnarch]

Heh...you know, I was really wondering what the hell a made-line is...

This is a Madeline.


This is the book she is from.


If you look closely at the book cover, you really can't tell which one Madeline is.

[Midnight Lurker]

Funny, I remember seeing it first in a Doonesbury cartoon (I don't even remember the situation it was used for) and having to go ask around as to what it meant. I don't think I've ever seen the movie myself.

Found a link to the Bloom County version: the fifteenth strip down on this page.

[Porthos]

Found a link to the Bloom County version: the fifteenth strip down on this page.

Ah, the Banana Jr. 6000. Fond memories.

[Hamilkar]

Hmmm back to the screaming emulator....

I think a have found a potential more specific reason for it's existence in the "red playroom". The Heterodyne could have used it's scream output as a steady comparison to tune the guest to a certain "harmony level". The switches and settings, of course, are to fit the normal "average scream" to the specific "average scream" of the guest's people group, for example young – old or innocent - guilty. After all a constant scientific proven sound as a baseline is pretty helpful for an objective comparison and evaluation on your own "hard work".

Edit: I hope it will make now sense!

[Matuse]

Bloom County and Girl Genius...I'm in a state of utter higgledy piggledy.

Now take those sixteen @#$(@*#$& elves with you!

[Mauve Shirt]

Sneaky Gate

Spoiler

Show

Violetta looks completely different to me in this strip. Also, YAY GIL. I guess Agatha's never built a construct, only clanks.

[memnarch]

Spoiler

Show

She is different. She's not wearing that cloak/armor thing right now.

Von Zinzer's mouth looks really weird though. Is that supposed to be his tongue?

[Oracle_Hunter]

I'm sure the Instructor in panel 2 is marking down the trainee for "insufficient maniacal laughter"