Grrl Power #691 – The full Sydney
Well that’s gratitude for ya. But it’s also… kind of unsurprising really. Also, if you’re at a giant space airport, you gotta pick up some souvenirs, right? It would be embarrassing to return home from your lost in space journey without knickknacks for the team.
Sydney does make a good point about not really needing to hide the orbs. The very idea of the mythical 4th tier of civilization/technology isn’t even universally agreed on by everyone, and those who do think it exists have no direct evidence of it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean someone won’t be impressed with Sydney’s orbs and try to do something about it, so some caution might be sensible. Still, will all the alien life forms roaming the station, there’s maybe not anything too unusual about someone with lights floating around their heads. The gray gal at the food booth had a flame… eye thing between her horns. Never quite figured out what that was really, just thought it looked neat when I drew it. Still, Sydney and her orbs don’t stand out as much as she might think in a moon sized creature cantina.
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A lot of talk of a holographic cover for the orbs,
but yet again, early in the comic, a physical plastic tube had them inside and a magical scan revealed the tube was suspiciously empty *too empty*, so putting ANYTHING around them won’t hide them if the scan goes through the thing.
Paint on them?
-scan reveals paint in a sphere shape floating on spheres of absolute nothinness.
Put holograms over them, or hard light?
-scan reveals holograms surrounding spheres of absolute nothingness.
Unless she can get something capable of sending back a false signal specifically intended to jam a scan, covering them over with something won’t hide them.
It’s called ‘hiding in plain sight’: only someone who already knows about Sydney’s balls are going to scan the orbiting holograms around her head, most everyone else will barely give them a second look (depending on what she chooses for the hologram, in which case, they may simply ask where she got them from, in further case, Sydney can direct them to the holo-store)
Thing is, that’s what she is already doing. No one is questioning them, as they likely already think they are just accessories until she uses them in a setting like this.
On Earth she has had the Crystal Gems explanation for using advanced tech “its magic” even going so far as to believe that herself up until this point.
So the holograms would add nothing.
the real issue is the talk on page 1 about using them to avoid the gate Scans. In other words, if she wants to go through a portal to Earth or has to deal with someone scanning her orbs in the future. The talk is “she can mask them with a hologram”…but the answer is no, no she can’t. Because we’ve already seen scans aren’t surface only, scans (SCAN) things to get details about them, including what is inside them. So stick the orbs inside a tube, paint, holograms over them, it doesn’t matter if she goes through a customs area, or meets a wizard, highly or super advanced alien with deep scanners, the orbs will be seen as spheres of nothing, just in this case, spheres of nothing under something…which not sure if they could be made more suspicious, but a clear attempt to hide these spheres of nothing in the scan would be a red flag to any alien customs department, wizard, or alien cop.
It occurs to me that Sydney could be making an error. Her holographic wings will need to be batter-powered and re-charge-able. Earth power in the Western Hemisphere is 60 hertz and 120 volts; in Europe it is 60 hz and 220 volts, in Japan it is 50 hz and 120 volts, and I dunno what it is elsewhere. But will the batteries in her holographic wings be compatible? Probably not….
-Let’s see, recharge instructions:
connect your holo-emitter’s charger to your home or crafts’ buffer space breach generator set to neutral mass extraction at 13 juruga by 132 omnar, with a localization conversion rate of 1.3 septers per varn.
Recharge to full power should only take 273 varn.
Enjoy.
Go ask Dabbler.
Oh, I understand it perfectly fine…enough to realize in my tired state I actually fudged a line.
It should be either anti matter or hyper matter, you can’t convert neutral matter into localized energy in a sublime matter universe unless you also combard it with hyper matter in a buffer dimension containment bubble so neither can be counter balanced or distorted by the sublime matter dimensions. It easier, especially for smaller products to use the annihilation principle to convert anti-matter and matter into energy, or with the right tech even easier/more efficient and less explosive to use hyper matter as it naturally is converted into hyper force upon breaching the buffer dimension into the sublime matter universe which can be focused as a source of energy, as well as natural levitation provided other factors are used, a charger however wouldn’t due to the breach/scar principle resulting in a breach point being harder to breach for a few nano-seconds, hence why the charging time takes so long *not that 273 varn is all that long really* but if you could keep the breach and conversion constant it would only take 0.032 varn to charge something as small as a wrist ring to last for days.
however I…don’t know how to translate varn into English…its not a linear timescale measurement so…maybe its not long at all…or days…I…no…it shouldn’t be that long linear wise, but then again the measurement is used by beings that can go sideways through time also and compress and expand fracture timelines to complete several tasks at once without causing paradoxes.
I have been informed that the conversion table for varn to English standard units of time is
1 Varn = 0.001 – 3 seconds
It is a non linear time measurement so each varn can add or subtract to the one before and after it when perceived resulting in this difference. So…yeah not long to recharge.
