Grrl Power #638 – Most telegraphed reveal in 3…
Sorry for the late post. I forgot what day of the week it was. :/ Well, first week of summer break. That’s my excuse anyway.
So yeah, it’s a bit of a telegraph here, even if you don’t guess exactly what Sciona’s looking at, but it’s just the way the pages break down. So have fun guessing!
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like.
By the look of Sciona’s face in that last panel, I see Sydney trying to cheer her up with japanese animation and D and D while Sciona is shuffling around arc in deep depression.
Yup. Although Arc-Hive, the place with the cells, rather than Archon HQ.
One thing I’ve noticed is that most stories seem to forget that even bad guys have homes, friends, families, loved ones… Real life is very rarely black and white. Even bad guys who are bereft of all those usually still have nationality, traditions, or a cause to help them sort out their identity and their place in existence. I have a feeling Sciona is discovering that all she did and all she sacrificed was for a place and people that no longer exist. She is alone. The last of her people.
I wonder if this knowledge will lead her to seek suicide by cop. Such a fight goes very differently when the aggressor doesn’t plan to survive the fight. I wonder if it will be the fight where Sydney has to make the choice between taking a life or letting her friends die. I’ve heard it called the soldier’s burden even though police and civilians have all had to shoulder it as well. I hope Archon has counseling available for that eventuality.
I hope that Sidney will continue to prove her heroism and will talk Sciona down and possibly start down the path of turning enemy into ally. Besides they may need Sciona’s help to shut down the portal.
Don’t do it Sciona, don’t loose your head!
Or everything but the head. Again.
‘Most stories’?
Hmm.
Must be why I like the genres that I enjoy. In the things I watch and read, it’s truly rare for someone to be evil for sake of being evil. It’s common, even typical, for both sides in a fight to have good reasons motivating them into conflict. Sometimes the stories even push things to strange extremes, but at the end of the day the bad guy wrecking the hero’s plans is also a hero, but an antagonistic one who is trying to solve some other set of problems, or reverse some different wrong from that of the main character. Or perhaps, they just view the world in a completely different way – a case of blue and orange morality. Though sometimes insanity peeks through as well (‘killing people saves them from the pain of life, so destroying the planet saves everyone…’)
But at the end of the day, nobody is evil for the sake of being evil, and when I find a story or movie that portrays someone doing exactly that, I see those characters for what they are, plot points given personification. That’s when I put down the book, turn off the TV, or leave the theatre, because I know that the story, for all its merits, isn’t one about people and the struggles they face, but an incomplete work of art, where people accomplish things because the story demands it, they decide things because the story demands it. When characters personify plot points, the will of the characters is immaterial, and often the message of the story is either overlooked by the author, or so thoughtless as to make it pointless. ‘Everyone and every thing tells us we should not do this thing. Not one thing tells us we should do it, so gang, I know it’s morally dubious, and most religions would consider it an act of sin or outright evil, but let’s do this anyway, because the script writer was told it needs to happen regardless.’ ‘Yeah, it’s definitely evil, and i’m a force for good in the world… but i must agree with the script writer. let’s do that thing!’
-.-
I will say that people in Grrl Power have all had their reasons, which is why I continue to keep tabs on this comic.
“An incomplete work of art”
I would like to offer a different perspective. As a parent of young children the majority of stories I’ve been exposed to recently and most of the ones from when I was child lack these insights into their villains/antagonists. The focus is more on their actions not on their reasons for acting. I would call these stories juvenile or immature. I use those terms with no condescension meant. I also may have over generalized when I said most stories.
Hrm, blue and orange morality, I like that.
+1
And well argued in general, for that matter, on something I have sympathy with.
Crim the Cold, I think the key difference with traditional children’s tales is that they stem from morality tales. So the child is meant to associate with the hero, and realise that if they make a foolish choice, then they will have to face the consequences. Whereas if they make a good choice then they get appropriate rewards.
As such the villain, and other characters, are just there as trappings to support that mechanism. With the failings pointed out in this thread.
Whereas modern writers have been exposed to the advantages of writing the antagonists and villains in a more realistic way. Which the good ones will have learnt from, and the others well, their definition is self-explanatory.
I might consider that more likely if Max hadn’t just displayed how out-classed Sciona is in terms of raw physical strength, speed, and power.
