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Well, probably isn't the selective mind-controlling theory of mine right. But why shouldn't the Templar activate the Tower now? They already have Trace, so they don't need the Basitins anymore and drive all Basitins in range of the Tower mad to make a pre-finishment field test of the Tower's powers. Actually, we have seen just the situation inside the room. Maybe the next comic contains that Natani stuns Keith with a aimed strike just to see that she will be attacked outside by normal (but mind-controlled) Basitin citizens (not soldiers).



Hasn't Flora stated, the Keidran suspects the Towers are weapons? And Euchre stated that the Towers will turn the Keidran instincts against them? I don't know, but if a otherwise morally immaculate person like Keith attacks his supreme love interest with blank hate and grunts a little bit at the same time, doesn't that look like magic-induced instinct-collapse?

Anyway, Keith is supposed to be the hero of this chapter (according to the chapter-page), so he hasn't to much space to muse about this duty vs. conscience-problem: he has to save Trace and clear the relationship-triangle with Laura and Natani.

[/2cents]

Okay, read through the 31 pages... more or less @.@ took me a few days.

(Day 1: Okay, comic not updated yet... maybe there's some discussion going on.... holy jibblies that's a lot of pages
Day 2: Do I really want to read that?
Day 3: well, got nothing else i want to do on the internet...
Day 4: 17 pages... holy cow it's grown more, still no update. I hope the next update isn't a cut away or filler...
Day 5: skiming... tower control, keith lost his mind, naked fight time, panda, avwolf's said just about everything I'd want to say)

Just want to say that I agree that Keith won't die here, as Avwolf said it just makes no sense story wise. Honestly I'm fearing the next update will be a cut away and the next thing we'll see of this fight is a light in the window signifing the deed is done (and hopefully a "hey, she's not dead!" turn up of Natani later to save/help with something).

Recap where everyone is and the situation:
Trace, captured
Ship, docked
Characters, scattered
Area: hostile

So, assume things go with Keith not following the council's orders of killing the spy/assassin (Natani is still under orders to kill Trace, if I recall ;) ), you've got to somehow get everyone togther, rescue Trace, and get off the island.

Also either Alaric is scum or he's a key to this not leading to Trace being turned all uber evil or something through the Templars/Humans. They do need him for their tower, and this could send the party (Keith, Larua, Natani, et all [assume they all live]) to doing something about the threat instead of just simply running away.

Hey, come on now. Without those towers, how would anyone subscribe to XM Radio? That's right, they couldn't!

No killing of Natani that would just make for bad tv.

"These... are the days of our lives..."

Actually, we can guess that the tower is on already -- I'm guessing that Alaric's use of magic demonstrates it. The Basitins do not have latent magical talent like the other races, so they'd need to cheat to get it. But the tower's also unfinished. So unless you're suggesting that this is a "fully operational battlestation" moment, there is still that. I'd also quibble -- there's no such thing as Basitin citizens who are not soldiers, save for those who are too young (and thus are not soldiers yet). Every Basitin is a member of the military, rotating through active duty. But again, we have seen no suggestion that the towers permit mind control of any kind. They seem to induce erratic behavior, but that might well simply be exposure to magic period. The Basitins were (apparently) not meant to use magic when they were created. That they are doing so could have disastrous psychological or physiological consequences. And that's erratic behavior. Not full blown "kill everything" bloodlust. There's no evidence of that anywhere in the comic earlier. If anything, it's likely to make most Basitins confused and docile.


To me, it looks like a man driven over the brink. Would you speak? Keith's terrified his voice will crack. And then he'll break down crying, and he won't have the strength to go through with this. He barely can already. I don't consider those "grunts" so much as raw shouts, a near-scream of raw emotion. He and Natani clearly have feelings for one another, but right now Keith is very confused in that department. Keith would probably have been better off if Laura'd never shown up -- her presence further upsets his emotional equilibrium. But it's not as though Keith is unabashedly in love with Natani. He's trying to deny it at least as much as she is.


heh. You miss the irony in your words. If Keith does not resolve this, he cannot rescue Trace. It's the exact same situation, only less personal. He already told Trace that he might be ordered to do something unpleasant to Trace and would have to go through with it. And Trace absolved him of guilt right then. If Keith does not choose between loyalty to his friends and obedience to his country now, when he's attacking a woman who is his friend, someone who just declared him her best friend, and someone who he feels something for, then there is no more powerful situation which will resolve the dilemma for him. If he does not go through this fire, he will shy from all others. The relationship triangle is a side-plot I wouldn't be surprised to see resolved long after this chapter is over.

