Gunnerkrigg Court 8: Thrown for a Loup

[eee]

To be fair, if Coyote was not still a coherent force, it MIGHT have worked.

Shell is thinking things over.

[DaFlipp]

To paraphrase Coyote, "It's a pity that Loup is less than the sum of his parts". He's less interesting than Isengrim, who had his own troubles and was dangerous but, in certain ways, admirable, and also was important to Annie (aka the Main Character) as a teacher. Loup is also less interesting than Coyote, who actually knew what he was doing, shared very little, and again had an important relationship with Annie.

More importantly, Loup isn't really his own character (yet). He's a pawn of Coyote. He's trapped in schemes he cannot understand, and, at the same time, he's too unhinged to harbour any shred of mystery.

Bizarrely enough, this would make him a decent main character in a tragedy. However, he isn't; he's supposed to be an antagonist, but he's really more of a reliably bitter force of nature, who's been pulling off the same moves over and over (attack the court, forcibly move the forest creatures). Even doubling Annie (quite original, I must admit) didn't lead anywhere.*

In a situation like this, the "good" characters should be pulling the weight of the plot (inner conflict, that sort of thing), but I don't see it happening. You know, for example, massive conflict against the shadow men as Loup convulses in devastation until he self-destroys.

*but why did he do it? Was there ever an explanation? Because a Coyotesque decomposition into "the true Annie, the Annie other see, the Annie Annie sees" would at least have had a clear origin. "Hey, little miss Know-It-All, do you remember that time when...?"

All of this is true, but I'd also like to offer that Loup is also less than the sum of his parts from a pure character design perspective. Like, every time I look at his introduction panel, I don't think "Ah, that is a perfect balance between the fluid impossibility of Coyote and the raw, destructive presence of Ysengrin". I think "You took two perfectly good characters and traded them for a Pokemon is what you did".

[DaFlipp]

That said, a possible topic of conversation/speculation: Any thoughts on who/what "Omega" might be? It's mentioned in today's comic and also in these comics. And I think maybe this was the first mention?

From these snippets, a few noteworthy things:

1.) It's a "device". Robot? Machine? Something Beyond Mortal Ken But Still Manmade Somehow?
2.) Anthony doesn't seem thrilled about it, but whether it's about the device itself or just the necessity of him working on it, is unclear.
3.) Mr. Donlan was uneasy when Anthony started to talk about it - Anthony clearly thought he was worried about Court surveillance, but most likely he didn't want Antimony hearing too many details. Also: Mr. Donlan knows about it.
4.) It's important enough that both Loup and Zimmy had big ol' back-to-back splash pages acknowledging its existence.
5.) The Shadow Men seem to be involved with it - and based on Shell's comment of "But Omega said...", they can either talk to it or at least get calculations from it. Calculations on the precise mechanics of stealing godhood, specifically.

(Sidenote: While wiki-diving to get info, I realized that the last panel of this comic was our first look at Shell. I know the art style has shifted over time but man I would not have pegged that as being the same character we're seeing now!)

I don't have any particularly interesting insights just yet, but figured laying out the data could help get the speculation gears turning?

[Gez]

and based on Shell's comment of "But Omega said...", they can either talk to it or at least get calculations from it. Calculations on the precise mechanics of stealing godhood, specifically.

Another possibility is that there's several different but related Omegas. I mean, diesel engines are named after Rudolf Diesel, morse code is named after Samuel Morse, braille writing is named after Louis Braille, and so on. There's the Brannock device invented by Charles Brannock and the Odon device invented by Jorge Odon. Why couldn't the Omega Device be the pet project of someone referred to as Omega?

[halfeye]

Another possibility is that there's several different but related Omegas. I mean, diesel engines are named after Rudolf Diesel, morse code is named after Samuel Morse, braille writing is named after Louis Braille, and so on. There's the Brannock device invented by Charles Brannock and the Odon device invented by Jorge Odon. Why couldn't the Omega Device be the pet project of someone referred to as Omega?

It wouldn't be a human name because it's the name of the last greek letter, and thus means Ultimate or Final.

[PhantomFox]

It wouldn't be a human name because it's the name of the last greek letter, and thus means Ultimate or Final.

True, but isn't Zimmy's full name Zeta?

[Iruka]

True, but isn't Zimmy's full name Zeta?