Really, so in this universe where magic exists there can’t exist a spell that saps the life out of several people, rendering them helpless while it is happening, in return for extinguishing the caster’s life as well. She will die but at least she will take some of them with her. Its not reasonable but someone driven insane by grief and loss isn’t exactly reasonable. Or another potential tactic… Do you know why most works of fiction depict summoning spells as being excruciatingly prepared for? Those preparations safeguard the caster against what they are summoning. What if Sciona decides to summon the biggest, most powerful demon she knows of without care for protecting herself?
BIG BAD: Muh huh huh prepare to meet thy doo …. Dabbler, Dabbler, is that you? Oh wow, it must have been, what, sixty years, since we had that party? How are you … oh wait a second …
[gestures and Sciona incinerates to a crisp]
… how have you been doing? Want to pop back to mine? We have nibbles. Bring your friends if you want?
Nice shaggy-dogs’ tail (did you get it brushed out today?), butt if the Big Bad getting summoned knows Dabbles, it’s more likely to be the one who is pissed off at Dabbles and wants a second (or tenth) shot at killing her, not a High School friend (probably one who didn’t get kicked out of school before graduation)
Oh yea, if Sciona did her research, that would be a good option. And we have seen that she does tailor her weapons to target specific opponent types (e.g. silver pellets, in the grenade, to kill lycanthopes, as well as anybody squishy, of course), so yours is a strong point.
But just because that incident occurred does not automatically mean that Sciona would find out about it. The demon in question is unlikely to go around blabbing about how he was defeated by a demon half his size. Whilst Sciona may be able to find out that with magic, we have not seen any hint of her having divination type magics.
So whilst the possibility is viable, I only think that would occur if it was useful to the plot, or if Dave had a funny take planned, using that.
Whilst if Sciona just “… decides to summon the biggest, most powerful demon she knows of …”, as an act of desperation, as described, that sounds much more likely to be a random demon, rather than one carefully chosen for the circumstances.
At which point we must consider that the demons we have seen are clearly co-operative, even across species, as they have multi-species (and even angel) schools. Likewise Dabbler and Decollete were cordial with one another (and even rather frisky), even though I got the impression that they had not met before.
So our cultural impressions, of demons being mindless killers, that will attack anything on sight, clearly is not borne out in the Grrlverse. And there would be little incentive, to attack a member of a closely-related species.
Therefore, even though I went for them being friendly with each other, from a prior meeting, as being a fun gag, even if they were complete strangers, there is still a strong possibility that the demons would find common cause against a demon summoner. Especially one who was so foolish as to disregard any safety protocols.
Never said that demons are mindless killers, just saying was a little tired of everyone posting a “Sci does something stupid and gets killed, the good guys laugh and then go home for a burger” scenario
All of which take at least a couple of seconds to cast.(Based on what we’ve seen of magic so far.)
Seconds that the team is unlikely to just dumbly stand around and give Sciona.
I’m not even *just* factoring in Max either; The entire team has made it very clear that they are not about honorable one-on-one fights. They will absolutely dog-pile her, possibly with lethal intent as well.(Not to mention the fact that Sciona can’t take a significant blow from three of the six people attacking her.)
True.
But Crim the Cold does have a strong argument, even though there are strong counter-arguments too. Supplementing Sciona’s capabilities is the fact that she took a cocktail of blood which obviously granted super powers. Yet we have only accounted for less than half.
Mind you, the counter to that is Sciona’s blood infusion has strong enough side-effects that it gave even her qualms to use. Somebody who managed to keep going despite loosing all of her body and part of her head!
However we have not even seen a hint of any problems yet. Which implies that they are delayed-onset. The most likely possibility, which springs to mind, is that such blood boosts are only temporary (strongly implied from previous scenes), and that the side-effects kick in when the powers are lost.
If that is around about now then Sciona’s threat level will be dropping through the floor!
A blood infusion would normally take days before all the blood was gradually replaced by new blood being generated (I can’t be bothered looking up exactly how long, and it would likely vary depending on how much was infused). However it seems reasonable that, as the blood is also directly providing the fuel for said super powers, it will be expended a lot faster than normal.
The side effect may simply be to smell like a wet dog after a roll in something dead, and, while that may smell like the finest El Salvadorian perfume to a dog, it is something no other creature with a working olfactory system wants to smell, not even once
Heh. True.