I will partially retract what I wrote, but only partially. That’s because we on Earth are working toward a particular tech that aliens may have perfected: supercapacitors or ultracapacitors.
With such a technology, any battery-powered device can be upgraded. The capacitors can be recharged almost-instantly and an almost-infinite number of times. The only drawback is still a limitation on voltage — you don’t hook a 150-volt supercapacitor to a 220-volt system. Even aliens will get that right. And if you do happen to have a 250-volt supercapacitor, you don’t want to hook it up to a 120-volt system, because it won’t be charged enough. Like I said, even aliens will get that right.
Putting holograms over the orbs to make them look… exactly how they already look… would probably help. That would have the effect of disguising the orbs as “just holograms” instead of “nothing at all”.
No, they wouldn’t.
They already look non-distinct like ornaments and accessories.
They only give away their nature via scans and some of their abilities.
If you scan them, you will scan THROUGH anything on them.
Remember a magical scan by a green-horn magician detected INSIDE the poster tube to reveal a suspicious nothingness in there. If she is in a situation where they will be scanned, any scanner that isn’t as useless as your eyeballs is going to see through the hologram to what is under them, and that being a suspicious nothingness *no air, particles, energy, just spheres of nothing*.
Arc Darc’s got some sort of invisibility tech. It’s not a stretch to think that a holographic projector could be adapted to make Sydney’s orbs invisible to casual observation.
Casual observation isn’t the issue.
Also this comic and DaveB’s own comments point out that to the casual observer they only look like ordinary baubles. No one can tell they aren’t magic or just levitating accessories unless they are being scanned or do certain specific things.
Them being SCANNED is the issue, and why a hologram won’t help with them being scanned as a scan will scan through the hologram as it scans the hologram, its projector, and anything under it.
Casual observation leads to closer scrutiny. Make the orbs invisible and no one will think to run an active scan in the first place.
On Earth, she has already been on national news and likely seen internationally, the entire supernatural secret council and its alien ambassador have seen them, giant squid aliens have seen them, the Alari have seen them, who ever watches space net shows about a human eating spicy food have now seen them. Sydney just pointed out in this very comic its too late to hide them…
and besides, once again, they do not look suspicious. We already know from an earlier comic that there are other items that resemble them, Chakra orbs, spirit seals, elemental spheres, ect…
as well as a casual observation reveals they look no more like something that would stand out than the holographic halo at that shop or the flame eye floating over that grey gargoyle girl at the food booth.
they don’t invite suspicion until she uses specific abilities or until AFTER they are scanned.
and again, they won’t be scanned unless a wizard or a travel gate making sure they don’t take above the grade tech to a lower grade world scans them (and just hyperforce hovering accessories would be enough for that. So in other words trying to hide them would only make them more suspicious.
Just to add, pretty sure space port security would run a very powerful scan on you regardless of anything sticking out, just like the air port does with the metal detectors and X-ray machine; only with much better scanners than those.
So invisible, painted, holograms overlaid…heck chances are the holograms may be too high a grade for some planets *granted not likely the case for Earth as aliens all use hologram masks to look human*, but they would in all likely hood detect an area of “no density” and “no energy signals”…I mean if they were just scanning them they wouldn’t detect anything, which would stand out, but you may actually be making things worse in a way by putting things over them, as like the tube NOW there is an empty volume inside the space of the hologram or the target area of a cloak emitter…remember holograms, cloaks, phase devices, all require emitters, a power source and such; that would be detected, so follow the paths and boom…a suspicious empty space that in all likelihood wouldn’t be regarded as the hypothetical Nth tech but rather (scanner jammer, they must be trying to smuggle something)
for to quote a high level being:
Do not simply look for solutions to your problems, but also examine the problems to your solutions.
They don’t have to look suspicious, only visible. It’s never too late to hide your junk! If there’s ever anyone looking for her, glowing orbs are an easy way to pick her out. Well, there’s also the tube for that.
That wasn’t the concern, the concern was evading scanning. As in how to prevent them from being detected BY a scanner if she chose to use a gate or had to pass a weapon’s check by a wizard or advanced civilization or other such scenario where such a thing simply could not be avoided.
and yes, she can just stick them in the tube for *incognito* given how some people won’t even recognize some celebrities without trade mark hair styles, facial hair, or clothing when out in public. But again, the main concern of the discussions wasn’t going incognito but figuring out a way to cheat scanners, not avoid them.
But that’s the point.
If you are seeing holograms, you expect them to be projections of light…with nothing inside.
If you scan them to make sure they are holograms…you do see the projections of light…and you don’t see the orbs because they’re visually covered by the holograms. Scanning the holograms sees NOTHING BUT the holograms…which is why that would actually work to obscure the orbs. If the hologram obscures the orbs from your eyes seeing them, then you wouldn’t know that the orbs are in there with a scan.
