Grrl Power #551 – The Mission Aquatic with Sydney Scoville
Seems like Sydney is going to be involved no matter what the circumstances are. Luckily she just found out what the green orb does. It’s almost like I totally planned it that way. Yes sir.
Maxima could probably get that deep on her own, but she doesn’t know, she’s never tried. The pressure wouldn’t be an issue, and her power can subsidize her need to breathe for a limited amount of time. But just in case she can’t, she doesn’t want to be in a position where she’s at the mercy of The Council’s schedule. Her and whoever she takes with her. Dabbler is a useful resource when dealing with the Council. Same with Pixel. Hiro would be useful, or Achilles, or really, nearly anyone from Arc-SWAT or Arc-LIGHT.
I hope Crimson’s expression makes sense in panel 3. I’m pleased with it especially cause I didn’t know what term to google to find a reference. It’s supposed to be like when you’ve told someone something and you have no idea if it’s good or bad news, and you have that expectant kind of half squint. I seem to remember Seinfeld doing it a fair amount. Anyway, Crimson’s kind of doing that expression cause she’s treading the line between “maybe you can’t do everything” and “Be tactful and don’t bruise the most powerful Super’s ego.”
Oh and I took the “2014” off Crimson’s shirt. I forgot it’s still only been a week. :)
Edit: Oops, also corrected the spelling of “New Zeland”
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“she’s never tried…” neither had Sydney, and unlike Maxima she very much does suffer from going crunch underwater.
Yea, but she has a shield, so safe from going crush.
And she produces her own atmosphere.
Note: Atmosphere means also presure. She neaded to fly. So, theoricaly, she could fall all the way down the Mariana Trench.
I think she needed to fly to stay underwater while in her shield, otherwise she just floated up to the surface. That said, perhaps Max could provide the locomotive force (I leaned a new big word :P ) while Sydney Shields & makes atmosphere… (already knew that 1… :P )
I don’t think she needs to create atmosphere constantly, so she could just switch between flight and atmosphere while keeping the shield up. However, if she has another mishap 500 meter below water, she dies, so it’s probably best if Maxima can move the shield while being in it.
Yeah, butt if Maxi is doing most of the work, just what is Sydney coming along for?
Sydney (and her balls) have to be providing something that Maxi needs and that no one else in Archon has the clearance to tag along, so, what is it (other than aggravating annoyance) that Sydney is providing? o_O
Sydney will be providing air for Maxima while they travel underwater.
Several things. Transportation for the other Archon delegates. Air for them all, including Maxima, as LordViking says.
If Maxima is inside the shield*, she will be unable to fight or manipulate things, until the reach an area where the shield can be safely lowered (regarding Sydney and other squishies). Which means that Sydney’s tentacle will be their primary alternative.
It is more likely Maxima will be outside though, but Sydney will still be able to provide tentacle services
Plus, of course, Sydney can still provide the very useful truesight and protection against magical attacks, in particular at their destination.
* Just as the tentacle and PPO can operate outside of the shield, it is possible that air can be created outside of it too. So Halo may be able to refresh Maxima’s air supply outside of the shield. Potentially even creating a helmet-like air bubble. But that would tie up Sydney in needing to hold the Air Orb, so that may not be the best option.
Whereas topping up an air tank (if she can do that) would allow Halo to switch to the tentacle orb or flyball periodically.
Well, she won’t need to fight anything while in the shield, because shield.
Well the shield is strong but not Achilles level invulnerable. Plus, just like with Achilles, it is possible to trap someone who is all defense but no offense or other powers. Likewise Ingsol is not just calling them for a chat. They already had one of those, just last week. So the odds are that there will be a need to do something other than just sit behind a force field.
It is safest to assume that the PPO will not work underwater. So having that tentacle will give vital options. But we know that it has limits and would be of little use against any top-tier villains. So it is best to have Maxima outside of the Halomobile (like before, on their way to New York), if they can.
I think a bit more pool testing and some time to practice underwater operations (such as how to ensure Halo cannot drop the Forb) will be advisable. Even a couple of hours can stop some nasty surprises, and give them insight into how flexible the Air Orb is.
Although they may have already got enough answers from their previous pool session, after we last saw them.
We don’t really know that, now do we? About whether the shield is or is not as invulnerable as Achilles, I mean. So far, it is. In fact, it might be MORESO, since it is also invulnerable against magical influence, like Vehemence’s aggro aura. We can’t tell yet if Achilles is invulnerable to that, though, since he was buried during that part of the fight.
We might ASSUME that Achilles is more invulnerable than the shield beause he has 6 dots, but we haven’t actually seen anything to show that.
Just like we havent seen anything to show that Maxima is invulnerable on ever cell, rather than being invulnerable from the outside only. In fact, it sort of makes sense that she ISNT invulnerable from the inside, since she seems to need air AND needs sometihng for even an extremely thin atmosphere as well. Also, Maxima ages while Achilles does’t seem to anymore, judging from his 80s mullet and something that DaveB once said in one of his blurbs beneath the comics (while we’ve seen Maxima both as a teenager – post-geode water – and as an adult, and there’s a different age-look).
I am pretty sure that Maxima would have no problem surviving 1460 lbs of pressure per square inch (approximately the water pressure at 1000 meters below sea level). So the big thing that Sydney provides is air, since even Maxima requires air to survive based on the high altitude test and when they were underwater in the pool. She also might be at risk of nitrogen narcosis which happens approx 100-250 feet down, despite her armor making her nigh-invulnerable from the outside.
Too bad that (a) Veria isn’t in on the Twilight council and (b) they haven’t realized what happens when she touches Sydney.
That being said, just weigh the forcefeild down with rocks or some other ballast. Though, didn’t Sydney just make her own bubble of air sans FF underwater that was cohesive enough for both her and max to breathe in without the field?
We are not sure how long that bubble lasted for, may have only held it’s shape for seconds
Long enough for Max to get there, her wake to subside and for her to take off her mask. Oh, and for her to reach out and touch the interior surface of the bubble.
