The Far Side of Utopia

Would you look at that, I got the year correct. Probably.

Happy 2024, everyone!

I’ve given some thought to what I’d do with the comic in 2024, but for the time being, decided to keep going as we’ve been going. I’ll update folks if my thoughts evolve.

I try to avoid summarizing things too much, but I figured I’d give a brief rundown as a refresher to what is currently going on, as a sort of start of new year.

Current Arc Plot Summary

There is no new information contained within this summary, but it catches up the last several months of comics for those that want a refresher:

A series of events led to Tyler Weber getting pulled into a pseudo-dimension called the Palace Between by one of the Rogue Family members. Mium ended up getting sent in after him (potentially intentionally), and helped extract Tyler from the pseudo-plane, but remained behind himself. Later, when Arron Kepler returned to Palindra from Central with Mium (in part to get Mium off Central), Mium used that dimension transit to pull the copy of him he’d left behind in the Palace Between out of the psuedo-plane and into Palindra, and leaving his other copy (the one that had originally be departing from Central) unaccounted for.

After returning from the Palace Between with far more information about it, Peter and Mium conclude that the reason the Kor’s World carrier has evaded detection so well is that it hides within the Palace Between when not actively doing things in the real world, and set up a mission to enter the psuedo plane and lay a trap of some kind for it.

In order to ensure that Kor’s World carrier leaves the Palace Between allowing them to get set up for its return, Peter fulfills a previous promise to Arron, and hands over the Bridgepoint Data to Nathan Summers, seemingly expecting the Kor’s World will be able to track the data, and using to spur them into action at a predictable timing. At this point at least Kally realizes that Peter has likely staged his attempts to retrieve the data, meaning he probably had it all along, and simply was coming up with false trails of where he got it, though Peter maintains that he wasn’t the one that originally stole the data and Kally doesn’t press the issue. Nathan realizes he’s being used as bait for some sort of scheme, but doesn’t seem to mind, prioritizing the retrieval of the data as its own one of the IDS’s primary objectives in Palindra.

Peter gathered up a team consisting of, Kally, Miko, Mium, Naomi, Tyler, Elliana, and Ila, and entered the pseudo plane, using a standard dimensional gate which Mium modified that for the purpose (have discovered how to reach its dimensional coordinates thanks to his own impromptu trip there, and using the Central dimension transit to fish himself back out of it).

They immediately split up on entering the Palace Between to secure differing objectives.

Naomi and Tyler make their way to their edge of the main structure they find themselves in, causing an expected ruckus as they travel. Though largely unclear on what the plan is, Naomi doesn’t seem particularly concerned, assuming that if they don’t know what the plan is, their role in the plan is just do what they’d be expected to do, which Tyler finds somewhat troubling, but is eventually pulled along with. They are last seen running along the edge of the Palace Between fighting off strange red constructs that appear to be either spirits or demons of some sort.

Ila and Elliana haven’t been seen, but considering that Elliana had unfinished business with the Rogue Family leader Saldur, and some not-clearly-specified deal with Mium and Ila, it is likely they are dealing with those elements, concluding their business and ensuring that the Rogue Families are unable to interfere.

Miko and Mium have made their way to some location within the Palace that allows Mium to manipulate the Palace, which he does, both allowing Peter and Kally to travel to the top of it, and extending and modifying its structure to bring the Palace far closer to where the Kor’s World carrier is expected to appear, and potentially preparing the Palace in other ways for the upcoming conflict. Miko, originally intended to stay primarily in a strategic reserve role to oversee the operation, grows anxious at the idea of Peter confronting Kor’s World directly, and, seeing how unrestricted Mium is within the Palace Between, decides to move closer to the conflict, preparing to use his priority to protect her to force him (or allow him, depending on your perspective) to act more proactively in the expected conflict.

Peter and Kally have made their way to the newly extended roof of the Palace, where they are not preparing for the arrival of the Kor’s World carrier.

Meanwhile, Kor’s World locate Nathan as predicted, but after a probing attack made with remote controlled mechs, find the situation too suspicious, and withdraw, suspecting a trap.

Which catches us up to the current events.