It’s when you have the regular orbs, you can see them with your eyes, but when you scan them there is nothing “actually there” that it becomes Highly Suspicious. This is why the squidwards freaked out. They visually saw the orbs, but when they scanned them, there was nothing there inside the sphere of space they occupied…though they were apparently radiating energy outside of those spheres.
Masking it with hologram orbs would give a “reason” for there to be a visual component. The source would be the holographic projector…and it would be assumed to be 100% the result of the holographic projector and nothing more.
Air, matter, energy. These things would be inside the sphere of a real hologram.
if they do a deep scan, they will detect “nothing” in the most literal sense, as in where there should be matter and energy they have found nothing they can scan; that is extremely suspicious.
I think some of this talk is confusion over the word “nothing” as it has more than one definition.
Its not “we aren’t detecting anything” its “we aren’t detecting ANYTHING” as in the space where space should be has no space. Like holes or voids in the air, it is rather suspicious a thing to detect.
So the hologram over the orbs should be a hologram of the orbs. Likely, atmosphere (or the lack of it) is filtered out in scanning (squelch) in the same way ships on ocean filter waves out of the radar screen.
however, putting Holograms over them would allow a scan to detect light coming off them (remember, Dabbler was puzzled that she COULDN’T detect the light she was seeing) and would detect as holograms. Detecting that something is there and it’s a hologram is less suspicious than scanning something you can see and getting…nothing.
Dabbler and anyone else would have to have a pretty awful scanner to not detect the source of the hologram and its power source is not the orbs, or scan through what is only light to detect areas of nothing that the orbs are not the source of the projection or the power for the hologram would be pretty easy to detect for any scanner…pretty sure even current Earth tech could detect that a hologram is receiving no energy from the orbs and isn’t being produced by them.
Especially as magic and some advanced tech is available on Earth, including disguise technology (see bank robber incident at the start), so counter tech and magic is available, and something like false perception and tactical misdirection would be something to be trained for.
There are possibilities here. One is the Cyclops Gambit. “What do you detect?” “Holographic spheres and nothing.” “Fine. Pass her through.”
Another possibility is that they see holographic orbs and they detect holographic orbs. Pass them through. They detect what they see. All that other crap is a negative result, As in they see orbs but they do not detect anything. If she has holographic orbs (or hard light orbs, should Cora instead issue her a generator) and they detect those, that’s what is detected.
The third case some are fixating on is that sensors are designed to detect nothing. Think about that. What are they detecting, exactly? Give them something to detect, like plastic balls and a wire hanger system, and they will report what they detect.
Its not so much they are detecting nothing, but that they are detecting potentially displaced volume. The space should have air in it, or some other mass, but instead its like a hole.
One scenario though with that could be that them being in the tube caused this problem, they were still, and occupying a small enclosed space that should have been filled with air “too empty”; while Dabbler just back no feed back despite what she could plainly see.
keeping moving in a pseudo-orbit above her head and this displacement might not be as obvious. But try to isolate one and its a problem (see Dabbler trying to get a good scan of them). In fact if the scanners on the station are automatic, she might be able to just walk right through as the machines will detect nothing *as in no feed back, no anomaly, maybe some weird air current but nothing outside the norm, an actual observer though may question why there is no feed back on what they can see.
However trying to disguise them could result in an error on an automated device, “holograms detected…displacement incorrect for holographic projection, potential scanner jammer, call security personnel for closer inspection for possible smuggling attempt”
The detect a hollow sphere. Because the orbs are large enough they could contain something like an antimatter bomb they do a deeper scan. And when they do a deeper scan they detect a lack of absolutely everything including energy, matter, and other stuff that is normally present in space-time. So they do the equivalent of a body search and make her deactivate the hologram and boom suddenly they are confronted with the orbs.
And if she is not in a situation where she is being actively scanned then nobody is really going to care about the orbs in the first place.
Then the answer is easy. Skip the holograms, and get a vacuum tube. Stick the orbs in the tube before customs, depressurize, and walk on through.
“What’s in the vacuum tube, officer?”
“Nothing, sir, looks like it’s pumped to vacuum. The scans reveal no alterations to the factory-spec tube, so it’s not likely a smuggling attempt.”
“Fine, pass her throu- wait, is that the Hot Sauce Human? Pull her aside for a random inspection, I want an autograph!.”
Clearly the orbs are only able to let her eat Grakz, as any alien knows.
That sounds like a future upgrade to me.
The lovecraftian horror aliens that wrecked Sciona’s home world where somehow able to scan Sydney’s orbs weren’t they? i mean they got SOMETHING out of it.
Maybe. The information on their display may have just been that scanning was impossible, or something similar to that.
