Bottom Floor, Everyone Out 2012-02-18

[KnightDelight]

Of course, no one in real life could have survived that. Especially since they were hanging halfway out of the cart when last seen. Still, I wonder if Kath's first words to Atsali might be something like "And you didn't fly us out of the cart before impact because ...?" The response being "You didn't ask!"

Likely neither could even remember to breathe let alone go into fly mode. No doubt they were engrossed in the in-flight movie though, watching their lives flash before their eyes. Kath's might have been a bit boring, while Atsali's was short. She might have had time for a second feature or watch the credits at least.

[DilyV]

To quote that two headed thingamabob in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace after a particularly bad Pod crash:

"I don't care who ya are, thats gotta hurt!!!"

Scores:

USA 9.9
MEX 9.9
BUL 9.8
GRC 10
RUS 7.6
COL 10

Darn Russians, always scoring people low (unless they're Russian of course...)

[jeffepp]

Lets see now..

Errhem.

BeeeuuuOOP!

DA da la da da da daaa

da da dum du le dom dom

bEErup bEErup dom dom de dom

bEErup bEErup dom dom de dom

din di lin din din din

Bunt ala de dUUuuUUMMb

BeeeuuuOOP!

[Atomic]

Kath wanted an adventure, and The Library delivers!

Haven't we seen this symbol somewhere before?

"Rabbit Ear kung-fu superior to Mouse Tail!"

Ballistic archeology!?!

I'm goin' back to college!

As the cannoneer, or as the cannonball?

Highly recommend avoiding the course on Petard Operation. Nobody goes the distance with that one.

[illiad]

Heh.

From the comments at the comic:

They weren't blown up and aren't currently on fire...puts them ahead of the game at this point. *chuckles*

no, just massive wounds and contusions, never mind shock injuries.. I can only guess that the rotten roofing in that place managed to slow them down, so reducing the effect.. but this is 'cartoon physics' , where broken bones dont happen.... :p

[MerchManDan]

I just hope that landing didn't take out any support walls; otherwise, they're about to become permanent residents.

...but this is 'cartoon physics' , where broken bones dont happen.... :p

Oh, they definitely happen - on purpose, as Tina can attest to.

[zachariah]

the course on Petard Operation. Nobody goes the distance with that one.

Unless they are in Hoist Place on the grade list.Usually goes to someone who's pole-ish.

Like Jon Luke Petard, Captain of the NC-1111 The Star Pole

Drops a spool on hundred pound test line into the pun jar. Good for use on 98 pound weaklings.

[Just Old Al]

Never, ever stop to examine the physics when a good story is being told...willing suspension of belief is exactly that.

Al

[Julie]

Well...this seems to be where "WHEEEEEE!!!" turns to "OWWIEEEEE!!!!"

[as363]

The trajectory was interesting. With one person in the cart - it would have traveled a bit further . So now the ladies have further to go - and wondering what other traps will be in their way. This is turning out to be the beginning of a longer episode ! Huzzah Huzzah

[Graybeard]

It's an old cliff dwelling. The round item looks like a worship chamber from the cliff dwellers, I think it's called a Kevina, in that area. This might be an old Lantan place as well The ceiling fixture is definitely not from the cliff sweller period. Looks like a hidden base from long ago. A secret hide out for the immortal politicians maybe???.

"Kiva" is correct, not Kevina. However, those things in the maze probably aren't kivas. Most kivas are excavated below ground level (I've stood in and on many) rather than "perched" in a structure the way these are. A few examples of "tower" kivas, that go up rather than down, exist, but they are generally rooted in the ground.

Of course there is no need for structures in the Wapsiverse to conform too closely to the building rules applicable to the Puebloans or most anyone else. Those round things could very easily be repositories for Lantan goodies or whatever. (They're a bit small for a kiva or other worship structure.)

[Dave]

The trajectory was interesting. With one person in the cart - it would have traveled a bit further . So now the ladies have further to go - and wondering what other traps will be in their way. This is turning out to be the beginning of a longer episode ! Huzzah Huzzah

Would it have? Seems to me that the increase in momentum with two people, would probably outweigh the increase in air friction as they flew along. An open-top mine cart isn't exactly an aerodynamically-sleek design.

A full can of tomatoes, for instance, flies further than an empty can launched at the same speed.

Not sure what the differential would be, once they hit the structure and started slamming through the floors. This is cartoon physics, after all... without a healthy dose of plot immunity they would be very unlikely to be able to survive this, let alone walk away to have further adventures.

[eee]

Never, ever stop to examine the physics when a good story is being told...willing suspension of belief is exactly that.