Maxi was already there when the gas bubble enveloped them
They seemed relaxed (if bemused) enough that it probably was lasting for a prolonged time. I could not see Maxima removing her mask until it had been sustained long enough to make that appropriate.
Dave did indicate that he wanted to make the scene more protracted, showing the intermediate steps. But there was not enough panel space left to do that. Not to mention the fact that it would have reduced the impact of the final panel.
However, from those comments, I think we can take it that the air bubble was stable rather than transitory. Whereas if it collapsed after only a few seconds, that itself would have had comedic potential, and could have been covered on the next page.
The lack of that, or any comment pointing out the limitation (which would have been obvious to them as they were conducting testing, so did not face any time constraints) means that I feel it is likely to be long-lasting and possibly indefinite. The former being if it just creates the air the once, per command, whereas the latter being continuously refreshing the air, whilst the orb continues to be held..
That would imply Sydney can ‘control’ her gas
Picturing one day, after Sydney has developed creating ‘clouds’ and have it chasing someone around a room (or simply moving over the head of Maxi or Ari or Harem) :D
That seems like a plausible power stunt, or upgrade. It would require a couple of enhancements though, above what we have already seen. Firstly being able to create or move the gas away from herself. Currently it may have the same kind of limitation as the shield, in that regard.
Secondly air would only be visible underwater. So Halo would need to confirm that she can create other types of gas, in this case including something which would be distinguishable from the surrounding atmosphere. Plus, as it is only for prank purpose, some thing which would not be toxic or prevent them from breathing.
Well, it was your comment about Sydney creating that stable air pocket made me think that Sydney controlled the rising gas under Blondini, which led me on to Sydney creating a cloud she could send around, she could either learn how to ‘colour’ the gas (natural or artificial, both the colour and the type) so it was visible in air
The moment she lets go of flight to replenish her air supply she’ll rocket upwards. So while not needing to constantly recycle the air she’ll need something to keep her in place when she does.
Yeah, something like a tall golden statue sitting on her head, picturing Maxi moving underwater sitting on Sydney’s air bubble like Aang use to do with his air bubble :D
Good point.
Because if she did constantly create Air, and the air created got used (hence more was needed) wouldn’t it just pressurize the air inside the Shield compress, becoming both unbreathable and liquid? (I’m thinking of butane in a zippo)
I’m mostly asking about the molecules. Does the air ball keep the same air amount, so it’s always n2o1 and not co2?
Thus far, we’ve only seen it create air. But if the orb’s purpose is to create an appropriate atmosphere, potentially within a confined space like the shield, then it would make sense for it to cycle the chemical make up of that atmosphere i.e. Absorb co2 and release n2o1.
No, just release O2. N2O is not something you want to release. That’s laughing gas (and Sydney’s already goofy enough) and an anesthetic. You just need to strip the carbon off of CO2 and release O2. No need to release nitrogen when scrubbing air. We can breathe it in but we don’t actually metabolise it so it just gets exhaled unchanged. If you want to describe atmospheric gas composition it N2 + O2 (O is monatomic oxygen and it will mess up your lungs… among other things).
Fun fact, you can replace the nitrogen in the atmosphere with just about anything else as long as its inert. Some deep sea divers use a mixture of helium and oxygen
You can have a fun time replacing it with something ert though. O³ for example.
That would also be highly flammable…
See, fun!
In case no one’s said so yet, You’re getting way better at hair positioning. Like it wasn’t bad before, but this page kinda highlights the difference from the earlier pages. Nicely done!
Hair positioning? Like, just how it hangs when they move around?
Speaking of, Sydney is now a yellow… Blonde Submarine.
She’s a hivemind of beetles? No wonder she was freaked out by Vance.
He is probably licking his fangs, at the thought
I don’t suppose the Council would settle for a visit from a remotely piloted underwater drone? I can think of a half dozen persons on staff that could probably rig one up in no time.
Barring that, unless there is a Space-Uber service, Dabbler has to have a ship here on Earth somewhere. Is is rated for underwater as well as space use?
A drone would require communications, which may be less secure than the usual channels. I can see underwater to reduce the risk of third party listeners… just since water transmits sound so well (think of tsunami as underwater sonic booms that travel for thousands of miles…) you may want some background noise. Say, rock music… (say, take a submarine, kick it up to 250mph and blast ‘the final countdown’ as a warning to other subs and whales to keep out of the way)
I love that book!
(In case anyone is wondering, the book has preview chapters here:
https://www.baen.com/Chapters/1416521291/1416521291.htm )
Remember to never let a fighter pilot drive a submarine…
The entire book, entirely legal and with the author’s blessing, is here:
https://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/Vorpal%20Blade/index.htm
enjoy.
Thanks for pointing out the series. I had not heard of it before. I found the author’s name is John Ringo. I have also sadly found out that his middle name is neither Paul not George.
John Ringo does a huuuuge amount of military sci-fi type stories. Also has several series in different themes so its alot of variety in the “universes” you see.
Your web fu is superior to mine. XD
Read and finished said book after discovering your post. Other than trying to make sense of the “new” words for the first half of it… it was an amazing read.
I want to pet the cute monster in the back ground.
If you have a submarine full of musicians, might I suggest a yellow one?
With a pepper painted on the side, of course. And three chevron-like stripes.
Sergeant Pepper?
Yup
But Sydney needs Major Pepper.
+1, I always thought that the Sergeant was kinda corny anyway.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/62/49/54/6249544d3bcc69f3324569507a6f2c1d–beatles-cake-the-submarines.jpg
Almost certainly not. Spacecraft, like airplanes, are designed to be as lightweight as functionally practical, because every gram requires fuel to move and other considerations. submarines, however, require only that they enclose enough air-filled volume to have approximately neutral bouyancy at up to design depth. mass still matters, but it’s most important to have the right amount, not least amount.
Well argued. But you are talking human design parameters. Succubi are widespread throughout the galaxy. Assuming they even use space ships (as opposed to just magically teleporting or using gates) we can expect their craft to be able to cope with a far wider range of atmospheres than just Earth-like ones.
