Odd update time, had to cancel the streamed drawing midway due to stomach issues, took a nap, finished the comic after, now it’s 4am and I have work in the morning.
↓ Transcript
THEN: Okay so, if I won THE bet, that means you actually FOUND a human Echo?
POHL: Yes. It happened just tonight. Went very VERY poorly.
THEN: I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!!!
POHL: I'm reeling a bit, to be honest. This could potentialy vindicate the Heresies of Ti'Veirn. He speculated that sarnothi may have been the true source for human legends of--
THEN (VO): Yeah yeah yeah, unravels generations of philosophical theory, don't care.
TEHN (VO): Tell me how it happened. Did someone come to the hospital with burning eyeballs?
POHL: Not since Mardi Gras.
POHL (VO): It was the biological daughter of Selkie Smith's father. She triggered during an Echo lesson.
THEN (VO): HA HA HA HA HA!
POHL: Could I convince you to handle the incident that renders completely worthless our understanding of the phenomena we've based our entire culture on with a TOUCH more gravitas?
THEN (VO): You can NOT! HA HA HA!
POHL: Yes. It happened just tonight. Went very VERY poorly.
THEN: I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!!!
POHL: I'm reeling a bit, to be honest. This could potentialy vindicate the Heresies of Ti'Veirn. He speculated that sarnothi may have been the true source for human legends of--
THEN (VO): Yeah yeah yeah, unravels generations of philosophical theory, don't care.
TEHN (VO): Tell me how it happened. Did someone come to the hospital with burning eyeballs?
POHL: Not since Mardi Gras.
POHL (VO): It was the biological daughter of Selkie Smith's father. She triggered during an Echo lesson.
THEN (VO): HA HA HA HA HA!
POHL: Could I convince you to handle the incident that renders completely worthless our understanding of the phenomena we've based our entire culture on with a TOUCH more gravitas?
THEN (VO): You can NOT! HA HA HA!
Today's edition of the Secret Commentary is empty, because Dave failed to come up with something for it.
Well, now I want to hear more about the Heresies…
Right?!
Hrm. I’m legitimately curious as to what sarnothi use for writing when they want something more permanent than a grease pencil, but not necessarily as long-lasting as stone tablets.
Some sort of octopus ink / seaweed paper combination?
I want to hear more about what happened on Mardi Gras š¤£.
Agent Then’s blood composition is at least 80% snark.
The remaining 20% is sneakiness.
This is why Then is such an entertaining character š¤£
Lots to unpack in this one, what with the potential obliteration of an entire culture and/or religion, but I am stuck on whether Pohl committed a medical no-no by discussing Amanda’s situation with someone not legally granted access to her sensitive information.
While I’d tend to be concerned about this as well, this feels like one of those “something bigger is afoot here, and several key people need to be in on the secret ASAP, regardless of the person’s feelings about medical privacy.”
Which is… troubling, yes, but there are times when certain issues (such as manifesting powers that world-shaking) are bigger than the normal frameworks we use to handle our day-to-day.
Though, I could also see Todd overhearing the conversation in the hallway, and reading Pohl the riot act, and Pohl having to explain/justify his decision right now. (I think Todd’s likely too busy to have overheard, but it’d get that part straight, at least.)
Also, I expect that part of getting *certain* people in on the secret is going to be an effort to keep *other* people completely out of the secret. Because of Amanda’s info gets known by the wrong people, she’s gonna be targeted for any number of efforts — assassination (to preserve the dogma), kidnapping, experimentation, being paraded around in a cage (to destroy the dogma publicly), etc. Lots of people would want to destroy her or use her, and the positive forces within this story are going to need to come together right quick to block potential leaks before it all goes south.
As a medical professional, HIPAA does not provide protections in situations where a condition is considered “reportable” or certain other situations where required by law.
Also, Pohl was given permission by Amanda’s guarding (Todd) to go ahead and tell the Feds since he stated he’d have to tell them anyways.
I donāt see how it could be, since Pohl explicitly asked Todd for permission to inform the agents what happened just a few minutes ago, and it was granted. Not in writing, sure, but he wasnāt there in any formal capacity, so I donāt see how that would be required.
