SFP

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  • Mechwarrior

    Suddenly, a dramatic reveal that everyone saw coming!

  • Spectacles

    Please let the response to this be “He’s our dad.”

    That, or “Uh, we ARE Gurwara. You couldn’t tell?”

    • Kid Chaos

      “He’s an actor we hired to mess with you.” 😜

      • Weatherheight

        “It was all perfectly fine…
        “The we absorbed the Duck…”

        • Spectacles

          The secret final boss of this series is just the All-Knowing Cosmic Duck

          It does not want

          It simply is

  • Jan Tuts

    AAAAAAAW SNAAAAAAP!!! 😀

  • Markus

    They don’t know Gurwara. He’s in there messing about with the files, same way he did to the guy who was supposed to teach Allison’s axiology class.

    • Arkone Axon

      “We… we don’t know him… who the HELL is that!?”

      • AdamBombTV

        “Record Keeper, GET HIM!”
        “Erm… Excuse me sir, do you have a library card with us?”

    • Zinc

      He has a bunch of papers under his armpit, and is holding one near the wall — but is he plucking some of Patrick’s memories about the conspiracy away, or “incepting” some new ones?

      (Probably plucking.)

  • Xin

    But, but, those took us MONTHS to arrange!

    Why you be messin’ with the poor Record-Keeper’s meticulous work?!?

    Random note: I love the three-dimensional conspiracy red string on this page, and the metaphorical depictions of Patrick’s mind in this chapter are awesome…

    • Julia McGuire

      Well, he got a concussion because he slammed his head into the doorframe. He was just drunk and smelly when he showed up initially.

      • Xin

        Oh, good catch. I didn’t remember that and had thought he’d shown up beaten up.

  • zellgato

    Whelp. that takes away my assumption that he sent them.
    so its another mind reader who has been assaulting him…
    but question is… is he gov against the conspiracy
    or trying to get it for his own safety?

  • Dave M

    “historiography”. Today I learnt a new word.

    Also Ur as the “dawn of history”? Nope, Dawn of written history maybe, but not the dawn of history. Talk to the first peoples of America and Australia and hear tales passed down verbally that make Ur seem like last week. There are tales from Australia describes the loss of the land bridge between Tasmania and mainland Australia at the end of the last ice age. That’s dawn of history stuff. 🙂

    • juleslt

      “History” is usually defined as starting at the invention of writing.
      Hence “prehistory”.

    • Amilynn

      It’s not at all surprising that Patrick would have a very “western culture” view of the dawn of history. Even if he knows it’s not entirely accurate it’s the dominant paradigm of the vast majority of minds he’s encountered and he can easily justify classifying events prior to Ur as “prehistory” regardless of how the information has been retained.

    • The Record-Keeper wants to make a note about “history” (the study of the past as it is recorded in writing) versus “historiography” (the study of the methods of historians), because he assumes (correctly) that most people don’t fully understand what history refers to. History is not literally the events of the past; history is a study of the written past.

      In short, these distinctions are being called out in the comic itself and I am in love with the Record-Keeper.

      • Eric Schissel

        Methodology of science is important to know if you’re going to do science well (and the philosophy and history of science and its methodology are at least very interesting and thought-provoking subjects) – but I wouldn’t say that mentioning them is the same as questioning their value?

  • Weatherheight

    There’s that shoe finally dropping…
    But is it a penny loafer, an oxford, a derby shoe, a brogue…?
    maybe nice set of pumps?
    Oo.. 70’s platform shoes made of lucite with a goldfish being tortured inside?

    • Freemage

      Steel-toed work boots. Give a truly epic “Clunk” when they hit.

      • D. Schwartz

        Not really. Mine make the same flop thud that my non steel toe ones make.

        Now if you have the external steel-plate boots that will make a big difference in audio.

        • Weatherheight

          True shoe audiophiles prefer external steel-plate boots and stiletto heels on polished marble floors.

          • D. Schwartz

            While valid (adjusts monocle), I feel the pinnacle of the aural shoe experience can only be achieved by fully armored WMA practitioners wearing well worn leather soled arming shoes while dueling.

            The resultant sound is the perfect mix of the the squeak of basketball sneakers, the whisper of slippers, and the clink or hanging steel pots gently being blown by a breeze.

          • Weatherheight

            I accede to the opinion of a clear enthusiast.
            ::lowers his ears and drops to his front knees in respect::

          • D. Schwartz

            Rise and join me for a snifter of a fine 45 year old Single malt. So rich and deep it’s like pureeing a oak and gently toasting the slurry.