If you have a ruggedised hull designed to survive touch-down on Venus, for example, going for a paddle in Earth’s oceans would likely be a doddle, down to … ahh…. nice coincidence 1 kilometer (90 atmospheres of pressure, the same as Venus on the surface).
It comes down to two properties: energy (power) and material strength. the more you can fit into a smaller volume, the freer you can be with your designs.
Energy, material strength and hammer space.
That’s certainly one way they’d put it.
That’s for those of us with very limited energy supplies and required to generate thrust via throwing reaction mass out. With a reactionless drive and a much better power supply, those limitations become rather moot.
On the other hand, you did remind me of something Sydney would absolutely know about being a diver.
Ballast. They can load lead weights or something equally dense/heavy into her shield when she forms it to act as ballast so she doesn’t have to worry about popping up to the surface like a balloon.
I thought she hitched a ride and paid for it with road… well a road wasn’t used.
Don’t worry, no one will even know Sydney’s there until she starts singing the Russian national anthem.
I picture her more singing Katuysha.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiy8rWMycXVAhUR7mMKHZjsCmIQtwIIJjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DP0lKhq9HIWI&usg=AFQjCNFq4khgwb4IBBZ6myJ6oBaqRM8VIQ
Or maybe a nice polka.
https://youtu.be/lW1kKhtGgYg
You can’t beat a leak spin.
*throws down gauntlet*
There’s an anime version of that in Russian that I was aiming at.
Why Russian? The original Finnish one is better. Or maybe I’m biased because I’m Finnish.
cuz abibliboop was talking about Sydney singing in Russian. I like the original better too. Russian doesn’t seem to roll off the tongue as nicely.
Russian song choice was purely in response to the Russian national anthem (I didn’t want to be the first response and break the language chain).
8^)
The full ten hour version? Had that playing one day, the noise started sounding… ‘odd’ after a couple hours
Ten hour version? I meant the original 3 minute version.
This one: https://youtu.be/4om1rQKPijI
There is a ‘Spinning Leak’ (or ‘Twirling Leak’ or some such) website that uses an anime clip of a girl spinning (or twirling), well, a leak (yes, very original :eyeroll: ) and it goes for about 10 hours, but they do at least use the original Fin track (maybe? sounds nuts after a couple hours anyway)
Found it, not the website but the exact same clip used (and last as long, how long can you last?)
Wasn’t going to look for it, but found when looking for Glen Campbell’s last song, and needed something to get out of the funk of learning of his passing, although he left almost a year ago, Alzheimer’s is one of the worst was to go :(
The link is broken. But two minutes thirteen seconds is enough of a fix for me thanks. I would not want to come down with leakspinnydizzyswirlyhead syndrome.
Damn, was sure had done the link properly :(
After an hour or two, your mind mostly tunes it out, and then starts auditory hallucination and ‘hearing’ strange words (specially if you pause it and restart it), not near as bad as listening to 10 hours about a jar of dirt or hobbits heading to Issengard (or hobbits going to Issengard carrying dirt in an empty jar of rum… freaky!!)
By the way… I think she’s spinning a leek, not spinning a leak.
If you want to spin a leak, you’ll need a water faucet and a garden hose.
Damnit! Blame puppy for that, knew it’s a leek (Welsh pride) but sometimes fingers types what it wants and had just read his error :P
lare290,
It’s not originally Finnish but Russian. It was composed in 1938 by Matvei Blanter with lyrics from Mikhail Isakovsky. (Sidenote: I’m also a Finn.)
leek* leak is a hole in a container causing loss of the contained material
*hops onto front paws, and spins fast, whilst taking a leak*
You know, I hate you guys because this song, Loituma Polka, is now, once more, firmly stuck in my head!
+10 internets to everyone of you beautiful bastards.
https://youtu.be/g7owRsZeH_I
this may help
That is funny. But I prefer something a little more serious.
https://youtu.be/0iRTB-FTMdk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCZIJ2QS9g
a little more serious? :}
Well at least Sydney would not have difficulty remembering the lyrics.
Of the songs suggested, Yorp, I agree with yours most.
In fact if she hasn’t ALREADY sang that at least ten times while doing shipping/receiving paperwork I’d be surprised.
It’s the same song as the russian version before it. As, for that matter, is this finnish folk metal cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaTISifHaeg
dammit. that wasn’t the one I was aiming at.
do you mean this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2SJjnyTojo
or this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szdS3tt_xy0
This one I think:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AVYjfrq0LJI
ps: your second one won’t play in my country cuz “it contains content from Columbia”
or maybe this one.
https://youtu.be/_AAAO1OLNjA
https://media.giphy.com/media/7ojL5UstVs5fW/giphy.gif
Metal folk polka :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaTISifHaeg
Second one is a sub vs dub comparison of the scene, where the western release overdubbed the more fitting song with another traditional russian piece most commonly known as “Tetris Type A”.
Obviously, though, given the context of this adventure, subs are preferred.
Second one won’t play in my country either. Doesn’t say why, just ‘not available in your country’.
In America, your computer searches internet. In (your country here), internet searches your computer!
in America, internet DOES search your computer.
Usually because the copyright holder has sold the product to another company, for use in one or more specific countries. So if it is viewed by people in those countries they do not give a hoot. It is up to the company they sold the rights to to police that. Moreover YouTube would probably not support a claim, by the previous rights holder, in a country where they no longer holds the rights anymore.
Whereas they do still have the rights for the rest of the world, and the vested interest of making sure that there is still a demand for companies there to buy it. The price they can get will go down the more heavily pirated the product is.
An alternative reason is differential marketing strategies by region. For instance if a company is planning to release a new series (or sequel movie) in just one country, they could choose to make the first one free to view, to get new customers interested enough in the franchise that they might buy/rent/watch it on a pay TV channel.
However they would have no incentive in allowing the rest of the world to see it for free until they planned to release the new material elsewhere too. They would get maximum benefit by doing that fairly close to the launch date, so that it is still fresh in customers’ minds.
