“I hear that seeing patterns can drive one crazy eventually.”
Not necessarily. Our brains are wired to look for patterns. In general, it is an adaptive trait, which helped humans survive and evolve. However, it is certainly possible to become obsessive about looking for patterns, and to find patterns that aren’t really there, leading to the pattern-recognition trait becoming maladaptive. (Think paranoia, for example.)
That being said, I do suspect it means something that all the individuals who appear to be parts of Gavotte are wearing eyewear that obscures their eyes, except for Mayor Queen. No doubt all will become clear soon.
There’s also the pattern of wearing flowers. I thought at first that Ms. Driver wasn’t, but looking closely, the insignia on her cap looks to be a half-flower.
There’s also literally a term for ‘pattern-recognition gone to the extreme’: apophenia. And a subset of that, pareidolia, involving seeing things like faces in images that aren’t intended to be there.
This is the writing team that has deliberately sprinkled references to “The Wizard of Oz” (and lots of other stories) throughout this comic. If you think that there are no patterns to look for, you’re reading it wrong.
Which doesn’t mean that every pattern found is correct, but still.
While my previous idea that the bus might be described as being Whimsycal seems to have been, once again, completely wrong, it occurs to me now that the bus might also be described as funky.
“Contrariwise” does mean “Contradicting that”, but I don’t get the impression the Bus Driver is addressing Dr Lee’s question at all. In the second panel she’s complaining the VR is representing her as human, in the third, she’s saying that, on the other hand, she’s a pretty cool human.
This only just dawned on me, and hasn’t much to do with this strip or context, but in terms of Oz correspondences, Virginia is … the Wicked Witch of the West.
Virginia is the one who turned Nick the hacker into the Tin Man, by removing his body and replacing it with a metal one. That’s what the Wicked Witch of the West did. (I’m probably not the first to observe this.)
The thing to remember is that she’s become aware of it and is trying to draw back from what she had been. As Moe Lane says in the comments, she’s trying to become the wizard. ^_^
“Just admiring the best mind prison ever!” doesn’t seem to be the sort of thing Gavotte or even a Gavotte fragment would say so I suspect a new character has come onto the scene and that Ginny may be now dealing with the Spark who designed this part of the VR section in the first place. ^.^
I think the driver is saying contrariwise to her own comment in the previous panel, about being anthropoid. She doesn’t seem to like being anthropoid, or would at least prefer to not be, but at least she has a cool hat and a seriously cool bus.
The bus has beelike characteristics. Big buggy ‘eyes’ (windshields), six ‘legs’ (wheels), diaphanous wings sticking out the back, and of course, stripes.
I was leaning towards the driver being Pavane, but after re-reading where we first see her conversation with Sweetheart, I’m leaning against that. Pavane is direct and friendly; a people person. Being oblique and tending to ignore people has been more a trait in common with the Gavotte fragments.
So, new whack hypothesis:
The driver is the fragment that Gavotte sent off in the mating swarm before the beginning of the Very Bad Day. Gavotte was anticipating Anasigma moving against her, and this fragment has most of her memories, especially of classified material.
True, but the bus does follow with Pavane’s name-drop of Lovetron. Also, remember Pavane’s “Sometimes, you folk are barley an improvement over your creators” line, and her initial disappointment with being an anthropoid here. I think she just doesn’t like humans, and is thus being somewhat rude to Virginia.
The connection to Lovetron is just my guess, not anything that follows explicitly from what we see or what the driver says.
That is even more the case if her statements in panels 2 & 3 are interpreted as meaning that just as she would not normally be anthropoid (presumably, she would actually be a (sub-)swarm of bees), the bus would not normally appear as a bus (I suspect it’s actually some software for moving between VRs). The current appearances of both herself and the whatever-it-is-that-now-looks-like-a-bus are the result of the current VR.
Which reminds me of something I’ve been wondering: Are the VRs all just automatic systems, or do at least some of them have some sapience of their own?