This is just conjecture but I get the feeling her worry was based more on attempting to gain several powers at once. I think she has tested them individually. Combining a bunch however could be like mixing a bunch of prescription meds and hoping for the best. Also as to how she could get a spell off there are a couple of options: one the team could end up just as distracted by the view around them and not notice her making small movements with her hands, two she could double over with grief and in that position she could hide or disguise her movements allowing her the time to work on casting a spell, three the spell may only require a quick modification of the sigil already on her chest which would take much less time. There are quite a number of combinations of factors here that could allow Sciona to get away with casting a spell here. By the way I am not trying to change your mind to the point of saying yes this will definitely happen. I am just defending the possibility. What you described is also just as likely Vtech. In the end it will be the author who decides what happens in his creation. I’m just nerdy enough to like discussing the possibilities.
The former, very likely. The latter we know she has not, for at least one. Namely the eye-beam. The fact that she was surprised by being unable to see, because of it, shows that.
However we do know that she has tried out troll-blood before, so she is familiar with some options. But, since then, she has acquired some Pixel blood. Which Sciona may have decided is superior to her previous regeneration capability.
Clearly though she will not have had much time to test that out, what with all the planning and preparation for her big raid on the vault. Likewise (barring Cthilia’s death gaze) Sciona is unlikely to have had access to supers until very recently, following the press announcement.
Meaning that she would have had a lot of things which could have done with testing, but, just like Sydney, there has not been the chance to do more than start the testing process.
Those quibbles aside all the rest of your comment is well put. And you need not be concerned, regarding “… I am not trying to change your mind …”, as I tend to explore lots of different options, so rarely commit myself to any one option. Although, even if I do, I am happy to change it when a better idea is presented.
Barring, of course, where certain things can be excluded, due to them either contradicting canon, or striking me as particularly unlikely, for some reason.
No, you are speculating that she still had Pixelicious’ blood after the snap-back
Fairly sure, if there was still a Pixel-Capri sun still hanging up down there, someone would have mentioned it, and if there is no body, then it’s just as likely for there to be no buckets of Pixel-blood (unless Sci went back later and licked the girder)
The super-duplicating golem obtained a sample of Pixel’s blood, which we saw it use to replicate her laser claws, incorporated into its own weaponry. Whilst the main body of that construct was destroyed, part of it escaped. Which could well have taken its sampled blood with it.
This is by no means certain, of course. But it does give reasonable grounds for speculation.
True, forgot about that, butt, that doesn’t mean it (he?) had enough after blowing off Maxi and Hiro’s clothes to help Sci
And it does not mean that he lost it either. He may have he may not.
I have no doubts that Arc has the best counselors and psychologists available. Not only are supers a major point of research, but they are also people that wield insane levels of power and just about the last type of person you wanting going postal.
Yea. Sydney has been clocking up a lot of PTSD and insanity points though, with the experiences she has had in the short time since she joined. Dave may be avoiding a Deanna Troi type character though, to avoid getting drawn into the angst-ridden side of the genre.
SPOILER: It was Earth all along. All that remains of the Alari empire is this tomb.
Harem is feeling ill because this tomb is currently being used as a subway station in New Jersey.
Earth, just a million years in the future. Harems link is still going via the unstable portal.
The Alari is what humans evolve into.
Ooh deep.
And sad. No more humans. :-(
Who will give us walkies?
Sounds like “Aeon Flux”
Seems like Harem’s experiencing like separation anxiety after getting portaled far the hell away from her others. Nothing like finding your personal limits in a way that makes 1/5 of your brain split from the other 4. Must feel like the worst migraine while losing 4/5 of your senses…. Poor Daphne.
It may not just be a case of where they were hastily portal’d to but when they were ported to as well. Things that jump space and time instantly and incompletely can also miss the where and when. Could be a dark future version were Sciona’s people abandoned that planet for a better place and her time in exile on earth was a possible reason she missed that memo.
Would also explain why a quantum entangled brain would be missing its connections in a time where the other 4 don’t exist.
They may be in the wrong timeframe, but hopefully real time travel isn’t so easily or casually done in Daves universe.
Of course, a stylized statue like that, and all the glowing runes on the floor/ground only makes me think of one thing. A mausoleum.
From other peoples comments, I’m not the only one thinking Scionas race is now long dead.
Well there are two types of time travel. The one which can cause paradoxes (which is what Krona appeared to have). Like going back and killing your grandparents, so that you can never exist, to go back and kill your grandparents.
Then there is another type, where you can go to check out the Battle of Waterloo. Only to accidentally run over Wellington, whilst sightseeing. Thereby helping Napoleon to win the battle. Yet when you return to your own time everything is unchanged, and the history books show that Wellington was the victor.