Another factor is to encourage linkrot to cause viewers to need to refresh their content collections, thereby keeping up the ad value that is “out there” making money. It’s not evil, anymore than ads themselves are, but it is annoying.
I got the reference.
Daniel the Human is chuckling, telling me to ask “we all live in a red submarine? Is it October already?”. I’m guessing I’m missing something here? Is he right about another thing? I’m still learning all these Earth references…
Keep hunting, I am sure you will find it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsC2ETsZL0g
Great movie, with a wondrous cast: a Scot and a Kiwi playing Russians :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxH6YErAIgA
Wonderfully done scene.
The Red October would have superior firepower to an X-wing. Its size does provide rather a difficulty in navigating tight canyons though. Especially given the lack of maneuverability to evade energy attacks.
Is it just me, or is Max less…top heavy?
Seems much the same to me. Although about all the attention I normally pay is ‘too big for my tastes’, so you may be right.
My guess would be a Wonderless Bra, a tardis inspired technology (obviously nowhere as good) powered bra for those of the top heavy nature who wish for less to be on show. Or in the way.
Or DaveB is trimming back on his black ink ;-p
Also, DaveB, I love the face shading on this page – I really love Max’s facials in this… er… that came out wrong… it sounded better in my head!
Not to be nit-picker, Dave, but is Syd’s coloring in panel 2.5 an artistic choice or a “totally forgot to shade in those flats”?
DaveB’s gotten really slack. Have you noticed that the orbs are not always in the same order?
(note to DaveB: anyone that answers that question who clearly knows the truth is obviously OCD about grrlpower. We’re talking stalker levels of pedantic obsession, and should obviously be watched closely. Consider this my fan service in reverse to help you stay safe. :)
1) The orbs circle Sydney’s head. So, in one panel, a green one is in front, then the next panel a yellow one.
2) when Sydney uses an orb, it leaves out of the rotation. When she release the orb, it flies back up into the “halo”, but not necessarily in the position of order where it was previously.
3) Dave is using the colors of the orbs to communicate messages from the Alien High Command. Your task is to now go back to the beginning, write down the order (counterclockwise) of orbs circling her head, and decipher this weeks Ovaltine commercial.
ok, dude, you damnear made the list with that. You still can, if you have checked every appearance of the orbitters to see that they’re in the right order, no matter where in the orbit they are. So, have you checked?
The first rule of Orb Order Club is you don’t talk about Orb Order Club.
DaveB’s gonna need to keep an eye on the whole lot of you :)
Coincidentally, each location of the orb in the order around Sydney’s head represents a single “bit” of information. Thus, ORB-BIT…
Oh. My. Spark! It’s all so clear now… O_O
It looks better that way IMO. I wish all the panels were done that way. So much cleaner, so much easier to focus on what’s happening and on the details that matter.
Looks intentional to me. Sydney is drawn in a simplified style, much like in her early days. So giving an effect midway between a normal insert panel and a chibi. Quite effective, all in all.
^^^ This – those mini inserts are for chibi style. See the Dabbler insert in the same style here: https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2481
I liked today’s artwork. Maxima looks normal again.
Yes, she has her cheese-grater cheek-bones back! Now just for a polish (where’s Michael when you need him? oh, can hear his rrrrrumbleee now)
I was more talking about her eyes and the shape of her face.
Also really liked how you can just see the vein in her forehead when she gets annoyed :)
Agreed. Nice to see how quickly DaveB has been able to recapture her looks, using the new style. Although I agree with Guesticus that she does lack a bit of polish. But that may be what Dave is looking for, with indoors lighting. Save the shine for under studio lights, or in broad daylight.
Yeah there’s a little something needed with the cheeks, but I still do like her current look more than her look a few strips ago.
Nah, just thought the little aside panel looked ok with just cartoony flats.
Yes, thought so as well
FYI:
pressure increases by 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters in depth. 1000 meters = 100 x 14.7, or 1470 PSI.
I’m surprised that no-one so far has talked about the title-reference:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_Aquatic_with_Steve_Zissou]
…or raised the possibility of discovering a new species of “Jaguar Shark” — possibly bioluminescent…?
Or maybe flying sharks? Those Sharknado documentaries were kinda scary.
Pressure and oxygen aside, there are two other major considerations: Light and navigation. 3,000 meters is almost two miles down in the bathypelagic or midnight zone. Dark, dark, kinda scary dark. Try to walk a straight line for two miles with no visual references. Try to dive straight down, currents are gonna push you around at the very least. Plus GPS is not gonna work at those depths although ARC may be able to cobble together a kind of handheld inertial navaid. Still, at those depths, difficult. Even supposing the base might have a beacon would that signal penetrate Syney’s force field? So Halo’s force field plus atmosphere generator leaves them bobbing on the surface although Maxie could supply the flight/diving power. Gonna be interesting to see how Dave overcomes these things.
Sydney can provide the hull and the life support. Maxima will be there for propulsion and depth adjustment. Peggy can handle whatever comms, lights and navigation Arc-Sparq provide.
Dabbler can provide dips.
Argh getting dyslectic and weird in my dotterage. Don’t know why I read 1000 meters as 3000. Still in the bathypelagic zone if just barely, Regardless, still a deep dive although not nearly as bad as another 2000 meters. Yorp probably got it right…maybe.
Anvil would be perfect for this mission because pressure is kinetic. She would have a nearly infinite source of recharge and could
Yea. I would be cautious if I were her though. 90-100 atmospheres of pressure might be pushing her upper limit. Unlike Achilles who can soak up any degree of damage, or Maxima/Sydney, who have five-star defense, Anvil only has four star.
More importantly though she has finite battery capacity. So whilst she may be able to survive at that depth (four star is still mighty powerful) she will only be able to do so for so long. So, yes, she could build up a powerful charge, fast. But would also need to expend it fairly quickly, if she does not want to risk imploding.
MERMAID TRACKER: They went this way, your majesty!
MERMAID QUEEN: How can you tell?