The mechathulhu managed to get a partial scan on two of the orbs (the shield and life support) before Sydney’s shield blocked the scan ( https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2886 ). The other orbs were just black voids… though it did also see the neural energy within Sydney’s body…
But, the two orbs it did get a partial on were the ones that were doing something active… given the state of the atmosphere on Alari Prime, the team should have been coughing from the smoke and dust in the air, but they weren’t. Hence saying the Life Support was active.
In the moment before shield activation, you can see a green entry on the shield’s scan output… suggesting it detected the shield activation. Which mildly upset Squid mcKREEEEEEEEEE!
But everyone else trying to scan them has just received suspicious voids where the orbs are. Maybe Squid’s race has encountered Nth tech before and are under orders to annihilate without prejudice any users of it.
Taking another look at that page, all of Sydney’s orbs scanned as “nothing”, but the two (assumed to be) active had text overlays — and, as you noted, a color change when the shield was being activated. This may imply that while the spheres were unreadable, some of the effects they’re having around them (before becoming “active”) can be detected. Or as you said, the planet-wreckers have encountered it before under hostile conditions or otherwise consider it a threat to them — or others, as we don’t know their true motives, do we?
Well looking closely at the pic, they saw black where the orbs should be *which could mean…void, error, air density displaced but nothing can be seen doing it*
it was when Sydney called the shield orb to her and used it, looking like a quasi nervous system light up with an energy output that the octo-drone “freaked out” and signaled the attack ship to show up and send down a kaiju.
Store them in a container of vacuum.
Fin.
Make it a cold vacuum tube and yeah…that could actually mask them to a scanner (no air, and very low energy). Granted customs may ask why you have a cold vacuum tube, but this is the best solution I’ve seen so far.
“Cause customs.
“Seriously, you guys. Last time I took this ‘empty’ bottle full of ordinary air through a station, they put me through 9 degrees of questions because they thought they found a super-virus in it capable of ending all RNA based life. Six hours of harsh questions and an curt apology later and I still don’t know what twigged their sensors to a non existent virus.
“I wanted to avoid that on this trip, so I emptied the bottle completly. Do you want me to open it so that you can check it visually? Or will you arrest me for stealing a bottle of station air if I do that?” *death-glare*
Funny thing is, airport security is so insane I actually can’t tell if that is sarcasm or an exaggeration of an actual thing that happened to you.
-see *they mistook the lotion for plastic explosive*, my soda can for a grenade, and some catnip for raw opium type stories.
In Harmon’s ‘Team Ups and Crossovers’
(See the ad to the right)
Astra’s enhanced vision could tell they were weird and suggested
plastic covers.
(Which in retrospect may not be a good idea. Sydney needs to be able to touch them.)
Up until her meeting superhumans. The only thing she would have had to be afraid of was airport security suddenly being suspicious about an empty container she’s wearing over her shoulder
There’s a second problem with holographic covers for the orbs:
How does the hologram generator know where to put the fakes to cover the real ones? They’re not scannable… OK, yes, you could probably rig something to look for vacuum spots within the air, but that will get… complicated, especially as you’ll need to predict the paths, and Sydney’s shown they’re basically thought-guided (she’s used that facet of them offensively to take someone down in melee – they apparently hit with bone-breaking force…).
Forget Holo-wings, thought she was going to suggest using holograms to disguise her balls
that’s what HE said
Sydney, dear Sydney, just because they may be unscannable doesn’t mean they are undetectable: anyone with physical optics can see them, and if they get curious and have some sort of portable Scouter they may scan them to get a better idea of what they are
(Nappa voice) Hey Vegeta! What’s that ball’s power level?
(Vegeta voice (Looks confused)) it’s negative 9000?
(Nappa) What? NEGATIVE 9000? There’s no WAY that can be right?
Zack Tilly was thinking of (well, close enough, details are all yours :D)
The orbs have always had a kind of “Neko-mimi” vibe to me – a fashion accessory that’s also a bit whimsical. Unless she actually does something with them, they’re not likely to appear functionally different than those holographic wings unless the viewer has special knowledge about them – in which case it’s already too late.
Yeah, unless she uses them or has to go through a scanner or be scanned chances are they are gathering no more attention that having hover rings around your wrists,
and we know things that look like them exist, Zeph confirmed this Waaaay back, chakra orbs, elemental spheres, spirit seals, ect….there are other items that have a similar appearance, the only things giving the orbs away is their unscannability…and even their powers didn’t really get much of a glance other than how many there were until she just now unlocked one that manipulates something to create a type of portal that normally can’t be opened except with extreme power that even these dyson sphere building aliens can’t compact to a tiny palm sized bauble. Which presumably open the Aetherium Causeway or any other Aetherium manipulation is a one time deal *especially with the sacrificing part*.
