Comic for Thursday, January 5th
Technically she was on the last page too, but I guess this is the page where we actually see her. We’ll get her name next page, I think. She will show up more in the future I suspect.
I don’t think David likes Arron very much. Conference rooms and ties are not David’s natural habitat. He is pretty bad at conference rooms and ties. That said, his views on Arron, though unpopular in many circles, are not unique. Arron’s history a long and colorful one, and as such leaves both the good and the bad. Treason is a bit of a complicated one, really, because as you may have noticed, the different branches are not exactly cooperative at all times. In theory the military is supposed to be separate of the IDS squabbling, in practice… well, that’s a different story, further complicated by that the Situation Containment branch of the IDS is technically part of the military, even if they are not directly tied to Central Military Command. CMC is sort of parallel to IDS Headquarters branch, with IDS SC falling between them – technically under both of them in the org chart, but frequently not answering directly to either.
Of course, the current status quo is that the military is far smaller than the IDS, but generally has a precedent in matters they are involved with. This is why Arron can use that mantle to do basically whatever he wants (answering only to CMC or the Assembly, neither of which are likely to veto him); this is a legacy that Arron is not entirely un-responsible for, but also one that makes him as unpopular in some circles as he is popular in other.
I’ve sort of fallen behind the plan, so I might miss a week at the end of January. The unfortunately reality of leaving for three weeks is setting in at my job, so things have gotten a little hectic. I don’t know for sure yet, but we’ll see how it goes. Basically this month will likely end up being something of an IOU and we’ll reconvene for damage control in February. I have till the last week buffered anyway though, so we won’t miss a bunch.
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So much long-winded fancy word throwing here….
….but I think the last panel was the best. Six words and one line and yet for some reason gives me the impression of either “the authority in the room” or some (possibly extreme) “tranquil fury“.
On other notes, I doubt David here thought of the part where perhaps “trying to prevent what happened from happening” is what caused it to happen in the first place.
Also, it’s nice to see Arron with stomping boots on for a change. Looks like mostly just a political spar so far, but he gets to have a one-up (or three) and not be confused or surprised for 2/3 of the situation, or have to put any tiny clues together to figure things out during the situation! It’s gotta be his best day in weeks, and possibly his best on-panel day ever!
Someday we’ll see Arron sitting in at a table drinking a cup of coffee and reading a proper newspaper made from paper. A paper that’s headline is is “record for most days in a row without a world threatening event”. Then we’ll be seeing his best day ever. Till then he’s got work to do.
And I think I’d bet his cup of coffee that he’s to thank for that headline, too…..based on that.
At the very least he arranged for it.
David seems bitter or defiant. On the surface he just sort of seems like a dumb ass. Maybe he just a dumb ass, but he seems like he has something against Arron personally.
This new girl seems interesting. I am detecting plot importance by the fact she has a distinctive speech pattern, seems to be in charge despite being the youngest looking person in the room, and address Arron by his first name.
Also, Tokiwa’s hopes and dreams being crushed by David’s belligerence is priceless. You have made me feel sorry for a bureaucrat, and that is impressive.
Tokiwa is probably used to David crushing her dreams of dealing with things in an orderly and rational manner. It’s like working in a china shop and your coworker is a bull.
So in the plot to get Peter.
Step 1) Remove Kallisto Summers. This ties up Arron and removes a possible ally of Peter’s. To most of the IDS, she’s his ex that may be helping him and at the very least is in communication with him but hasn’t yet arrested him.
2) Hit AVON. You get MIR captured and look like heroes. Also ties up Tyler and his team.
3) Hit Peter’s apartment. I suspect this was to get Peter/conspirators if they were present, but if nothing else it forces him to move his operation.
4) Capture Peter/conspirators.
Now what in blue blazes did he do to get them this pissed? His attacks on PACT? Possibly, but how do they know?
Mium? AVON doesn’t want to be working with IDS to get Mium back, right? But the troops reacted to Mium’s attack on their electronics quickly. Perhaps they were suspecting it?
Either way, if they are willing to blow up an apartment building and put out that amount of security forces, why not just grab him at school? Sure Tyler and his team are there, but by this point it looks like that would have been the less expensive option. My guess is they think Arron is using Peter as an off the books way of messing with them. If what Peter is doing is bad for them, then Arron, Kally, and everyone in their group is suspect.