MERMAID TRACKER: ‘Sploded bits of fishies everywhere!
calls to mind Niven/Baen’s Mote in God’s Eye. Wormhole terminated inside the tenuous atmosphere of red supergiant star. spacecraft shields designed for normal space would expand to absorb enemy beam weapon energies, then use their increased surface area to radiate surplus energy and shrink again. very clever. but in the red star’s atmosphere, it works in reverse, increasing the surface area that is absorbing heat that would otherwise kill the ship.
eventually, shield generators can’t generate any more increase in diameter, so the shield then absorbs more than it can reradiate, and boom goes the shield and the ship. the wormhole is a death trap, and noone at the other end can tell why their ships never return.
Dammit. I recalled and typed it as Niven/Pournelle, then checked Wikipedia, and “corrected” my comment to Baen. I was right the first time, it was N/P. Wikipedia, on further reading, isn’t consistent even in its errors.
Probably blow the water out from over the whole place, need not worry about the benz and could probably carry a tanker-truck of air with her in that situation.
It would be wise to carry some oxygen tanks and air scrubbers, as backup. Sydney can provide the primary life-support, but will be committed to keeping the shield up, at all times (when in the water, anyhow). So if Max and other flyers are not around to provide propulsion, Halo will periodically need to swap orbs.
Not that this will be a problem in routine operation. They will just stop forward motion, whilst she does that, and then have to recover depth (the orb will shoot up, as demonstrated in the pool). If she replenishes the air fast, then only so much time will be lost returning to their operational depth.
However if the mission becomes time-critical, or they are perusing or being pursued , then they will want to turn on their backup air systems. Likewise if Sydney has to use the tentacle, or other orbs, at any point.
And if she could figure out how to vibrate at the right frequency she could separate the hydrogen and oxygen from the nearby water
I’d go with “Tentatively smug” on the expression :)
We don’t yet know what sort of structure is there under a thousand meters of water, but I could imagine a two-part underwater drone – part A has a thousand meters of fiber optic going up to a surface vessel, and sticks itself via magnets or other stickum to the outside of whatever’s down there, and part B get carried inside. I’m sure there’s some sort of radio or other short-range, stopped-by-water medium parts A and B could talk to each other through the pressure hull.
it’s hilarious you can actually read Maxima’s mind right now
Panel 4 cracked me up. I love Sydney / Max interactions.
I feel like Archon Needs a Administration class Called How to Handle Sydney 101. Taught by Maxima Of course (at first)
Daniel here, I think Maxima might need that course the most, perhaps taught by Sydney’s family, maybe the co-owner of their comic Shop too…
I probably could have done with 1 for dealing with a certain Minicon, but I seem to have found suitable teaching methods when needed. Mind you, I wouldn’t suggest metal baseball bats to Max, Sydney’s a lot squishier than my problem…
Also, Max is capable of applying much greater force than any baseball bat can apply.
Agreed. Maxima would definitely be the first to need that class. After all, she’s the direct commanding officer, she’s in charge of Sydney, and if anything happens, it’s Maximas fault too. So far she just has the slight inklings of how to deal with her in some situations, but she’s going to need a lot more than that.
Your right though, in depth Sydney debriefings from her friends, relatives, and coworkers is their best chance.
Going on a sidenote here with people pointing out that she has a lower rating than other supertoughs/invulnerables. It’s not that her shield is weaker, it’s that they don’t know how strong it actually is, and she has to have it activated, unlike someone that can sleep through a bomb exploding on them.
“… classified location. He wasn’t comfortable talking about it over the usual channels.”
If there’s a valid reason for this concern, Max should be careful about revealing the eventual location provided to the whole team. Harem is a mole for Deus and he may or may not be in cahoots with Sciona.
the problem here is you and I know that. But Maxima likely doesn’t. though it is possible she does know…..
Note the remainder of this post has been removed as that is a deep rabbit hole.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet (probably not, didn’t see it on the first page last night and it’s not on this page), but getting a hoot out of the last two panels with Sydney peeking over the bottom of the panels like that :D
Here’s a question, could Sydney use the tentacle orb to form another hand? If not right now might it be a possible expansion with another power point?
you mean to hold another orb with? that might not work since they might require phys contact with her own hands
That may also defeat the point of the tactic since she needs to use up one hand to make and keep the form of the new hand. She would still be limited to two orbs at a time.
Or, maybe just simply, extended grasp or reach (there are more things to do than simply hold Sydney’s balls you know, even if she does have seven of them!)
Since I don’t think we’ve had a placement of date aside from “a week has passed” the 2014 was probably fine. Not that it’s addition or subtraction is anything major, just felt like pointing that out.
It’s not fine, seeing how this started in 2011, and is still back there
When we first see Sydney driving her car, her tax indicates that the year is 2011. Dave has kept things consistent with that, for instance with the various national leaders we saw. There have been a couple of product or movie references which did not match up, but in a world with super powers it is entirely possible that some things would occur sooner, whilst others later (or not at all).
For instance if you have a special effects-intense movie it could have been released years earlier if you had a super either providing mechanical effects (lifting up and flying things around, for example) or more directly such as with illusions/projections or creating the technology earlier than would have been possible in our timeline.
Likewise if a competitor gets the super or gadgeteer help, then it could divert funds or personnel from a film that would have come out earlier.
So Dave does have some scope for flexibility. Provided that he does not accidentally put a conflicting date in, such as the one he removed here.
so here’s the question…about 2027 or so when dave catches up with 2014 is a certain someone going to have…. an accident. to prevent something a little unsettling from happening?
Quite a few things happened in 2014 which could well justify Archon’s intervention. For instance stopping Russian commandos from infiltrating Crimea, with a view to seizing it from Ukraine.
There are not many which would justify murdering an individual though. For instance doing that with Putin cold provoke World War III.
Especially when given access to all the resources that a super organisation has. They should have superior means of anticipating significant events, which might pose a threat sufficient to justify assassination. Yet, equally, their improved capabilities should also free up options that would not otherwise be available. Which could find a civilised solution to the problem instead.
For that matter, since its obviously a differant universe, just be cause things similar to our reality have occured, there is no guarentee that it will stay that way, or even need to.