And Twirlip of the Mists was ultimately correct, to the extent that we think we understand what he/she/it/they was saying, despite all appearances of being a clueless net-noob.
On the other hand, I’m not convinced that there’s anything very significant about six aspects of Gavotte, compared to five or seven, say.
Six aspects of her personality. Optimism (Bea), organization (Apis), determination (Melanie), predictive logic (Delphi), superego (Queen) and ego (bus driver)
Hm. Dr. Lee notes patterns of responses, but not patterns of eyewear?
I sort of see a pattern. But Mayor Queen has clear glasses. So does Dr. Lee. So does that mean Dr. Lee is part of Gavotte too?
I hear that seeing patterns can drive one crazy eventually.
“I hear that seeing patterns can drive one crazy eventually.”
Not necessarily. Our brains are wired to look for patterns. In general, it is an adaptive trait, which helped humans survive and evolve. However, it is certainly possible to become obsessive about looking for patterns, and to find patterns that aren’t really there, leading to the pattern-recognition trait becoming maladaptive. (Think paranoia, for example.)
That being said, I do suspect it means something that all the individuals who appear to be parts of Gavotte are wearing eyewear that obscures their eyes, except for Mayor Queen. No doubt all will become clear soon.
There’s also the pattern of wearing flowers. I thought at first that Ms. Driver wasn’t, but looking closely, the insignia on her cap looks to be a half-flower.
There’s also literally a term for ‘pattern-recognition gone to the extreme’: apophenia. And a subset of that, pareidolia, involving seeing things like faces in images that aren’t intended to be there.
This is the writing team that has deliberately sprinkled references to “The Wizard of Oz” (and lots of other stories) throughout this comic. If you think that there are no patterns to look for, you’re reading it wrong.
Which doesn’t mean that every pattern found is correct, but still.
Yes, but I can see that the pattern of “eyewear” is possibly weaker than “talks like gavotte”.
It is encouraging to see that – without introduction – the bus driver recognizes Virginia as a doctor.
Yes. I get the idea the bus driver knows who she is and what’s going on. Perhaps Mayor Queen isn’t really the queen after all.
My understanding is that the queen is more like the reproductive system rather than like the brain …
Well, the Bus Driver is the one driving them. It makes sense that she might be the one in charge.
I’ve heard recently that if you want to know what’s going on in a town you ask a bus driver.
Graham from Doctor Who?
If you’ve ever talked at any length with a bus driver, you know that to be quite true. They overhear everything, whether they want to or not.
I recall that “Contrariwise” was used by Mustachio as well, to indicate negation — and was also ignored by Dr. Lee. To greatly disastrous and dramatic effect, that time.
Has she been making an incorrect inference all along, or is Ms Driver merely being pedantic (she isn’t also Gavotte; she’s also part of Gavotte)?
Ooh, and the driver knows that Virginia is a doctor! Does she have memories of her?
Wait. Maybe this one is (a fragment of?) Pavane.
While my previous idea that the bus might be described as being Whimsycal seems to have been, once again, completely wrong, it occurs to me now that the bus might also be described as funky.
Does the space bus route end at Planet Lovetron?
It is entirely possible that this whole comic will end with all main characters on Planet Lovetron.
Well, then they’ll all be happy, except probably Sweetheart.
And the residents of Lovetron… A quote from a favorite film…
“Now he’s off to Gstaad. Today… a paradise in the Swiss Alps; tomorrow… a wasteland!”
“Contrarywise” was used by either Tweedledee or Tweedledum; for some reason I have trouble sorting them out…
. . . And Mustachio turned out to be his own evil twin. Hm, hm, hm . . .
“Contrariwise” does mean “Contradicting that”, but I don’t get the impression the Bus Driver is addressing Dr Lee’s question at all. In the second panel she’s complaining the VR is representing her as human, in the third, she’s saying that, on the other hand, she’s a pretty cool human.