What happens in that type of time travel is going to an alternate Earth, where it is otherwise identical to our own, but at a different moment in history. You could actually return to that same world two weeks later, and would find that two weeks had progressed there, in the aftermath of the loss of the Battle of Waterloo. And people from there could come to Earth.
So no actual time travel involved, just the ability to go through a portal, to another dimension.
The same thing could be occurring here. Barring that the portal is also reaching through space, to go to the Alari homeworld. But one where it has either been destroyed in the present day (so no tinkering with apparent time needed) or it could be in a universe that had progressed faster than ours, so they might be a decade ahead of us, in all respects.
In that case some slight difference, a while after the Big Bang, might have caused the Milky Way to form a few decades earlier. With the cascade effect that life on Alari and Earth developed decades earlier. Whilst otherwise following exactly the same patterns and course of history, up until the present day. Where they still have those extra years head-start on us.
And if it is exactly the same history (up until the portal opens) then this could be how the Alari of the Grrlverse itself might look in a few decades. Perhaps caused by our heroines?
Time for yet one more harebrained theory as to what is happening to Daphne.
First of all we need to remember that there is only one consciousness that is Harem. She is not 5 identical minds that are quantum linked, she is one mind running on 5 quantum linked brains. If the quantum link had been severed I believe Daphne’s blond instance would be in much worse shape than she appears to be. While we haven’t yet witnessed how going through the portal has affected the other 4 instances of Harem, I believe those instances would also be staggering around suffering the “echo effect”. All 5 brain masses are still quantum linked, so all instances are experiencing the same effect.
In this theory, what is actually happening to Harem is that the sudden relocation of her blond instance has greatly disturbed her sense of proprioception. We kind of suffer the same effect when one of limbs goes numb. The sense of proprioception is what allows our minds to be aware of where all our body parts are in relation to each other.
Daphne’s sense of proprioception would include an awareness of where all her instances are in relation to each other. Suddenly she has had a part of her person shifted away from where she senses it should be. It doesn’t matter if the shift is spacial, temporal or inter-dimensional. The quantum link remains, but a piece of her just ain’t where it is meant to be. Like an arm that has fallen asleep, things will normalize given enough time.
This.
It’s not really how quantum links work. Two particles either are linked or they’re not.
However she’s not decoupled right now. If she was she would be just a normal human being, she would not feel ill. Instead it would seem that she still retains a link but that it’s not full. Some part of her got decoupled and some part is still linked. This is very interesting because if her teleportation powers depend on the q-linking then should she teleport only part of her would teleport, resulting in gore.
About the recovery… Well, reading the state of two linked particles (sharing communication) destroys the link. She keeps her link seems to be of indefinite duration so she can actually create new links. However to do that at a distance would require communication so it would probably defeat the purpose of the action (if to get a link I destroy a link I’ve gained nothing… Actually I would need to check this in more detail as it’s a bit complicated, maybe there’s a way to exploit superdense codes, but that would be a real gamechanger and probably worth a Nobel prize). This would mean that to re-establish the link she needs proximity to herself and that her actual power is not really bi-location but creating quantum links (which would explain why just 5 copies, she has to maintain a “channel” open for each other copy and she probably has a limit to her “q-perception” organ) and we could possibly see her “enchant” things if she can figure out how to use her power on something else than her body. Another option from proximity is that she exists in a 5th dimension and thebplane-shift messed with that.
So while narratively I think it was obvious to deny her teleportation and telepathy to prevent this crisis to be so easy to avoid (well as a global crisis, just nuke the portal).
Which is not what #6 has claimed. Ironically numerous people have suggested this, in these comments. So your counter is fine against them. I have said as much to most of them myself (note Harem indicates she feels an echo, not a loss of contact).
Ironically you have chosen to make your counter against someone who has discounted that option! Especially as they offered a plausible reason to explain Harem’s present discombobulation.
Check out the link #6 provides. We all have a sense that tells us how our body is positioned and oriented. For a human it may be saying “I am upright, leaning back against a wall, feet on the floor, with my right arm curling round, above my head”.
For Harem she has that, in all its complexity, of having five bodies in variable orientations and body positions. But where we only have peripheral information for objects or people in contact with us (the wall and the floor, in the above example), Harem also has some sense of where each body is in relation to each other.