I love this page so much.. actually laughed out loud each time I read it through.
Likewise.
Has max found a way to dull her appearance? She’s looking a lot less shiny.
Being around Sydney can dull anyone! :P
But nah, it’s just DaveB is still tweaking with the art (you do not want to see what he was up to when he was twerking it!)
Panel five (with Maxi coming to the understanding that she’s never getting away from Sydney, ever again!), Maxi is thinking: “If I find out how they set this up, there won’t be enough pieces for even Pixel is track!”
She’s the main character. Of COURSE she’s going to be there.
If you don’t formally invite her,she’s just going to find some wacky shenanigan to get her there anyway.
Yup, the harder you try to keep the protagonist away the more disastrous the circumstances will become, in order to justify her presence.
Maxima is wise not to to fight the strands of Fate. Even she cannot break those.
It would probably end up with her sneaking in while wearing some outrageous disguise. Max will spot her. Sydney will pretend to cry, and the page will end up with Max saying “Sydney! You got some ‘splaining to do!”
And she would have gotten away with it too, if not for those meddling ARC kids… and their pet succubus too
Yorpy Yorpy-doo too!
So, to be frank and fair, I feel like pages are missing back a few, because we jump from ‘meeting that involves Dabbler and Jabber meeting again” to “Suddenly Sydney is waiting for sundown because vampires?”
Why is she suddenly waiting for sundown? When did Crimson try to sneak in? There was no mention, just a sudden jump from talking with Dabbs to this little arc here. Dave, you do great writing, but I don’t remember anything about someone saying Crimson had shown up.
She wasn’t waiting for sundown so she could meet the vampires. She was wanting time to fast-forward to “after the super-boring lecture” part of the day as a one-off joke page. The previous page has been edited to make the cut cleaner but I can see where it is still a touch jarring.
No pages are missing, but just like any other comic web or DC/Marvel, literally every move a character made does not have to be explained or pictured.
Possibly a narrator bubble could appear to make a “hours later” or “At midnight” or something, but that is all you need if the current discussion / actions are done, and it was from the point time got skipped over.
Which Dave has inserted on the scene where Crimson is waking up, because a lot of folks were disoriented on that one, without it.
Haha, love the “What we do in the Shadows” T-shirt.
The Forb displaces water comparable to the size that Sydney makes it. However, it is still limited by weight. Has she tried carrying a bunch of people underwater before? There should be a limit to how much weight she can carry before the displacement becomes null.
Also, has anyone tried carrying the shielded Sydney from the outside of her shield?
True.
Not yet.
As to carrying the shield from the outside. Sort of…
An interesting development in the world of comics: Nexflix has bought a small comic company.
The plot is strong with this one…
Use the plot Sydney, use the plot!
i cant wait until varia and sydney realize what they can do, they can combo and use shield flight air and ppo or lighthook all at once making them able to move attack defend and sustain during a fight. Or if sydney gets koed varia can use the orbs to protect her
I don’t think that Varia would be that useful. It would be pretty weird if Dave suddenly made her a major character.
Dave’s plot choices tend to be more focused on what is sensible for the characters to do in a situation, rather than choosing a traditional story outline and then fitting the actions to that.
And bear in mind that whether someone is a major character or not is mainly driven by how much time they spend associating with Sydney. Whilst Halo remains a recruit, her fellow recruits will be fairly significant. Barring, of course, the fact that Sydney has to keep going off on special assignments, due to how versatile her powers are.
Which does provide an ‘in’ for Varia, if Dave feels it is time for us to see her in action. He is gradually letting us see more of the rest of the cast, and she is the most versatile super on the planet (albeit limited to the one power at a time, and requiring a gestalt partner too).
So the same reason that makes Sydney useful also justifies Varia’s presence. Provided that any of the gestalts she can form with the ‘away team’ heroes is actually useful. Which is a major limitation actually, as the only two confirmed expedition members are Maxima and Sydney. Both of whom (as far as the characters know) are unable to form a gestalt with Varia.
The one person who would change that though is if Harem goes along. Her ability resupply things would be invaluable. She herself has a major limitation though, in that her teleport cannot bypass Halo’s shield. So would only be of use once they reach the destination (or some other place where it is safe to lower the shield).
However if she is included in the roster, then Varia can be added at any time. As she will be able to accompany another Harem teleporting to the underwater base for any reason.
Throw in one or two additional team-mates, with useful gestalts, and Varia’s presence becomes a significant asset on this mission. Not least because it would allow her to check for useful gestalts amongst their powerful allies. Which will be useful to know for any future joint operations.
This would require giving Varia a higher clearance level, but there is a pressing need for that. Sooner or later she is going to find a gestalt power that allows her to pierce the Veil. This need not be True Sight, by the way, there are others that would do the trick. “Detect Illusion”, “Telepathy”, “Precognition”, “Dispel Magic”, “Dispel Illusion”, “Aura Sight”, “Analyse Life-form” and more can all have the same effect.
Archon were wise in being preemptive with Sydney, in bringing her into the loop. As Varia is rapidly expanding her gestalts it is inevitable she will discover at least one such troublesome power soon.
and as far as useful, in battle, you are probally correct, not much utility since Varia would be linked to be near Halo / Orbs. In a situation like this however, having a 3rd hand, even if it was just the air one would be great since it would let sydney do F-orb & Fly Orb. That would be a super solid underwater base for anyone who was brought along
I am not complaining here, but I am curious what has been going on with Maxima’s face?
It’s like her sharp features have gotten all soft overnight. No more square jaw, narrow nose, thin lipped commander. I’m just a bit sad.
Perhaps unconscious, reconstructive nightly surgery is one of her powers?
Max started wearing her hair forward, rather than pulled back. It de-emphasises her sharp features.
No, the other Dave has just been experimenting with his art
Indeed, and if folks look back over the past few pages, since the experimenting started, they will see how rapidly Dave has moved everybody back to their previous likenesses (or better). With Maxima being the hardest, but has gotten most of the way there.