          • palmvos

            when i was younger…. I saw a lady with tap shoes. it had a loose plate in the toe- so it could ‘clack’ without dropping or hitting a surface. but for the load sound dropping tap shoes should win. (though it could be an unfair contest)

  • Weatherheight

    Also, is the architecture here a bit reminiscent of the Once-ler’s place, or is it my imagination?

    • elysdir

      The lightning in recent pages was also kind of Seussian. I wonder if Patrick modeled some early parts of the city design on Seuss books he had read as a kid.

  • Gotham

    “What? No. We merely crossed path with him once when Patrick was driving close to a park where this man was sitting, and subsequently gobbled up all of his memories and sense of structural self by proximity. He was recreated wholly here, as they all are, and the mental image is just perusing the Library.
    You know this is public space where everybody can come in, right? A little respect for your fellow reader, stop shouting in the aisles.”

    Alternatively:

    “What? No. He’s just laying down on your bed above ground right in the middle of you and Patrick, uncomfortably close to each other.
    Yes I’m sure you have many questions, you can start asking while Record-Keeps here finishes recounting all species of leptosporangiate ferns.”

    • Weatherheight

      “It was all perfectly fine…
      “Then we absorbed the Duck…”

  • zarawesome

    Gurwara does look like Patrick if he was older.

    And fifty pounds heavier.

    And had a broken nose.

    And a foot shorter.

    OK so he doesn’t look much like Patrick.

    • Gotham

      …and belonged to a fairly visibly different ethnic group?

      • AdamBombTV

        So you’re saying Patrick is Adopted? GENIUS!

  • Dafydd Carmichael

    Ooooweee, she’s getting ready to punch something in that last panel!

    • palmvos

      I was wondering where you were….. come, there is not time to explain.

  • Olivier Faure

    We’re going to get the duck meme again, aren’t we?

    (also, Allison’s face last panel is funny; also, it doesn’t look like Patrick has made very much progress on the conspiracy)

    • P̶a̶t̶r̶i̶c̶k̶ The Duck

      (It’s here, always looming. It’s anatidaephobia!)

      • AdamBombTV

        You pervert duck.

      • Weatherheight

        “It was all perfectly fine…
        “Then we absorbed the Duck…”

    • Dean

      “He was in the memory of a very important duck that we met once.”

    • AdamBombTV

      THE DUCK IS CENTRAL TO THIS CASE!!

  • Lheticus Videre

    DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

  • Lheticus Videre

    On a more serious note, there are SO MANY WAYS this could go right now and I freaking love it! This is already one of the best comment sections that I’ve seen on this comic. Also, Alison’s face in the last panel is completely hilarious.

    • R Lex Eaton

      Quite right.

      In my case, upon seeing the antithesis of everything I hold dear…

      I gotta step outside.

      *leaves, then a bellowing scream of rage can be heard*

  • JohnTomato

    “Not much. Your fastest version, Record-Keeper.”

    Ha! And Ha! again.

    • Merle

      aaaaaaaAAAAAHHHH
      AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH
      *EXCITABLE SCREECHING*

      • AdamBombTV

        *Excitable hand flapping* EVERYBODY CALM THE FLIP DOWN, THERES POSSIBLY A FLIPPING REASONABLE EXPLANATION FOR THIS FLIPPING ORDEAL FOR FLIPS SAKE, I’M FLIPPING SURE OF IT… FLIP!!

    • Lheticus Videre

      Yeah…this sums it up 100% perfect, really.

  • Kid Chaos

    “Which begs the question, if it is not possible to know what one knows…” Next thing you know, he’ll be complaining about “fake news”. 😜

  • Walter

    dun Dun DUN!

  • Infinitive

    I feel absolutely vindicated. I thought that Gurwara was a projection from an evolving Patrick when the Gurwara storyline finished, and I’m now increasingly convinced of the fact.

    100%: Gurwara was a construct projection to demonstrate to Allison that doing a reprehensible thing for a net benefit is a valid choice. This is and has always been Patrick’s central thesis.

    • Merle

      I’m putting maybe 70-75% on “Gurwara was from/of Patrick”, and 20% on “Gurwara is another mind-meddler messing with memories”.

      • Shjade

        Unless he can also change how he’s seen, or his ability caused him to age rapidly beyond the norm, he can’t be another super, Merle, since they’re all in roughly the same age group, as far as I know.

        • Merle

          That’s the problem with mind-meddlers. You can never be sure that how you remember seeing them is how they really look.

        • Zinc

          There’s also the possibility that Gurwara is just badass-normal, but has biodynamic colleague(s) with the ability not only to enter other peoples’ minds and mess with their memories, but to open bridges for other people to do so.