I imagine its a lot like the Light Hawk wings from Tenchi Muyo. If you didn’t know what they were you’d likely think they were photon blades or something. But they are extremely power, and it is extremely difficult for anyone to produce even just one light hawk wing. Which is why the Jurains are so feared as they have ships that regularly can produce three or four light hawk wings. With the super secret, it must be precursor tech (or so most believe) Jurain flag ship Tsunami able to produce ten light hawk wings *in truth Tsunami is a ship built by and is part of the body of a universe builder.
So yeah, chances are most think they are either baubles or magic spirit balls or something, its only through a deep scan, or if she uses a higher function that does something that becomes “now…hold on a minute did she just…” she is fine. Right now most her powers are neat, air, a 16 ton life tentacle, an explodey cutter beam (lots of people have explodey beams after all), a personal force field whose strength can’t be told just by looking at it. The only thing before now that really caused any concern was her powerful true sight seeing through a beholder’s beauty succubus glamor, alien tourist disguise masks, and the veil of shadows for the supernatural community. Which Archon alone decided…yeah let’s keep that one top secret.
So now she just has a second top secret power, a super powerful and advanced portal to the depths of the universe.
I get the feeling this is going to turn into a case of, fine you can have a souvenir, but it has to be something practical; and Sydney gets a translator as the end result.
Welp, I was wrong LoL.
That would have been the predictable outcome to this scenario, not the Sydney outcome.
The Cora Commander’s last question there sounded like a predetermined text line you would expect in a videogame. Also I thought the holomerch was a shop pandering to a race of videogame characters and it was actually the character change shop with the holomerch being just to shop what it would look like. So it basically is just like those gift shops that sell glow stick merch in different shapes and colors.
Usual. The word you are looking for is usual.
I’m curious whether Sydney will even remember the knicknacks once Cora points out to Sydney that Sydney just wrapped herself around a naked woman.
Well she could just start flirting…i suspect Dabler May have mentioned Sydney might be a bit of a prude.
Sydney, this is a great way to get this girl to decide that you shouldn’t have those orbs…
Since the orbs are Nth level tech that is bonded to Sydney, I don’t think they can be taken away. Shield + untraceable gateway are still and option for Syd if she needs to get out of there.
Being bonded for life does not mean that they can not be taken away.
There is a glaringly obvious loophole. Which is why Core said that at best Sydney would be drafted. At worst….
At worst they set up a deathtrap consisting of a ocean giant planet of boiling sulfuric acid with force fields pinning her in place. Or a sniper waiting for her to go to bed.
And in the last panel Sydney once again becomes the Sydney we all know and love. She couldn’t re,ain calm and serious forever lol!
I get the feeling we are going to have a reversal moment where Cora is like, “okay NOW I can see how you’re Dabbler’s friend.”
I wouldnt be surprised if you are right.
Methinks Sydney will be riding back to Earth in the cargo hold…or the brig.
This just occurred to me, and should have occurred to me several strips ago.
What Deus is really at the Fracture to buy.
He is a forward thinker right? and we know cusp of FTL and just over that line will trade with each other.
Now Deus can’t show Archon, or the aliens currently in contact with Earth’s secret society stuff his current portal; because it uses a stolen magical item as its main function.
He also can’t duplicate that.
So; if he buys at the Fracture the component *repair* parts for star gates he can take those back, have his scientists study, reverse engineer and then build their own from Earth materials (that way the parts of the gates he builds don’t have any “Made by the Glob’tharkians” stamped all over them) and can then claim Machina industries has developed its own star gate technology; with him at the helm, patent it so any other star gates built on Earth pay him royalties; which there will be a lot for travel and trade with space.
and become even richer and famous as the man who ushered humanity into the interstellar era.
Makes a lot of sense and lines up several of the MacGuffins we know about.
Very good point there, I think something along those lines is definitely one of the reasons he is there. That and picking up his own set of holographic wings.
That’s pretty shrewd, and exactly what I’d expect from Deus. :3 Good thinking!
You know…….he could just use the free wifi to download some “historical science manuals” and upgrade earth’s teck by 5 years, every year.
It would be an absurd growth rate of tech, at low wrisk/cost.
Hmn…so he could pull a “Rasmussen”
https://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Berlinghoff_Rasmussen
Funny enough Men in Black, had a scene like this. The MIB was funded by releasing alien technology to the public in small increments over the years and made money off the patents, taking baby steps so it felt natural.
The thought of Nth tech in the hands of someone with so little impulse control and so much aggression is actually quite terrifying.
then again she hasn’t gone berserk w them.
Could it be that her aggression and poor impulse control is a means of venting without using the orbs?
I just love Cora’s expression, in the final panel. Her first exposure to ‘the Full Sydney’!
Indeed:
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1062
Dabbler technically only got a ‘half-Sydney’. Only one leg. Cora got the full Sydney.
For the last couple pages, i have been waiting for Sydney to over react to something…
had i thought ahead would of commented on the last couple comics simply “wait for it…”
I like the little Amiga bouncy ball holo.
Wonder if the vendor has a Leia holo.