The final step though Dave may not choose to do, if he felt that she was a bit too shiny previously. We have seen that the style can make Maxima extremely glossy, when she was in full sunlight, at the pool. So this is more likely to be an artistic choice than a technical problem.
If folks continue to think she does not look right then he may reconsider. But now that Maxima’s basic features are back to normal, I think stability will return and people will get used to the lower albedo indoors, if it stays as is.
Scarlet look in panel 3 is more like, please need some help, i really would love to “ahem” assist you there!
Scarlet is Ingsol’s other childer. Although the two names are interchangeable enough that it prompts me to check the Who’s Who to make sure I get the right one.
I felt the look to nicely capture Crimson being cheeky in taunting a super-hero organisation, that they might not be able to cope without help.
If a vampire sires a vampire bat, does the vampire bat gain the ability to turn into a human?
I think Maxima is making a bad call here. You do not take a raw recruit into a deadly environment to provide needed support, especially when negotiating with a foreign and possibly hostile national leader on their turf secretly.
This is a job for the mages and spies with Maxima running backup.
Maxima may already be in line for a yelling at just due to the whole Halo v Golem battle.
I don’t see why not.
Now what if that vampire bat turns a were-bear?
Mmm, although there is another possibility, regarding your initial question. It may not just turn into one human, it may become a crowd of humans!
How this manifests would depend on whether the flock of bats is created to approximate the mass of the vampire in human-like form (which seems unlikely as we can clearly see that there is a huge mass differential with Crimson). If that is the case then it would be a crowd of very small humans.
Alternatively the magic may just be creating multiple forms to disperse risk, and it has no mass/size limitations.
In which case, with my follow-up question, we then have the potential of one vampire bat turning into a pack of were-bears! If need be be by getting infected with lycanthropy first, then being promoted to unlife.
In WoD, a vampire trying to sire a were anything usually results in a dead were. Very rarely they become some sort of cursed abomination.
They just need to find a pure bloodline, rather than some weak diluted strain of inferior vampires and werewolves.
Now you’re thinking of Underworld, not WoD :)
Nope. The Abomination phenomena can manifest even in cases where the werewolf is of an exceptionally pure lineage and the vampire in question is of notably low Generation (thus having a stronger tie to the source of vampiric power).
It certainly is viable to argue the cons of Maxima’s decision. But do look at the pros too.
Archon does not have powerful mages (as far as we know). The only one they do have is also a member of the Council, so if they were to decide to turn on Archon, it is best not to presume he will side with the heroes. The only other one we have seen is the one at apprentice level, who is self-taught.
Whilst she is an interesting character that I am dying to see more of, her power level was barely enough to create an illusion of Muppet Maxima. And that required the assistance of Dabbler to manipulate the breadsticks and other props that were necessary to support the illusion.
So this means that any mages and/or spies will be totally reliant on the Council for both transportation and survival, if using Maxima just as backup.
Further her shield only traps a tiny amount of air. So she would need to carry her own air tanks/rebreathers and the like. Which is fine if she is going off to engage enemies. If her shield is breached enough to damage the equipment (see the wardrobe malfunction incident to show this can happen) then Maxima will face a severe risk of drowning.
Whilst she could fly to the surface really fast, even she may be vulnerable to the bends (bearing in mind that her shield would have been breached, for this to be necessary). But there is also the greater moral issue of her creating a supersonic pressure wave, in order to do that in time, from that depth. That would kill all organic life in the region!
Sonic booms in water are far far more serious than ones in air. So this is something Maxima must plan to avoid. Which she can do if Sydney is there to provide her backup. Hopefully, just like the PPO & tentacle, Halo will be able to create air beyond the shield. Also, regardless of that, she can transport the rest of the team members safely.
Whereas if Maxima was having to provide transportation services, without Halo’s backup. if she had to move to engage an enemy, she would need to take the squishies with her. Which is exposing important, irreplaceable, personnel to unnecessary risks.
This is why Maxima has been giving Sydney on-the-job training. The world has a great need for her services, right now. The need will not wait until she has finished her training.
Plus, despite her many flaws and her untrained status, Sydney has proven that she can save even Maxima’s life
Sydney Scoville, Jnr: Super Taxi! :D
You make some good points as always.
However, were I her superior, I would consider this move to be recklessly endangering a very powerful asset.
I am sure you don’t want Sydney’s assets recklessly endangered, Yorp.
That I don’t. But there is a difference between calculated endangerment and reckless. And being willing to risk life and limb, in order to protect others, is what distinguishes ordinary folks from heroes.
That is what Halo is. It is Maxima’s job to train her well enough so that Halo minimises the risks to herself and others. Plus to stand ready, to intervene for when Sydney is overstretched. But that is the lot of a mentor.
The world does have dangerous professions, and not all are in circumstances where extensive training can be performed in advance. Usually that is in poorer countries, so those of us who live in the richer ones can find it shocking. But emergencies can cause the same thing to happen anywhere. Especially if in a war for survival.
And with some of the risks that Archon is facing right now they are already fighting the early engagements. If they do them well then they can keep it from escalating to the full-blown variety. Which does require making use of every available asset. Now, whilst there is still a chance for society to transition to a peaceful future.
The look on Maxima’s face, “Every time I try to be a commander and teach Sydney the whole rank and file thing, she’s just too darn useful.”
*wags tail sportively*
How’s my alter ego doing? Here, have a scooby snack!
Yay! Thanks me!
Gobble gobble gobble.
I have been working on speaking turkey. It only seems to work properly when I am eating.
Hum. Guess the bit about vampires not needing to breathe was on, and the bit about them not liking to cross the water, not so much. Oh well, wolves don’t howl at the moon either.
Syd can make a stadium-sized shield bubble if she wants to – remember the ‘instant press bunker’ for the forward observers at the tank-slicing demo they put on?
If she can ‘fly’ one of those enormous shield bubbles through the water at even a few dozen knots, especially up and down into and out of the water, then she’s got a tidal wave on call. If she ever wants to do something like destroy a coastal city singlehanded.