Also, possible typo?
Panel 6 “my decisions to the review before the” sounds off unless the Review is some board.
Here’s the thing: I’m not sure this WAS a plot to get Peter, on the assumption that David knew anything about Peter. Its too much of a hammer to kill a fly on a glass table. My bet? They suspect Mr. Warmage and his crew of working for a different group in IDS and were trying to get him and his associates, and somehow that spilled onto Peter’s team.
” My bet? They suspect Mr. Warmage and his crew of working for a different group in IDS… ”
That is an interesting theory. I hadn’t even considered that. But… Sorry, I just don’t buy it. Why go to such extremes to blow up Peter’s house, assassinate Peter’s close associate (Naoimi), and kidnap Peter’s former IDS partner and love interest (Summers)? All supposedly to “investigate” someone else entirely – someone completely unrelated – because they -suspect- Mr. Warmage of working for a separate IDS group that -might- have traitorous ambitions? Even if that was true, it just sounds like a far-fetched and flimsy excuse.
Besides, what connection does Mr. Warmage have with Peter? I don’t recall them ever speaking with each other. Heck, I don’t think they even know each other exists. As far as the readership can tell, it looks like Mr. Warmage has more of a connection with the likes of Jayce Myer or Tyler.
I think anyone would be perfectly within their rights to assume that what’s been going on lately has -everything- to do with Peter. He must be the target and someone really, -really- does not like him.
The only way I can imagine your theory to be accurate is if -the real culprit- had David do these things for them. That is, I -could- imagine someone manipulating David as a way to deal with the threat Peter poses to their clandestine operations. For instance, I suppose it’s possible that someone within IDS fed David false information to trick him into doing these things. I still think that sounds a bit far-fetched, though.
Well, it’s strongly implied that Rovak is working as basically an instigator for Corporate Affairs. But he appears to be working on the same side as these guys, though not entirely aligned. I do not think they were going after him. They basically just ignored him when they met him at Avon.
I definitely think that Situation Containment is being somewhat manipulated into this. They seem somewhat confused as to what is going on at several points, and several of them are distinctly less willing to fight. When they met Rovak, they realized he was a collaborator, but were not seemingly impressed at the thought of working with a warmage (or an I-code user, though I am not sure if that is the same thing).
I think this operation was definitely to go after Peter, but my current theory is that Peter is a part of something bigger than we have seen. They several times refer to a conspiracy, and I am not sure they are wrong.
There is an outside chance that Peter is in fact still working for Arron. We have not seen an internal monologue that directly contradicts this. While I do not think it is the case, it is a real possibility on the table still. The main evidence against this is that Arron does make some effort to arrest Peter early on, and makes no indication that Peter is undercover.
There is a much more real chance that Peter is working for Kyle Kepler, though the only real evidence for this is the Kyle was utterly ambivalent and unsupervised when Arron tells him Peter went rogue, Kyle has Query and does not seem concerned about being spied on, and Kyle is Peter’s father.
Lastly, I think they believe that Peter and Avon are working together. I do not think one operation hitting them both was a coincidence. They specifically targeted Mir and Peter.
This goes into a deeper level. Martin is missing. If the IDS at some got a hold of Martin, he could identify the two people that have knowledge of his work (which included at very least badass AI research). Those would be Mir and Peter. Something happened that made the IDS go way overboard trying to snap up two specific targets. Peter and Mir, both the people that would be capable of carrying on Martin’s research.
Of course, Martin might BE Peter, in which they could still be trying to wipe out Martin’s research by having targeted Martin and Mir.
The other possibility is if they think Avon stole the bridgepoint research. They would hit Avon, yes, but they also suspect Peter for aiding the theft (or perhaps doing it on behalf of Avon as we know he has some connection to them, and they might know that too). This makes more sense on some levels, but would not explain why they specifically target Mir, as she seems to have nothing to do with that.
Sorry, that got a little out of hand. I only made half those connections after I started typing and got excited. I used to hate writing essays. If only I could have written book reports about this comic instead, it would have been no problem.
To add to this train:
Peter was not caught unawares by any of this.
He said it was annoying and a few months early.