I am checking out the holo-mannequin display with the devil horns and angel halo.
-I wander how many have put those on just to mess with agrarian class civilizations…
although I am left to wander if races with horns are at all offended when non-horn bearing races put on fake horns…like that old Robin Williams skit with the face alien antenna bobbles (not as funny since they landed).
Am I the only one who sees the starship Enterprise on the left?
This is great! XD After all, you’re not a true Sydney connoisseur if you haven’t had the full Sydney experience. Now Cora understands the greatness. :D
To be fair holographic angel wings would fit with her Codename. That and she could do a really convincing Mercy cosplay.
There are a couple of ideas that have occurred to me, one quite some time back
and one with the last few strips.
First, the reason the orbs are unscannable Is because they are Not actually there.
They are just the interface.. Like the police box Is to the doctors TARDIS.
The three-dimensional camouflage ForThings that in higher dimensions might be the size of worlds.
The second is that the orbs are the 3-D appearance of an actual “Nth level” Being
which is playing its version of a video game, with Sydney as their avatar.
it would certainly explain the skill tree, as Sidney plays she’s earning experience points,
and the orbs while fully intelligent, Aren’t directly interfering because it would be against the rules of the game.
which will probably continue until She either fills all the spaces, or Dies through either misadventure, or old age, and if she wins she’ll get to put her initials up on the multi-reversal scoreboard.
I love how Sydney goes full “9-year-old with aunt at the mall” on her in the last panel.
Herculoids spotted.
Aw, heck – if Schlock’s Mercenaries makes regular stops here, Sydney’s orbs would seem interesting, but hardly unusual.
Shlock is old enough that the timelines work for him to be there – the rest of the Toughs won’t be born for a long, long time. That said, most space-faring civilizations the Grrlverse are pretty old so some floating balls aren’t a big deal unless you know what to look for – and in Sydney’s case, so far no one does (except the Squiddies).
My head canon (aside from just being for the readers non-canon cameos), is that the cameos are the result of Sydney’s meds starting to wear off. She sees them, but isn’t reacting to them, as she knows she can hallucinate. Much like how she didn’t react to the puppet of Maxima back in the restaurant because she just figured it was a hallucination so tried to ignore it.
So we get to see what she is seeing overlaid on this otherwise totally alien environment.
The cameos are for the amusement of the readers.
All Sydney is seeing is weird aliens.
She wouldn’t recognise Captain Kirk (any version) if WE saw him.
Well, yes, obviously, why that is the first theory put forth), in response to overthinking a cameo that doesn’t line up chronologically.
It’s like when they do a movie based on real events: most of the time the person chosen to portray a real person has only a passing (at best) resemblance, other times doesn’t look any thing like them
Which implies that Sydney reads Schlock!
“Forcibly drafted in the the defense force” That’s sounds like a BAD IDEA! Do you really want to risk your draftee fragging the flag dreadnaught?
This is why conscript armys have issues. If you don’t want to be there you can always find a way to inconveance the people who put you there. One reason the I giggle when I read articles about the us army wanting to reactivate the draft for their “Cyber command” since all the good it people won’t work for them willing. You really want to have people who with that skill who don’t want to be there working on your network????
Funny thing is, that Aetherium Causeway is causing this discussion, because aside from it the scanning issue is the only other clue so far of the orbs being more than magic.
and what’s funny about that is, if we look at the skilltree, while the speed chain had to be maxed out to access the Aetherium Causeway…it is only BLIP 1 of its chain.
on top of that…kind of curious what the blip bridge between shield and PPO was for…maybe energy backlash auto defense? We may never know unless each blip gets explained at some point.
But the real ontop of is, there is another chain that is inaccessible for the flight orb, likely requiring all the speed and all the portal blips filled out before unlocking the last flight orb chain so…
yeah, of course maybe the portal chain will affect size of the gateway or other functions of it like retrieve rather than travel or see what is on the other side, more specific destination like (select world, then select point on world). But the big deal is…just making the Aetherium Causeway is a big deal…and its just the start of its chain…which may be needed to unlock yet another chain just for that orb.
of course going back and studying that skill tree, I wander if the shield orb’s blips filled out actually aren’t strength of the shield but how much it can expand, and her shield is still at power 1 for its type.
One of the upgrades of the shield ought to be ability to conform to Sydney… sort of like a hard light projection, or maybe a millimeter out from her skin, whatever it takes to include her uniform and gear. Of course, this would require some kind of accommodation for breathing.
So like Maxima’s defense aura.
But if it is like the bubble from Star Gate Atlantis it could be a tad awkward, granted that episode was only because he couldn’t turn it off…and for some reason while it allowed light and gas to pass through, nothing of any higher density could…so he was at risk of dying of thirst or hunger if they couldn’t get it turned off.
Makes me think of the Marvel characters Skids and Unus the Untouchable.