For Harem she has ten hands, to help with tasks. If her car breaks down, she will have one of her at the steering wheel, three pushing and the fifth navigating them and keeping an eye open for any hazards the driver may not spot. Or she could try to repair the engine. And all of them can help out. But she needs to know precisely where all her hands and bodies are. Which this sense tells her.
For us, just knowing what is touching or close enough to reach, is sufficient. As a teleporter though, Harem’s sensory network also extends to wherever any of her bodies are. They can teleport to one another to help out in tasks or fighting. And we have seen she does this routinely. If she needs a drink, one will walk to the fridge and teleport that to the thirsty body.
So Harem constantly knows where every part of her is, in relation to each other. Even if one is on the East Coast whilst another is in Dallas. Each body is subconsciously ‘pinging’ the location of the others and that is returning the relative co-ordinates each is at (or perhaps the bearing and distance, from each other, if that is the information that her teleport requires, in order to work). Included in that is a ‘this is within range’ or ‘this is a hundred miles beyond teleport range’.
Wherever Harem is now, that mechanism is not working right. “I am here, [unfathomable] distance from [other body being “pinged”] in [unfathomable] direction.” Repeated four times over for this body. Whilst the other bodies are able to ping each other successfully, and establish their relative locations, when they try to place where their blonde haired body is, it goes all wibbly wobbly.
It is there, they are getting feedback, but it isn’t making sense.
There is a really good example of Harem’s proprioception on Page #291. This page is right after the big battle with Vehemence. Sydney and Harem::Goth are discussing how Sydney came up with the successful strategy to take Vehemence down. One of Daphne’s other instances makes a beverage run, vorping a drink directly into Harem::Goth’s hand.
I’m not sure which instance made the beverage run. Harem::Punk was debriefing with Max and Harem::Bleachblonde was in Deus’ office. So either Harem::Pink or Harem::Blonde made the run. Of course no matter which instance made the run, it was still Harem who made the run.
Just so.
Mind you none of her senses spotted the ninja cloud, which had sneaked up close enough to Halo, in panel 1, that it was illuminated by her orbs! Despite practically teleporting into it!
Shouldna be too troublesome to figure the Harem’dentity: just go back and match up the boots to the ones worn in panel two :D
I started to do just that, but gave up when I realized it really didn’t matter. Kind of like when someone hands you a beer you really don’t care if they handed it to you with their left hand or their right. To Daphne the distinction between one body and the next is roughly the same as one hand or the other is to us monobodied folk.
+1
I have long said that is the best analogy for Harem.
Perhaps the “echo” is caused by a difference in time scale between here and Earth, meaning she isn’t operating at the same speed. If Sciona was unable to track the time difference, maybe she overestimated the time she had to relocate her population before an asteroid hit or some other predictable disaster?
I like this idea. If their current location is moving at a significant percent of lightspeed relative to earth, it seems like even an instantaneous quantum link would experience some red/blue shift in perceived time.
Hmm… interesting theory. I was thinking she was suffering from the same effects as taking a cellphone or radio deep underground and while it is still capable of transmitting a signal, that signal is going to bounce off the walls and not get where it’s meant to go. The rebounding signal is then messing up her quantum GPS as she can no longer triangulate her relative position to her other four bodies. She’s still getting a signal, just not the ones she wants.
I hope that made sense.
It does make sense, in that your intent is clear. However, in this instance, comparing Harem’s shared mind to a radio signal does have a flaw, in that it would not be subject to any normal interference. There is no signal going from one brain to the other. For most intents and purposes they are all the same brain, just in five different locations.
It is similar to teleporting itself, in that (ignoring Sydney’s shield) the amount of matter which may lie between two points (be that buildings, storms or mountains) Harem can ignore that and appear at her destination. She has not travelled through the intervening space, so does not get wet, or splat against a wall.
Where this analogy breaks down though is that Harem’s teleportation has a range limit (planetary, loosely speaking, when compared to interstellar alternatives). Whereas quantum entanglement will work regardless of the distance separating the objects in question.
So there will be no rebounding, from traditional things. However there clearly is something causing the echo. Of which being in another dimension, or another time (or somewhere that time runs at a different rate), are options that have been suggested, which give options for speculation (if stretched at times).
You are assuming that the interference is anything remotely similar to ‘normal’
Harem’s range limit has more to do with where she is going, rather than where she wants to return to, and her familiarity with the destination. Remember, she was able to travel back to her family farm from a distance that required mundane transport to return from
Oh, I get it. She was able to read the inscription behind Sciona. Probably shows the fate of her civilization, which is now dust due to dehydrating themselves to death with blood magic.