Allow me to explain my own psychological reasons for wanting to deny the chance of mind control. If Keith is doing this freely, then there's still a chance for redemption. He can "come to his senses," and both he and Natani can survive this. If he is controlling his own actions, he can choose, in the end, not go to through with it. If Keith is not in control, that will not happen -- he will continue this until one or the other of them is dead. Why would he bother to resist mind control? It means that he doesn't have to feel guilty about Natani's death, and since she dies, he can go back to his people without reservation. He can tell his friends that he was being mind controlled by the evil Templar, and the Templar take the blame for Natani being killed. Mind control is pretty much win-win for Keith. He has no reason to try to stop it, other than pangs of heartache, and he knows already, from experience, that those will eventually fade in time. If that were the case, we would certainly be looking at the death of a character.

Crushing... post...

Can't... breathe...

Fixed.

AWWWW... buzzkill.

HELP! HELP! I can't feel mah legs!!! oh yeah that's right.....

Alright, first: Basitin society has no citizens? What is then this female butcher Trace and Flora met? A Basitin intelligence service black-op? Where were this rotation system stated?

2. Well, I probably had expressed my point somewhat unclear: The mind control isn't the transmission of concrete, complex orders, rather than the manipulation of the psychological make-up of an individual. As you self said (written, whatever) it: The Towers of the mainland placate the Keidran, they switch their mood from aggressive to appeased. Your theory appears at this point coherent: The Basitins couldn't summon mana, now they can it drives them crazy => mind control.

3. It looks more and more to me, that the duty vs. conscience-conflict will be the right explanation for Keith's actions. *sigh* Okay, his behaviour looked somewhat odd in the last few panels (he touched his ears, I mean, wth?), so I thought of mind control, but without it Keith's character could win more depht, so yah...

4. Provided that he is under mind control: Naturally would he try to resist it! He willful kill Natani and "goes back to his people without reservation"? It wouldn't be a "win-win situation" for him, he wouldn't be take such a guilt on his shoulders.

I heard picture says more than a thousand words.

The ears just are too big to avoid :roll:

It's simple -- all Basitins are part of the same army. They are all soldiers. At a certain age, they probably end up in the "reserve" more or less, but that doesn't change the fact that every Basitin is a Basitin soldier in the Basitin army. I would gather that it is not entirely dissimilar to the system that the Israelis and the Swiss have now. It's sort of like mandatory civil service, only taken significantly farther. Every Basitin undergoes military training, and every one of them is an obedient soldier in their society. Just because they're not all wearing armor and toting spears doesn't make them less the soldiers. In fact, those soldiers are going to be fairly small in number and concentrated around the non-Basitins. Without criminals, there's no need for a clear and apparent military or police force to be established throughout the city. Most uniformed soldiers are going to be elsewhere, fighting in the everlasting war, and rotated back to the city only when they're fatigued.


Then we are likely at loggerheads due to a difference of definition. When I consider "mind control" I emphasize the "control" part: to me it implies direction and manipulation. I'd like to point out that if every Basitin on the Isle has now gone crazy, then that this means everybody dies -- the rest of the party has absolutely no chance of survival against the entire Basitin population driven into ravenous bloodlust. Heck, I wouldn't even lay Nora's chances to be very good. But she'd probably just up and leave, observing the insanity from a distance.


Let me see if I can't be more clear, I'll admit this is a muddy point of mine. Right now, Keith is torn between trying to obey his orders and being loyal to his friends (with the possibility of a love interest thrown in for good measure). That dilemma is an incredibly stressful thing for him. So now, take control out of his hands. He'd likely be relieved. He no longer must make a hard choice, he just has to go along with things. In his fragmented state of mind, is Keith even going to have the presence of mind to resist mental manipulation, even if he wants to? Why resist something that's encouraging you to follow your orders anyway?

In the end, Natani is killed, fulfilling his orders and permitting him to return to his people as a full citizen once more. That's effectively a "win" for Keith. He's been trying for years to return, and this horrible order is about the last thing standing in his way.

And if his friends get upset about this, he can excuse it -- "I didn't have control over my actions." When the Templar plot is discovered, the evil Templar will take all the blame for "forcing Keith to kill Natani," effectively absolving him from any guilt. Keith will probably still, to a greater or lesser extent, torture himself over this, but that's what he does. No one will harbor him ill will for the actions undertaken when the Templar drove him insane.

I have that problem a lot, too :?