“I would suggest hiding them” says the woman who found them on the ocean floor of a backwater planet…
That is damn funny right there… heh…
No one else noticed? Sydney tackles Cora the Explorer, she starts to go down butt her bewbs go up :D
Cora just got Sydney’d :D
Damn, I just noticed, too!
Obviously some sort of zero-g projector to prevent sagging.
Ya know, it has just occurred to me that I don’t think anyone has commented yet on something specific in that last panel.
Specifically the way how Cora’s boobs are bouncing upward in freefall as Sydney attempts an otako-glomp style takedown tackle. It’s subtly done, but very nicely done all the same.
:D
She might have to pack a lunch, but she she can get the “address” and come back in plenty of time for xmas shopping.
I just realized – the first thing Sydney should have done after she popped out of the Causeway (after verifying she was in a safe position) is to pull the ‘history’ back up and see if there were any changes. A new icon in the list, different highlighting, an extra slot… any change at all would be pretty good feedback on whether it is in fact a history / bookmark function.
People are suggesting different covers for Sydney’s orbs. My suggestion would be to go for the little tweeting birdies. That way if she was in a fight the enemy would think she just got hit on the head and was incapacitated.
Brilliant suggestion! :D
Of course…With a name like Halo, sydney just HAS TO HAVE holographic wings. It’s a “superhero image” thing. The way she’s going about getting it is typical Sydney-style. I mean, let’s face it, Sydney was willing to sacrifice a part of her arm just so Dabbler could give her Hammerspace ability.
Sydney’s behaving like this makes her, as Bill Mauldin once had a WW II comic put it: “A fugitive from the Law of Averages.”
It’s just a matter of time before something like this comes back to bite her…hard.
A bit late, but the thought just hit me that if Aetherium Causeways are so rare, wouldn’t it be a big deal to whoever is running the station that someone showed up out of one? And not only that, it was a single individual and not a capitol ship. You would think the local authorities would be scrambling to figure out what was going on. I am assuming of course that the station has an outward-looking defense structure to monitor the surrounding areas of space for incoming traffic and possible threats.
Good point, and perhaps they are investigating. But that’s not something they are going to advertise. They might not actively try to keep it a secrete, but I doubt they would be throwing up alerts and sounding sirens.
Furthermore, they might not be setup to detect an individual. Cora’s sensors didn’t seem to detect that an individual went through the causeway – just that it opened. They might just be scratching their heads wondering why a causeway opened briefly and nothing came through.
Don’t ask.
Don’t tell.
Given that she has some range on the orbs (say 10 ft) couldn’t she let someone else “hold” the orbs from 8 feet from the portal to not trip the scanner then step through. Although the question of what would happen if she was on one side of an open portal while the orbs were on another side when it closed.
No,
for the same reason you couldn’t got to the air port, hand someone a gun as you step through the metal detector, and then have them toss it over the top of the metal detector to you once you are on the other side.
on that second point, well…maybe THAT’s how the orbs ended up on the sea floor. Some enemy or Galaxy Police, Dimension Police, or Council of the Continuum or something figured out how to get the individual with the orbs through a portal and then cut it off before the orbs could get through, severing their connection so the orbs ended up on the sea floor while the previous user was whisked away to parts unknown.
And leave something so obviously powerful and dangerous behind? o_O
Too dangerous to take with us? possible scenario. They separated the being from the orbs, like separating the Silver Surfer from his board; and couldn’t risk the orbs getting back to them so had orders to leave them behind; or something happened during the separation. If the super ascended avatar theory holds weight we’d have a “game over” followed by their prisoner exploding like a supernova *well, I’d program a Predator “Yuatja” like *fuck you* into the system if they managed to pull off this trick to depower the avatar.
Followed by any survivors either assuming the orbs also exploded, or are too dangerous to go looking for.
Or something less extreme like they just couldn’t find them when they came back, they can’t be scanned, and while they may displace air and water, you probably need to get pretty close to really pick up such small displacements. That said, of note is a more suspicious thing, there are seven of them…and they were left behind on the ocean floor…and we presume they ALL stayed in the same spot?
This means they likely weren’t meant to be dropped there, or they even without a “host” tether to each other so gradual currents and such other variables couldn’t move them too far from one another. Or only one orb is actually “real” and the other six are dimensional distortion interface projections for Sydney to interact with…and possibly she can’t even see or touch the one “real” one yet until she finished filling out that plip pie chart in the center of her skill tree.
or, when separated from the orbs the unknown individual just “vanished” a game over alternative to the explodes scenario, or some other *dusts, liquefies, ect…scenario of vanishing so they figured the now hard to find orbs dropped into the ocean likely vanished too…or an alarm went off and the party responsible had to contend with a “mama bear” situation and the existence of the orbs was wiped from their memories, and the orbs just left behind for…reasons.