Yes, we already have Gamma and Zeta. So Omega could be some person's name.

[137beth]

True, but isn't Zimmy's full name Zeta?

The robots called her "Subject Zeta," but when did we hear that was her "full" name?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

My reaction to the new page:

"It's a bold strategy, Cotton; let's see if it pays off for them!"

[Gez]

It wouldn't be a human name because it's the name of the last greek letter, and thus means Ultimate or Final.

People can have weird names in fiction (remember our heroine is named Antimony?), especially when we're talking about secret societies where people may be referred to as something else than what's on their state-issued ID card.

[eee]

Ah yes, when you've completely screwed up, don't try to fix your mistakes, just move somewhere else and leave all your problems behind.

[sarcasm]That ALWAYS works.[/sarcasm]

[DeTess]

Ah yes, when you've completely screwed up, don't try to fix your mistakes, just move somewhere else and leave all your problems behind.

[sarcasm]That ALWAYS works.[/sarcasm]

I mean, it worked for them once before already...

[Lizard Lord]

I am mostly confused that she said ALL the humans of the Court would be moving. What about those that wouldn't want to?

[Gez]

I am mostly confused that she said ALL the humans of the Court would be moving. What about those that wouldn't want to?

Given the state the Court is in?

After Loup's first attack it was basically like living in a war zone, with areas that are still safe, areas that are completely ruined, and in-between, areas that are mostly intact but potentially dangerous. They've lived through this for a while, and it's not a funny way to live.

Now it's simpler. The Court is not just in ruins, it's completely leveled. There is no Court anymore. And it's not like rebuilding is a realistic prospect as long as Loup is still around.

The choice has been taken out of their hand.

Now to be fair there is kind of one exception we can see: Annie herself. And maybe a few of her friends will want to stay with her.

[eee]

I am mostly confused that she said ALL the humans of the Court would be moving. What about those that wouldn't want to?

The way the Court has been shown to operate?

Choice is not an option.

[Manga Shoggoth]

It wouldn't be a human name because it's the name of the last greek letter, and thus means Ultimate or Final.

I used to work with someone called Alpha; I was friends with someone with a family name of Eighteen. You'd be amazed what you can get in names.

[halfeye]

I used to work with someone called Alpha; I was friends with someone with a family name of Eighteen. You'd be amazed what you can get in names.

Yeah, some parents shouldn't have been allowed naming privileges.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

IIRC, there are 36 people currently named "," or "Comma" in the United States. And one "Semicolon".

[Zazu Yen]

I used to work with someone called Alpha; I was friends with someone with a family name of Eighteen. You'd be amazed what you can get in names.

When I was growing up in the early 80's there was someone in the local phone book named "Void, Null". My friends and I debated if it was an actual person or some kind of glitch so we eventually tried calling the number and someone answered, we freaked and hung up.

In other news, who the heck is "this guy!"? Have we seen this before, I'd think I'd remember that face...

[Clertar]

Time for a SpongeBob crossover!

[137beth]

So, uh, who is "this guy?"

[wingnutx]

Reminds me of a James B. Hunt painting.

https://www.instagram.com/NXOEED/

[eee]

So, uh, who is "this guy?"

Eglamore has really let himself go...

[137beth]

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So this other person is one of the robots with a new body.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

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So this other person is one of the robots with a new body.

Both of them, I think.

[Vinyadan]

And they sound as creepy as one could expect, at least to me.

[Manga Shoggoth]

And apparantly, a Dover Demon is a real thing. Well, as real as a cryptid is, at any rate. He's a long way from Massachusetts...

Mind you, so was Coyote...

[Vinyadan]

And apparantly, a Dover Demon is a real thing. Well, as real as a cryptid is, at any rate. He's a long way from Massachusetts...

Mind you, so was Coyote...

A strange animal with long, slender legs, on top of a wall, with glowing orange eyes, after dusk? That sounds a lot like an owl to me. Maybe carrying dead possum to explain for the arms and fingers (actually the tail and legs of the prey) and the bulbous lower face (the possum's body). Seen from below, in the dark, it would be a really odd moving shape.

[Kornaki]

My guess

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They're digging out the CPU units so kat can give the martyrs of the court new bodies. Very cool.

[Squire Doodad]

My guess

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They're digging out the CPU units so kat can give the martyrs of the court new bodies. Very cool.

Sounds about right