          A (completely hypothetical) nice way to obtain this particular power might be with one biodynamic with mind-meddling powers only for themselves, and another biodynamic capable of temporarily “transferring” powers from one biodynamic person to other, not necessarily biodynamic people — a support-role power, a la Max’s.

          The conspiracy took out prominent biodynamic individuals long before anyone knew of them; it would make sense that they might have recruited and kept some top-tier-but-not-world-changing people to use as needed; assuming the heads of the conspiracy are mostly biostatic, a power-transfer power as described above would be immensely useful for them. And, assuming Gurwara is a part of the conspiracy (as his presence in this section could point to), he could have access to such resources.

          … Or maybe I’m just conflating this setting too much with Worm.

          Another note: Whatever sort of power was used to allow Gurwara into Patrick’s mind, there’s an interesting possibility that this break-in is what actually cracked Patrick, caused his mind to start spilling into Alison’s in visions and dreams, and eventually allowed her too to enter into Patrick’s mind.

          • Weatherheight

            Or this – this is good too…

          • Zorae42

            Hah, sounds like One for All from My Hero Academia…. Now I’m imagining Alison yelling”Detroit Smash!” while punching people

        • Weatherheight

          You make a good point about rapid aging, though. Has there been a comment pointing that out before?

          What if this rapid aging thing is true and Arjun’s motivation for his participation and manipulation is to find a solution to his problem?

  • Not about this page in specific, but, do you think Component is the emotional overlay of memory? The personal meaning and importance of a memory, rather than the simple factual photographic recall of it?

    • Weatherheight

      Based on current information, seems legit.

  • I’m getting Snow Crash flashbacks.

  • Lostman
  • David Nuttall

    So this conspiracy is as old as Abraham? Ur was the city on the Persian Gulf that Abram was from.

  • David Nuttall

    Records: Who? Oh, him. I never got his name. He wanders in and out of this place all the time. I think he is another telepath.
    G: Oh, Alison. It is good to see you.

  • AdamBombTV

    All we need now is the duck from the pond to make an appearance, and then all the players will be in place *tents fingers expectantly*

    • Gotham

      I mean who else could be the elusive fifth member of the Patrick Brain Patrol?
      It’s so clear cut.

  • Pol Subanajouy

    Meh, I see nothing unusual here.

    • Zinc

      Doesn’t look like anything to me.

      • masterofbones

        must have been the wind

  • Crow

    We found him! The One True Patrick! I always felt there was a serious lack of representation in this comic, but now we have a main character who is both transage and transrace!

  • Jac

    o heck

  • Julia McGuire

    Gurwara looks like he’s…stealing Patrick’s memories? I’d put good money on him being part of the reason Pat’s so out of it right now. Can’t be healthy to have someone rooting around in your brain.

    • Zinc

      When no one was looking, Professor Gurwara took forty memories. He took 40 memories.
      That’s as many as four tens.
      And that’s terrible.

      • Tsapki

        Curse you for reminding me of that. Out of curiosity, did you learnt hat directly from DC or did you get it from DeathBattle?

        • Zinc

          I haven’t heard of DeathBattle before. I have no recollection where I first encountered it; some random internet forum that no longer exists, most likely. Such is the way of ancient memes…

  • Lenden Reynolds

    OH MY GOD YES
    I neeeeed more Gurwara
    This is my favorite comic for a lot of reasons. I just reread a bunch of it today and Jeez I forgot how often it made me cry. *_*

  • PrintHead1436

    This is pretty fucking brilliant. Anyone who claims to have seen it coming is lying.

    And yet it feels like it makes perfect sense. Feels that way, anyhow– the exact reasons why, I can’t yet spell out. But this is why we turn the page in sequential art!

  • ColaKitteh

    The plot thickens, my friends.

  • Blissex

    Ur? Gurwara? What if it turns out that a small number of “natural” biodynamic people have existed since ancient times hidden among the normal humans? 🙂

  • Danygalw

    “Your fastest version” “We begin with the city-state of Ur, at the dawn of history” is an ageless joke.

  • Jubal DiGriz

    Thought- two things are being communicated here, that Patrick’s information on the conspiracy is scattered, jumbled, and is being portrayed in a classic tenuous connection trope. Second, that Record-Keeper is bloviating hard about “what is knowledge anyways” and beginning at a possibly absurdly early point.

    Seems to me like these are big hints that there is no conspiracy. Never was.

  • Lisa Izo

    “Gurwara who? No one’s in that room, Allison.”

    • Filthy Liar

      The best possible reply.

  • Darkoneko Hellsing

    I feel like a lot of people do