Al

Yes, but you can only suspend belief so far. If you've got normal people doing things like dodging bullets they can see coming, leaping tall buildings at a single bound, OR crashing an airborne mining cart through several floors without dying in the process, that's kind of hard to swallow...

Which leads me to suspect something is going on here we don't know about. Something which will restore the balance of believability.

And on a related subject, just where the heck did Kath and Atsali end up? An underground, multi-story complex with square rooms and maybe wooden floors (some of the debris flying away from the holes look like boards, not rocks)? That doesn't look like a cliff dwelling. I suspect things are about to get even weirder. Hard though that might be to believe...

[Mark N]

Would it have? Seems to me that the increase in momentum with two people, would probably outweigh the increase in air friction as they flew along. An open-top mine cart isn't exactly an aerodynamically-sleek design.

A full can of tomatoes, for instance, flies further than an empty can launched at the same speed.

Not sure what the differential would be, once they hit the structure and started slamming through the floors. This is cartoon physics, after all... without a healthy dose of plot immunity they would be very unlikely to be able to survive this, let alone walk away to have further adventures.

With a Titan and others watching over them, I would think that there is someone that can and will keep the girls safe from permanent harm. Remember, just because you cannot see something (or someone) does not mean that no one is there.

[bmonk]

A rather fortuitous trajectory indeed! Their landing spot can't be entirely a coincidence, not bia long shot!

I've heard of pyramids and windows being set up so that the sun will shine on certain spots on certain days of the year--but this is the first case I've heard where a trap is established so that it sends a cart, with a certain weight of persons in it, rocketing on the precise trajectory to enter a ruin.

Do we dare posit some sort of Devious Design?

[Boxilar]

Never, ever stop to examine the physics when a good story is being told...willing suspension of belief is exactly that.

Al

Yes, but you can only suspend belief so far. If you've got normal people doing things like dodging bullets they can see coming, leaping tall buildings at a single bound, OR crashing an airborne mining cart through several floors without dying in the process, that's kind of hard to swallow...

Which leads me to suspect something is going on here we don't know about. Something which will restore the balance of believability.

And on a related subject, just where the heck did Kath and Atsali end up? An underground, multi-story complex with square rooms and maybe wooden floors (some of the debris flying away from the holes look like boards, not rocks)? That doesn't look like a cliff dwelling. I suspect things are about to get even weirder. Hard though that might be to believe...

My assumption (and , yes, assume makes an ass out of you and me) regarding Kath and Atsili's miraculous survival is that niether of them is a normal, baseline human. Atsili is a Siren and we still aren't sure about Katherine's heritige, but I maintain that there's too much evidence to say that she's just a normal human. I can accept that they're both a bit tougher than a "normal" person would be.

And read back to back, the last six or seven strips are a pretty cool sequence.

[ChattaStarhawk]

OK, I've been seeing all these messages that a Titan is watching over them; which one? As far as I can tell, only two people even know that they were in the Library at all (the minotaur and his mother, and she didn't look up and see them). Yes, we have Bia's symbol all over the place in the last frame; but that doesn't mean she is looking in at that location.

[Yamara]

OK, I've been seeing all these messages that a Titan is watching over them; which one? As far as I can tell, only two people even know that they were in the Library at all (the minotaur and his mother, and she didn't look up and see them). Yes, we have Bia's symbol all over the place in the last frame; but that doesn't mean she is looking in at that location.

It's either absurdist cartoon physics, or the Titan of Force has her hand on the rudder here. It's the twenty-first century, here's your dang flying car.

Given that Bia told Shelly she was interested in Mesa Verde, and that she presumably has permission to circumvent the World Grid and visit Earth, it would be surprising if Bia was not directly involved.

Paul is perfectly capable of creating that surprise, though he has taken the trouble to remind us of Bia on this very page.

And given that she's a metamorph, she may even be on this very page.

[Yamara]

Hm. Just found a little something.

Check out Panel Eleven:

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/betterprotection/

[Dave]

Hm. Just found a little something.

More than a little interesting - nice catch!

So, this symbol might be associated with Lanthis (or a pre-Lanthis deity or power structure) and Bia might have been wearing it as a sort of "old school tie"?

It might even be a symbol in Glyph? I can't recall if we've ever seen a complete symbology. I doubt it's the Lanthian equivalent of "Burma Shave" but you never can tell

At this point, I'm not sure whether the most likely character to show up as having been a manipulator of this situation is Bia, or Brandi. Shelly's comment about her mother having an interest in Mesa Verde does suggest that Bia may be an active schemer; Brandi's recent discussions about the Silent Zone, and her pointed comments about how good a manipulator she is, suggest that she might have set this up. It will interesting indeed to see which if either (or both) is in play here.