Girl Genius XXVI: Madness is the best possible response

[Radar]

Confirmation this *is* Clankcrezia, then?

The body is very different so it is either upgraded Clankrezia or another copy also in an artificial body. Hard to say really.

[HandofShadows]

Oho. Is Albia-in-Trelawney doing what I think she's doing?

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Mind control can be such a fickle thing.

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I think Albia figured out how the wasps work and is reprograming them. Gil did something similar in the time skip.

[Traab]

Remember its been three years since clankrezia was created. Thats plenty of time to upgrade her body from "princess bot with a few tricks" to "Sexy doombringer bot befitting lucrezia"

[Gez]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html

Probably not going to get as gruesome, though.

[Agi Hammerthief]

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0830.html

Probably not going to get as gruesome, though.

maybe more leaking oil.
keeping the head as a Lu container and they can just simply remove her from Agatha.

[Analytica]

Their loyalty is different than the "loyalty" you see in revenants and the like though; the Jaegers specifically have the option of saying no to what the Heterodyne wants, but more often than not they are happy to go along with it because its fun. It's not so much that the Jaegers are incredibly loyal, but rather that the Heterodynes were good masters given what the Jaegers want to do.

I read it differently and this is why I think Jägers is the most brilliant creation to date of Spark minions. I read them as having an implanted response to Heterodyne pheromones - not blind loyalty, but a loyalty instinct to those who "smellz goot", just like humans have libidos that respond to scent. One can ignore a drive like that but will rarely want to. This means servants who can live very long, learn to become dangerous and clever, but who will always feel a sense of meaning and pleasure from protecting and satisfying those who are enough of your bloodline to retain the same scent properties.

[Radar]

I read it differently and this is why I think Jägers is the most brilliant creation to date of Spark minions. I read them as having an implanted response to Heterodyne pheromones - not blind loyalty, but a loyalty instinct to those who "smellz goot", just like humans have libidos that respond to scent. One can ignore a drive like that but will rarely want to. This means servants who can live very long, learn to become dangerous and clever, but who will always feel a sense of meaning and pleasure from protecting and satisfying those who are enough of your bloodline to retain the same scent properties.

There is also the important fact that Jaegers were not simply created - they were humans and each one of them took the draught willingly despite the risks. Interestingly none of them remember why they actually did.

[Squire Doodad]

Oh good, Albia made herself a Franklin Badge.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Albia has a way to negate the effects of revenants, however it either is just rewiring the devotion to Albia or requires her specific skillset and so cannot be readily replicated, hence her not raking in millions and crippling a dreadful enemy by selling a blueprint for wasp-cure.

There is also the important fact that Jaegers were not simply created - they were humans and each one of them took the draught willingly despite the risks. Interestingly none of them remember why they actually did.

They're all older than Agatha, and odds are they are at least older than Bill and Barry. That means that the youngest jaegers are...7 decades old plus their "natural" life (which could have been 24, but whatever)? As it has been described: the average human mind can only handle a century of memories, a Spark can do better, but even they (and Albia, thought that's probably in the centuries zone) have limits. The minimum estimate of Dimo and his group puts them at being between 80 and 120ish, but given how they know about Slasher being wielded by Andronicus they would be at least 2XX years old. Higgs the very mysterious final Jaegergeneral may well be half a millenium old if not much more. A jaeger probably has better memory retention than a human (Jeagerdraught and the Dyne and all that), but I doubt that they can reliably recall what they did 240 years ago amidst centuries of vivid, active memories, much like how if you ask your grandmother how she learned to do watercolor it will take her a moment to think about it.

[Radar]

They're all older than Agatha, and odds are they are at least older than Bill and Barry. That means that the youngest jaegers are...7 decades old plus their "natural" life (which could have been 24, but whatever)? As it has been described: the average human mind can only handle a century of memories, a Spark can do better, but even they (and Albia, thought that's probably in the centuries zone) have limits. The minimum estimate of Dimo and his group puts them at being between 80 and 120ish, but given how they know about Slasher being wielded by Andronicus they would be at least 2XX years old. Higgs the very mysterious final Jaegergeneral may well be half a millenium old if not much more. A jaeger probably has better memory retention than a human (Jeagerdraught and the Dyne and all that), but I doubt that they can reliably recall what they did 240 years ago amidst centuries of vivid, active memories, much like how if you ask your grandmother how she learned to do watercolor it will take her a moment to think about it.