But more to the point in the present case, she could just make a shield bubble big enough to enclose several days’ worth of air for everybody, inflate it gradually on site using the airball, and they could have a nice little fifty-meter ‘dome’ underwater for their meeting.
Crimson does need to breathe to talk, or to pass for human. But we do not know more than that, as she was tasered, by the base defenses, rather than gassed (per her dialogue on the previous comic page. So whether they can survive without breathing is something we have yet to determine.
Do note that vampires have only ever been said to have an aversion to crossing running water (such as streams). This would not necessarily include oceans. In particular Dracula, in Bram Stroker’s book, had no difficulty in travelling by ship. So there is no reason that underwater would be any more of a problem than surface travel
Of course if they do not need to breathe, then an underwater base would be fine for them, as they would not be at risk from drowning. Plus are tough enough that they may even be able to withstand the pressures at that depth. Possibly.
But, even if they are crushed, it may be possible to recover their remains. In which case they will probably get better soon.
See, I have always found this a bit weird as the currents in the ocean are very much like the streams and rivers on land. If a vampire could cross an ocean (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Interview with a Vampire) could they not cross streams and rivers the same way then? And why is it that are supposed to not like crossing bodies of running water anyways?
Water currents have slight magnetic properties. Fey are weak to lodestone (magnets). Even the Jewish god has a weakness to iron chariots.
Seems most/all spiritual/mythological creatures may have a weakness to magnets and/or easily magnetized materials. Considering that Earth has an abnormally strong magnetic field, native Earth creatures have a lot of resistance to magnetism. Dabbler has indicated she’s part human and part succubus and part alien. That’s a crazy combo unless you consider that demons may just be a type of alien so she’s only a half-breed not a .. third… breed. So aliens ~ mythological creatures. Earthlings -> high resistance to magnetism. Non-earthlings -> not as much resistance to magnetism. Therefore, moving water, which is polar and mildly magnetic, screws with vampire biology (likely makes them sick or is similar to being cancerous), so they avoid moving water like a human would avoid following wildlife into the chernobyl fallout zone (if the wildlife was 100% immune).
[Note: This is wild speculation, but I’m sticking to it, because it amuses me.]
True, and surely Stoker was aware of that. This strongly implies that it has something to do with the properties of fresh water versus salt water. (After all, as far as I know, nobody has ever tried to find out what holy salt water does to vampires.)
Well another possibility is that it is just an aversion, so does not harm them, they just do not like doing it. Likewise travelling in a coffin might negate any problems. So whilst they could not cross it unaided, if they can take a nap it would be no problem either on land or at sea.
The other thing is not all parts of the Ocean have moving water in the same way as in a stream. There are actually currents which do behave like that, but in other places it just sits there and bobbles up and down on the surface, which is a very different matter to a flowing river.
Vampires may have no issues with crossing a pool of stagnant water, or even a swimming pool for that matter. So this could explain why Dracula did need his coffins with him, yet was also able to get out and snack on the crew. Presumably picking a time when they were not crossing undersea rivers.
This amuses me, because of the Rifts (role playing game) version of vampires. The reason they have an aversion to running water is because it is one of the things that can do real damage to them. Even the Glitter Boy’s “boom gun” (which normally can one-shot a light tank) just knocks them on their ass and pisses them off.
In this case, though, “running water” happens to include water fired by squirt guns. Imagine an entire army of humans armed with super soakers and wooden stakes.
Well, first you have to remember there’s not a `one size fits all’ vampire. Much of the lore depends on what sort of vampire you’re talking about. Some Asian vampires have no problem with water but have to count spilled rice. Some have an aversion to garlic, others have to untie knots. Even among `traditional Western vampires’, the lore is conflicting: a stake through the heart kills them permanently; the stake has to remain in place until he head is removed and buried at a crossroads (or other tricks). Some are even immune to `holy symbols’ and sunlight.
So really, it’s all up to what DaveB decides his vampires’ limits/abilities are.
You have to add 1 bar (atmosphere) for roughly every 10 meters of depth. So at 1km, she will be at 101 bar. So the air will take 1% of the volume it has at the surface. That mean that when she fill her lungs, the gas that she intake has 100 times the particles it would have on the surface. So unless her green orb can make specific gas mixes, she will have a problem with azoth poisoning.
Funny fact, with normal air, divers will start to feel drunk around 30 meters because of azoth intoxication.
Not if in a rigid force field, which is maintaining a steady one atmosphere of pressure. There is a difference between deep-sea diving and submersible operations. The latter do not need to worry about the bends, decompression or the like, unless they suffer a breach. In which case they will be in serious doo-doo.
It is a good idea for them to check with Crimson now, to find out what pressure the undersea environment is maintained at. If it is at native pressure they may as well leave behind anybody who cannot operate in such conditions (or do something useful from within the Halomobile).
It could be an underwater grotto sort of deal instead? Possibly?
I am expecting at least one Jacques Cousteau reference from Sydney during this underwater bit to come.
At least! :D
Figured it out!
The “Unknown” Ball’s power is Protagonist. It makes whoever wields it always get sucked into wacky hijinks and crazy shenanigans, and subtly modifies reality to make their involvement in important events seem plausible to other people.
Well that would be pretty redundant as Sydney has that as an innate power ;)
I’m actually betting it has something to do with the mind/consciousness. Perhaps she can use it to maintain a clear and unsleeping mind at all times. Of course, since she hasn’t tried using it for more than a few minutes at times when she was already fully awake or otherwise not being mentally messed with, it wouldn’t be apparent. Just going along with the whole starship idea, except she’s the ships computer, but if she goes down, so does everything else, so it would make sense to have some kind of way around those issues. Just wild guesses of course. ;)
Didn’t read all the comments, so this may have been advanced…
Dave, I think the expression you’re after is `trepidation’. Not that it matters now as the comic is up and you seem to have nailed the expression without needing any extra words.
Gotta say I’m really liking the Mom/Big Sister-Clueless Excitable Kid Sister vibe between Max and Sydney lately. It’s always been there, but the past few comics have really been showcasing it well.