(you see peter preparing to leave his apartment way back here)
That someone would go to such lengths as to kidnap someone means that someone really has a grudge, or a sociopath, or they really think that Kally and Peter are still an item. (and they kidnapped her, because killing her would cause all kinds of internal problems)
The piece that I cannot put together is the Kors world operative. Its timing is too conspicuous. Tom believes that it was just a ruse. But, ruses don’t display tech that is other-worldly. Autonomous, spell casting, battle-robots and a floating platform with a rail gun are things we haven’t seen either side use. So, is that Kors world operative working with a faction of IDS?
The real question is why did Peter go rogue? There is a big hole missing here. It wasn’t because he found out that IDS was not the “good guys” they claim to be. It wasn’t because he developed an AI. Either it was some hella big secret, or he met someone/something that completely changed the game.
Or, he had to protect Miko (and that is a different story)
Jumping back on my own train. New Hypothesis. Too late for full thoughts, but if I don’t post I’ll forget.
Been rereading looking for things I’ve missed.
New facts:
Peter said this was likely a response to save face with PACT.
We know that They’ve been allowing smuggling to occur and Tyler’s made that a pain.
Taking out Peter and crew stops Tyler from doing that. PACT is safe.
My original objection: AVON is part of PACT. Illogical to hit themselves that badly.
Counter: They *were* part of PACT. When Rovak hits AVON, he says he’s there to discuss why they pulled out of PACT.
Why leave PACT? Skirmish with PACT over Jayce Myer. AVON attacks IDS ship.
IDS hired Rovak to make a scene so they could save the day and prove they were taking actions. Also, punishment.
What prompts this?
KOR World attack. Reports indicate 2 AIs fighting over the system. AVON makes AIs and I bet dollars to donuts that Peter left IDS for AVON a year ago. If David and crew assume that Peter, Kally, and Arron are working together, I bet they’ll think the same of Peter’s ex employers, especially since he still has an AI.
Thus, hitting AVON isn’t just about getting a great AI scientist to help them figure out what’s going on. Its about showing the rest of PACT they are in control. Its about removing another of Peter’s back up supports and its about punishing anyone that *thinks* of leaving PACT.
Second reaction. Sabotage of Bridgepoint Data. Possibly KOR’s World? Seems unlikely though. Hypothesis: AVON working with KOR’s World? Too little data.
Oh. And new scary lady ordered it all I bet. “She’s a regional director of corporate affairs.” Others mention crazy lady won’t be happy. Higher than David.
http://pastutopia.com/?comic=comic-for-thursday-may-19th
“Hypothesis: AVON working with KOR’s World? Too little data.”
Even if AVON isn’t working with KOR’s world, they at least have access to their tech if Peter on this page: http://pastutopia.com/?comic=comic-for-monday-november-16th : is correct.
Peter may have given that to them. He may have taken it it to them to try to figure out. Or that’s why he went there in the first place.
I suspect they are not working with Kor’s World, just because Kor’s World seems too arrogant to bother. All evidence points to them viewing locals as basically subhuman or insignificant.
I definitely think they have Kor tech though, especially considering their tech level is pretty much a whole level above the rest of what we’ve seen.
Hmm David is currently making me think of that imperial officer who thought it was a good idea to mouth off at Lord Vader.
Few people accuse David of being exceedingly clever, or picking and choosing his fights well…
That said… I am going to think that Darth Vader is probably less of an agreeable sort than… well… anyone. 😉
Um, David. I think you should listen to the advice of Tokiwa and stop digging yourself into a deeper hole. Unless you intend to dig all the way through the world. At which point I have to question why you think its worth the effort and sacrifice.
He decided a shovel just wasn’t doing it, so his brought in the backhoe for massive earth moving potential in his hole digging. Truly, a noble explorer at the depths he is reaching.
panel 6: “what exactly are you IMPLYING you would do about me exercising MY AUTHORITY, to remove your pet witch of debatable loyalties, from an area of a delicate operation?”
I meant panel 7. sorry.
Panel 8: “tried for treason”.
It could be tried with treason, but most english vernacular, it is “for”
Just a preference, but I think “the area” might sound better.
In panel 8, Considering it entails the kidnapping of AN active duty…
Missing the an
Will go back in again and edit more to pretend to future readers that I know how to grammar. Wow is that really spelled grammar? That is ridiculous. It should be grammer.