I agree, but keep in mind that taking the draught was a very defining moment for each of them - most likely very terrifying and painful as well. You may forget most of your memories but there are key events in your life you would be very unlikely to forget. Also, not even one of the Jaegers remembers as far as we know (there was a scene where Gil mentions it I think). You might still be right, but it is a bit too much for a coincidence.

[Scarlet Knight]

Remember its been three years since clankrezia was created. Thats plenty of time to upgrade her body from "princess bot with a few tricks" to "Sexy doombringer bot befitting lucrezia"

"Gatling gun jubblies? "

[Radar]

Come to think of it, the staff Lucrezia is using, is a bit of a patch job - that crescent is just tied/taped to the rest of it. I wonder if it will come up.

[GloatingSwine]

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Albia saying the minions "belong" to her might mean they are somewhat less than human, and it's more a case of hijacked programming..

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Yeah, my guess is they're clanks that Lucrezia has suborned using some function of the muse's clank body

[HandofShadows]

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Yeah, my guess is they're clanks that Lucrezia has suborned using some function of the muse's clank body

No, it's stated they are people with "normal" minds.

[TaRix]

No, it's stated they are people with "normal" minds.

Well, the union jack suggests that the mooks are/were/are pretending to be Brits. Maybe we'll see just why it's 'literally unthinkable' for them to oppose Albia.

[Radar]

Got to love the facial expression in the first panel.

[Vinyadan]

I have questions regarding those abs.

[Ailurus]

OK, so is it just me or did anyone else just hear a couple dozen Bethesda game guards yell "Stop! You've violated the law!"

[Rogar Demonblud]

Yup, you cannot go against the will of the queen.

edit: Again surprised by Phil's ability to hide the truth in plain sight.

[JeenLeen]

From stating she cannot do it "in this state", do any of you get the impression she could cure it if she found one in-person?

[Fyraltari]

From stating she cannot do it "in this state", do any of you get the impression she could cure it if she found one in-person?

That's the implication yes.

I'm starting to suspect the slaver wasps are based on the Queen's (Queens' ?) own brand of mind control.

[Squire Doodad]

Then again, given the outfits they are in it is possible that they were wasped Birtish troops, and Albia just suppressed the wasps briefly.

Or it could be mind control. Who knows?

[Jimorian]

So Albia basically un-mindcontrolled her guards so they could die as FREE minions to give our heroes time to prepare for the real battle?

[Narkis]

So Albia basically un-mindcontrolled her guards so they could die as FREE minions to give our heroes time to prepare for the real battle?

I think a more accurate description would be that she used her own form of mind control to suppress Lucrezia's, but basically yeah.

[White Blade]

I don't know, she doesn't sound like Lucrezia. She sounds like Zola. Lucrezia never resists ranting like this

[tonberrian]

My prediction for this arc is that while Clankrezia will get away, Agacrezia will tell her that Zolacrezia is actually dominated by the Zola personality, not the Lucrezia personality. Setting up for a war between the two in the Queen of the Dawn faction.

[factotum]

I don't know, she doesn't sound like Lucrezia. She sounds like Zola. Lucrezia never resists ranting like this

I think it vanishingly unlikely that Albia would confuse the two--she can see right into their minds, after all. We've also no evidence of Zola getting implanted into a clank body, whereas we know that has happened at least once to Lucrezia.

[HandofShadows]

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Think Albia can no longer keep the connection going and she "leaves". Wonder why Tavek felt so much pain but Gil does not.

[BannedInSchool]

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Think Albia can no longer keep the connection going and she "leaves". Wonder why Tavek felt so much pain but Gil does not.

Tarvek may be happy to suggest that there's plenty of room in there.

[Rogar Demonblud]

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Think Albia can no longer keep the connection going and she "leaves". Wonder why Tavek felt so much pain but Gil does not.

The fact Gil just got rewired to get rid of the Baron's overlay, methinks.

[Fyraltari]

That clank body is more solid than I expected.

Also Lu killed Albia before? So she definitely is from the future and doesn’t care about creating grandfather paradoxes.