If you want to go farther, Iām not an expert, but I wouldnāt think medical privacy requirements would even be involved in a situation completely outside the medical profession and a formal treatment setting. Pohl was there in a private capacity to tutor Selkie in what would probably be a rough analogy of some sort of physical activity, not seeing her as a patient.
Then has seen so much that he is incapable of taking anything seriously. XD
Then is the kind of guy you hate to love.
I said it once or twice before I’ll say it again.
I LOVE Then.
So something i noticed with a few comments is the idea that Phol is sharing without consent, and yet he did outright told Todd that he would be reporting his findings to the agents a few pages back. Todd is already aware that sarnothi matters have the direct tie to goverment interests, it was one of the things he had to agree to to adopt selkie in the first place. Pohl is not Amanda’s doctor, he is Selkie’s echo trainer, and he will be reporting echo findings to the appropriate authorities. Just a thought
Let me see if I have this right, they based their entire culture on echoes, and a human being an echo, or atleast the way that they discovered Amanda was an echo.
Then, we love ya, but that is NOT the appropriate reaction to this kind of revelation.
…’course in his shoes, I’d probably have to restrain a giggle owing to just how unlikely this turn of events is.
The Human Legend of… What?
I had a few ideas – Jinn/genies, Prometheus, and of course the namesake Selkies.
Could be just about anything supernatural, but Iād think it would explicity be legends of wizards, witches, or that sort of supernatural ability that manifests in humans.
If the legend in question were about something other than a human, like a Jinn or selkie, you would just assume they were related to humans coming into contact with Sarnothi or Sarnothi āmagicā.
I would actually assume in this world that legnds of mermaids and selkies came from human interaction with Sarnothi, although thatās complicated by the fact that, as far as we know, the Sarnothi only live in the Great Lakes, so sightings could only influence older legends among native peoples of North America, or other inhabitents of the area after more recent European contact.
If humans are capable of doing āmagicā, however, that wouldnāt be geographically limited unless it requires direct contact with a Sarnothi first.
I was thinking witches & wizards too, as well as perhaps demonic possession.
Also, am thinking there might be a reverse legend. The legend that starts with;
The end times of our culture began when an Echoās Daughter, born of no egg, with eyes aflame came stumbling through the living room, and heaving as she came. Beware this girl my people, the Snark that sears, the Beams that scratch. So rested she by the toilet seat, and knelt a while in thought.
A bottle of Tums and a glass of mouthwash, are what we chiefly need. Aspirin or acetaminophen besides would be very good indeed. And now gentle readers from this nonsense Iāll begin to secede.
I do like agent Then.
His irreverent attitude about this seems similar to what my own would be. Especially if it involved being right about something really major.
Ooh, I have a wonder. Pohl’s telling Then. But is Then gonna tell Avrey? If he doesn’t, I smell drama…
I think people are overlooking something rather important implied by this conversation.
Namely, that the people in charge of Sarnoth could have very strong reasons to want to capture or kill Amanda.
I am wondering now if the Sar’Teri hostile takeover of Sarnoth and firing of Echo Beam into the sky wasn’t a deliberate attempt to awaken human echos; revealing humans as a threat to Sarnothi, thus justifying the change in Sarnoth’s foreign policy from one of passivity to outright aggression.
Remember, humans have killed Sarnothi before. And if Sarnoth won’t retaliate to protect its individual citizens (because that would just end up with more dead people and not bring the dead person back) maybe they would fight to prevent Echo abuse.
You misspelled “potentially” in panel 4.
Also, in the last panel, shouldn’t that be “phenomenon”, singular?
The true source for human legends of…
Hmm. Green, and magic. The Wicked Witch of the West? Though these guys decidedly do NOT melt when you pour water over them š
I understand agent Then on a deep, deep level here.
“I have always had a different understanding of our entire worldview and philosophy AND IT TURNS OUT I’M RIGHT GRAVITAS IS FOR SUCKERS WHO WERE WRONG”