I mean, we can grasp at laser pointer straws all day, only DaveB really knows the reason, but it is an interesting thing to think about; its the central driving point that set off this entire series’ backstory fro Sydney and the more she learns the more its “now wait a minute…why exactly were these just lying on a shallow sea floor and not even the magical critter brigade knows about them?*
Mmm I think Orz‘s suggestion has merit. In fact if the orbs’ non-detection is good enough to stop it triggering automated scan/embargo control systems it may not be needed at all!
Plus Sydney can simply order the orbs to follow behind her, rather than needing an accomplice. This assuming that you pass through a scaner, to get into the gate (and that they are positioned close to one another. That way even if there is a risk of detection, it would be delayed enough that transit may be possible.
But let us assume that there would be guards who’s suspicions may be raised, or that not being able to scan something that can otherwise be seen will, in itself trigger an alert,* then hiding the orbs, on her, is best.
There is only one sure-fire means of foiling the mist sophisticated scanners, that the Xeovarchy possess!
Cora shall have to go pick up Tubey!
* As seemed to happen with the scanning critter that summoned the ships.
Has anyone considered, that if Sydney wants to leave; they may not be able to stop her?
If you are talking about leaving Archon, then yes. From the outset. It is one of the reasons why Maxima worked so hard to form a bond with Sydney. The only thing which keeps her there is her desire to remain.
As for the alternative take on your question, it is apparent that gate and docking controls cannot impede Halo. Whilst giant warships only give her more experience and help to unlock even more powers!
And when they follow her back to her home planet because she juggernauted her way through a neutral trading post of the Xevoarchy alliance or whatever, causing problems for the rest of her planet?
Friends, family, favorite place to eat, her job; there are plenty of good reasons not to bring the heat, hammer, foot, other shoe, tentacles of whipping, or whatever down on you no matter how powerful you are, unless you are a complete sociopath…or have powers much higher than what Sydney has an can order the space empires to back off or else *and even then, you are still screwing things up for everyone else you care about who could have benefited long term from contact with aliens*
While your points are well made, the idea of Sydney facing down an alien fleet while wearing a bow tie and saying “Hello, I’m the Mighty Halo. Basically, run” makes me happy in so many ways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ovuqT5LSmA for those who don’t get the reference.
Bowties are not cool! And a fez is not a fashion accessory!!
When was this episode made?
Because I remember a fanfic from sometime ago that was essentially this same thing; mainly poking fun at how overpowered and basically an eldritch abomination the doctor had become. It was a cross-over fanfic with Marvel where the doctor did this same basic thing to Galactus, a “you may not recognize the face, but you do recognize the police box, you should just leave now”.
DaveB really has the 3D look down pat. Anime style not withstanding, Sydney looks like you could walk around her, and see her from any angle!
Plus the reflections in her glasses are awesome. They help draw your desire to see what it is, that has caught her attention.
lol at “The orbs can’t be scanned.” Dabbler couldn’t scan them. But there have been a lot of exceptions to what Sydney is stating as a rule:
1) A few mages were able to put together a fairly comprehensive dossier on them in just a few hours
2) Also squidward and company seemed to be reacting to their scan of the orbs.
3) Krona was able to see things that others obviously could not when the orbs entered their ‘level-up’ configuration. Obviously her power set ‘scans’ more about the orbs than does the standard issue eyeball.
Squidy and co reacted badly because of not being able to scan them: they could see that something was there to be scanned, butt the results came back as negative nothing
Kronachrome didn’t scan Sydney’s balls, she just examined the Pop-up Screen
The absence of feedback from a scan is a certain kind of feedback.
We also don’t really know what the squidward scan returned. It did seem to trigger their attack, but given the state of the planet it seems as though “attack” isn’t an uncommon state of being for those fools.
CORA: “You don’t want cheap stuff like that, Sydney! Let me get you some functional hard-light wings for you instead. What style would you like? Angel, demon or gossamer faery wings?”
SYDNEY: *head explodes*
The hard-light suit around Cora can control how light moves around or through it. It might be a better choice to give Sydney a hard-light replacement for her glasses. Then she would not have to worry about breaking or losing them again. And she might be able to swing some upgrades such as infrared scanning or telescopic vision. Because Sydney needs super vision. Lots and lots of supervision.
That’s actually brilliant. Instead of a glass lens bending light to alter vision you just have LIGHT bending light.
Only in the form of a responsible adult, which rules out most of ARCHON :P
The Holoshop Shopkeeper is probably thinking…
Ka-Ching!
Non-parental guardian will buy anything to appease that child.
They have money too.
Are those 6502s? They haven’t made those for years.
^^^Read in Mr. Krabbs voice.
Ooo, just had a great idea for your next vote incentive. Cora and Dabbler in holographic lingerie. Mattr of fact that’s a good idea on its own. Can even change color to indicate just how “in the mood” you are.