Oh, somebody already said this further down.
Perhaps she *is* answering the question, by pointing out that Gavotte wouldn’t have the hat or bus?
Oh,is Dr. Lee really the “New” Doctor?
Oh, I would watch the heck out of that!
This only just dawned on me, and hasn’t much to do with this strip or context, but in terms of Oz correspondences, Virginia is … the Wicked Witch of the West.
Virginia is the one who turned Nick the hacker into the Tin Man, by removing his body and replacing it with a metal one. That’s what the Wicked Witch of the West did. (I’m probably not the first to observe this.)
I think Ginny herself would agree with you completely as seen here. @_@
http://skin-horse.com/comic/the-new/
The thing to remember is that she’s become aware of it and is trying to draw back from what she had been. As Moe Lane says in the comments, she’s trying to become the wizard. ^_^
I was thinking of her line in the final panel here.
That was the wicked witch of the east. And actually she only enchanted the axe. Ku-klip the tinsmith replaced his body.
“Just admiring the best mind prison ever!” doesn’t seem to be the sort of thing Gavotte or even a Gavotte fragment would say so I suspect a new character has come onto the scene and that Ginny may be now dealing with the Spark who designed this part of the VR section in the first place. ^.^
It’s the Magic Space Bus!
I think the driver is saying contrariwise to her own comment in the previous panel, about being anthropoid. She doesn’t seem to like being anthropoid, or would at least prefer to not be, but at least she has a cool hat and a seriously cool bus.
The bus has beelike characteristics. Big buggy ‘eyes’ (windshields), six ‘legs’ (wheels), diaphanous wings sticking out the back, and of course, stripes.
And it hums.
I see “we’re” still vaguely British in speech, too.
I was leaning towards the driver being Pavane, but after re-reading where we first see her conversation with Sweetheart, I’m leaning against that. Pavane is direct and friendly; a people person. Being oblique and tending to ignore people has been more a trait in common with the Gavotte fragments.
So, new whack hypothesis:
The driver is the fragment that Gavotte sent off in the mating swarm before the beginning of the Very Bad Day. Gavotte was anticipating Anasigma moving against her, and this fragment has most of her memories, especially of classified material.
True, but the bus does follow with Pavane’s name-drop of Lovetron. Also, remember Pavane’s “Sometimes, you folk are barley an improvement over your creators” line, and her initial disappointment with being an anthropoid here. I think she just doesn’t like humans, and is thus being somewhat rude to Virginia.
The connection to Lovetron is just my guess, not anything that follows explicitly from what we see or what the driver says.
That is even more the case if her statements in panels 2 & 3 are interpreted as meaning that just as she would not normally be anthropoid (presumably, she would actually be a (sub-)swarm of bees), the bus would not normally appear as a bus (I suspect it’s actually some software for moving between VRs). The current appearances of both herself and the whatever-it-is-that-now-looks-like-a-bus are the result of the current VR.
Which reminds me of something I’ve been wondering: Are the VRs all just automatic systems, or do at least some of them have some sapience of their own?
At last! All six of them.
I have to wonder, why six?
The only thing I can come up with at the moment are the 6 directions that an entity with flight can move.
I note that Mayor Queen was up the hill, and the bus and driver came from down.
The six legs of insects seems too obvious, and yet not otherwise germane.
Hexapodia is the key insight?
Looking at a beehive cross-section, bees like hexagons.
And Twirlip of the Mists was ultimately correct, to the extent that we think we understand what he/she/it/they was saying, despite all appearances of being a clueless net-noob.
On the other hand, I’m not convinced that there’s anything very significant about six aspects of Gavotte, compared to five or seven, say.
Six aspects of her personality. Optimism (Bea), organization (Apis), determination (Melanie), predictive logic (Delphi), superego (Queen) and ego (bus driver)
Unity likes cool hats…
So this would be Gavotte’s ego then? Interesting that her ego would be driving the bus, as it were.