I work in the woods. There are deer here. I hope I don't get mounted.Hopefully they at least perform a filesystem check first.
Wouldn't IR eyeballs need a big glassy domes supercooled with liquid helium (like snakes have ;)
Meh, if you have to run fsck, you're already fscked.
Yeah, there's a reason that warm-blooded creatures don't see into the infrared. They'd be blinded from the heat of their own eyeballs. Or, given the lack of eyeballs in this case, the heat from the rest of the head.
Possible solution: An insulating layer behind the retina (or whatever else you'd like to call the heat-sensitive organ) that blocks the heat from the rest of the head.
Other possible solution: Don't overthink a webcomic.
The Characidae family includes piranhas. They are piranha plants.Characidae family also include these cute little guys http://youtu.be/V95qslKg3wU
Who knows, with genetic engineering they might even have a bit of piranha in their ancestry.
whose story is this, anyway?
So, we finally get a (vague) answer on who Alice is. But the real question, which I've been wondering for most of these last two chapters, is still whose story is this, anyway?
Or Jones (http://gunnerkrigg.wikia.com/wiki/Jones).
We'll find out next time her last name is McCloud
Ben: A Hat Full of Sky.
whose story is this, anyway?
Well, given the title, I'd guess Alice.
[...]
He's clearly using it as a vehicle to describe the world he's creating, so once things are fleshed out a little more maybe we'll get more character development.
whose story is this, anyway?
So, we finally get a (vague) answer on who Alice is. But the real question, which I've been wondering for most of these last two chapters, is still whose story is this, anyway?
'Alice is an AI' theory -- I still thought she's humanI still don't think she's either.
'Alice is an AI' theory -- I still thought she's humanI still don't think she's either.
Going back a very long time, her name was Claire Bennett and her Uncle Peter and 'Uncle' Sylar taught her how to copy others' powers.
Except she could heal from the damage, not prevent it in the first place. Alice was never hurt.
Well, given the title, I'd guess Alice. But only in the same sense QC is about Marten, when really it's about all of the characters Jeph wants it to be about. Slow start aside, it has some minor intrigue. I agree with your assessment of everyone so far, however. Hopefully the babysitting thing ends sooner rather than later. He's clearly using it as a vehicle to describe the world he's creating, so once things are fleshed out a little more maybe we'll get more character development.
Mostly, I think that it will be answering the mystery that is Alice. I suspect that, like Granny in the Discworld books, she likes being the mysterious, morally ambiguous 'Wicked Witch'. What this will be will very much a journey in which we discover that she is very much a good person and a hero. It's just that being a hero is just a lot harder with far more challenging decisions than we see in the funny papers. Alice would prefer being an anti-hero or even an anti-villain; she will always deny being a good guy, but those who know and love her know the truth (and occasionally have to hit her upside the head to stop her sulking about it).
I also have the feeling that Gavia is becoming more and more prominent in the narrative. I'm starting to think that she is like that spectacularly talented witch that the Lancre Three met in a recent book (I think it was called Black Hat). Alice is going to teach her how best to use her powers and, more importantly, when not to use them (i.e. 'most of the time'). The B-plot could be titled: "How I Became a Witch by Gavia Vicissitude". Alice doesn't want an apprentice; actually there is, according to her, nothing that she wants less! However, the girl is just too powerful and talented to leave untrained!
There may be a C-plot about Ardent's learning curve and how he grew up to be a conscientious and mature man.
I had a theory at one point early on that Jack was actually the protagonist, and that he would become Alice's apprentice and eventually become the conscience that she apparently lacks. But then Jack was eaten by a piranha plant, or abducted by weird dogs, or at least turned invisible.
Also, I wish I had Gavia's apple-slicing powers.
... does Gavia do ANYTHING without using her powers?
Funny, though--as of Page 1 (http://www.alicegrove.com/post/110592245349/and-were-back) of Chapter 2, "it's been weeks" since Ardent and Gavia first arrived, and this is the first time Alice has served oatmeal for breakfast?
(Ardent is probably exaggerating--otherwise, it would be very odd for Alice to wait "weeks" before asked Ardent and Gavia about their respective philosophical differences (http://www.alicegrove.com/post/110864583014/cute-lil-plant-guy).)
... does Gavia do ANYTHING without using her powers?
I only said it tasted like horse piss. I never said I didn't like it!
Why couldn't Alice be an actual witch with actual magic?
Alice doesn’t believe in adding sugar to things.
Quote from: JephAlice doesn’t believe in adding sugar to things.
Or cinnamon, butter, or milk? Maybe some fresh berries? Just completely plain oatmeal? Come on, Alice, live a little!
At the level of economy that the villagers have, sugar and cinnamon are likely either rare and expensive imports, or entirely unknown.
Butter, milk and berries are probably around, though. Honey may be possible, if there are still bees.
Like the near-universal use of the Waste Spell in Sartorias-Deles.... does Gavia do ANYTHING without using her powers?
Must be handy for the bathroom. "Hey, why am I sitting here? I bet I can just--" zip! "--yep, beam it all away! Ha-HA!"
Phenomenal cosmic power.
We've learned two things here.Score. Ages in the multi-millenia range, (mostly (Thanks, Alice)) debunked.
1. Alice is a few thousand years old. This is the less interesting of the things we've just found out.
2. For all the technological wonder of the civilization that Ardent and Gavia are now estranged from, such longevity is rare, if at all heard of.
Lie? When did she lie? She never said "I am Alice, I am eternal, tremble ye nations." Gavia asked a question, and Alice implied the answer was obvious.
Of course, since it seems to have been established that there is no strong AI in this series (which leaves me wondering what the Praeses are exactly) we know it's not Orion's Arm itself.
until a situation comes up that she can't handle (if it does)
until a situation comes up that she can't handle (if it does)
Oh, it has. She said she can't send Ardent and Gavia back.
Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?
Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?
Some Real Talk from Alice. If you intend on attacking the person who has firebombed your town with sufficiently advanced technology, the only thing saving you is that person's patience.
Well, nobody likes getting bopped.
Does anybody else think the blond kid looks like a young Hanners?
Specifically, young Hanners the first time she tried to show someone how to draw a kitty. (http://questionablecontent.net/random/kittydraw.png)
Also, how do we know Alice isn't speaking from experience?
She may have lived for thousands of years, but that doesn't mean she hasn't died lots of times.
Specifically, young Hanners the first time she tried to show someone how to draw a kitty. (http://questionablecontent.net/random/kittydraw.png)
Except that's not what young Hanners looks like, it's what current Hanners looks like. For a view of young Hanners, check out the flashback in the Station arc.
No no no.. The traditional witchy way of dealing with naughty children is baking.
Do we still know how old Gaviardent* are?
And there is always the third option. Maybe they are twins.
Now, is the awful thing for Gavia having to go to the Town? Or is it having to go to the town with her stupid brother?
Honestly I'm more weirded out by "bang" than I am "fuck" in this context.
Bump uglies. Hump. Woohoo. Shag. Rumpy-pumpy. Bone. Intercourse.Premarital hanky-panky.
Bump uglies. Hump. Woohoo. Shag. Rumpy-pumpy. Bone. Intercourse.Premarital hanky-panky.