Inscription reads:
Sorry we missed you! The entire Alaran race has migrated to Sotofragmulos Zeta for a 5,000 transcendental meditation session. We will return in
22479 4 12
years months days
If you wish to leave a message, simply transcribe a Message rune on the floor here, and we’ll give you a call on our return. Thanks for stopping by!
He he.
Clearly they are vacationing at the same spot that all the Dwemer headed to.
Something tells me that Sciona is the last of her kind, the rest are all very much dead.
Which really ups her value in the “Deus’ Conquest Book”.
Yes horrible and sexist, but Deus.
Mmm, something that would be even more horrible, is that if that is Deus’s modus operandi!
That is a book of ‘the last of their species conquests’. Which Deus guarantees, by the various means at his disposal. Be that unleashing targeted genetic warfare, or through his pact with the Death Goddess, Vale.
Jumping back several issues ago, to when Deus and Sciona met (609)… Deus kinda telegraphed something had happened to the Alari with the line “And I’ve always wanted to nail an Alari!” suggesting that he believed they were all gone, and he’d missed his chance.
Insightful. The comic has deeper meanings embedded throughout it. So that does have a ring of truth.
I wouldn’t gather that from that statement by itself. However, assuming that he wants the completed Skybreaker, he did not expect her to leave permanently and take it with her. She’d need to leave it behind or come back for one reason or another.
Running with the line of thought just detailed in the thread immediately above this one, maybe Deus’s intention, with allowing Sciona the Skybreaker, was anticipating that she would create a portal to her home world. Thus allowing Vale to pass through it, and commit genocide, with her vast powers!
The only thing I think that could add to the despondency is having a black hole in the sky eating whats left of the local sun
We didn’t get to see the full statue due to dust in the air. It could be an alien killing one of Sciona’s kind. A war memorial by the victors.
Maybe a statue of some sort of revolutionary who overthrew the government that did things the old way? Or a statue of Sciona depicting her as an example of the kinds of criminal that existed under that government?
Dunno, but the old statue had Alari wings at the very least.
With the head not having been visible, there are indeed a multitude of possibilities.
Speaking of possibly standing, how is it that Sciona is standing? The last I saw she was pumping blood from a stump.
Only 50 bucks to get your Sciona hair at the salon. I’m only posting this to reset my default form fill. I ran my cleaner with my browser up, and it erased everything.
Sciona is holding onto the structure behind her, with one hand. That would allow her to balance on the one leg, without falling over.
Plus her wings do not appear to require flapping, in order to work. So Sciona could probably use them to remain upright. Essentially hovering, but with one foot on the floor. She appeared to be doing that on a previous page. But it might be tiring, hence opting to do it the easier way shown above.
I didn’t mean to reply to anyone.
Don’t worry, the reply was perfect :D
Oh, and the problem with your form fill, well, not auto-filling, is because of Europe
Yea, the site will no longer do that automatically (most likely because of avoiding recently-introduced regulation under the E.U. GDPR law).
However browser auto-fill options may well do so. Google Chrome did. I had to turn it off, because it was trying to auto-fill my email address in the website field. Something that readers should be very wary to avoid, as doing so would make your email address publicly available.
Yeah, some sites still allow the auto-fill (or at least doesn’t remove it after sending), have been to at least one or two where the entries were being randomly filled with another posters details, even from the other side of the planet
Always makes you feel so stupid to put your info in the wrong field on the form.
There is an outside chance that Harem is talking about a literal echo, of the traditional sort? Her present weakened state just being a co-incidence, but not a surprising one, having been hit by lightning!
So it could just be a shambling hobo-like mob, of Alari survivors, stumbling towards Sciona and mumbling along with her monologue. Pining for the glory days of old.
Even better! Memorial to plague victims. The Alari are extinct, save for a few people living in the space boonies at the time. Poor space angels. Got space rabies and had to be put down like Old space Yeller.
I totally read Old spice Yeller instead of Old space Yeller. I found this amusing and wished to share.
It reminded me of the narrator’s introduction to an episode of Space Dandy.
Space Dandy: he’s a dandy guy in space. He combs the galaxy like his pompadour on the hunt for aliens. Planet after planet he searches, discovering bizarre new creatures both friendly and not. These are the spectacular adventures of Space Dandy and his brave space crew… in space.
Te he he.
Border comment’s really hoping for that surprise party.