Parallax webcomic
gonna do a simple little thing here, kinda as a reminder to myself, partly cos others here might be interested
posting links to successive pages of the Parallax webcomic, with maybe a little commentary, if it seems appropriate (https://www.parallaxcomic.com/about)
and here's page 1
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-01
end result of the Internet of Shit, I guess. Hal 9000 is installed with every water heater
Parallax webcomic, p. 2
okay, second page link
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-02
hard to tell what's up although now we see more of the device, whatever it is. the red HAL 9000 light clicked off and now it's clearer it's paired with a green one. lotsa that generic looking ugly cable bundles and hoses like out of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil"
Parallax webcomic, p. 3
all right, feeling better able to actually process shit, so back to this thing that I'm doing
(what am I doing? well, we're all absolutely terrible at actually going through webcomics, so I thought I'd pick one and work through it and post about it. not committed to once a day, kinda wanna go quicker in fact, but, uh...I think you can kinda tell from @chara_dreemurr@plural.cafe that we've been really tied up by other stuff)
Parallax webcomic, p. 3
now to page three
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-03
hm. the weird device with the Brazil hoses and tubes and wires coming out of it, seems to be saying "......". it looks nonplussed, maybe because it looks like it's been abandoned in a basement
now we got this kid in the red shirt. I'll just call them "Chara" for now haha. Chara was playing a handheld game and the battery died, probably because they never bothered charging it up when they could hehe
🔴 hey! >_<
Parallax webcomic, p. 3
schoolkid, looks like. there's other kids in the background, one carrying a book or laptop maybe.
Chara's saying "how am I gonna get through the day now" which is totally a mood, none of us have been the best at spending time without a gadget of some kind to keep us from getting bored
Parallax webcomic, p. 4
well, today ended up pretty well, so I can do another page of Parallax!
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-04
yeah, Chara's in a school
🔴 THAT IS NOT ME
that's totally you, Chara. anyway, kinda hard to tell anything else. for some reason a physics class is starting at five minutes after noon. oh, eh, actually I guess Chara is late--
🔴 that wouldn't be me. if I was five minutes late to a class I just wouldn't go at all. I told you it wasn't me
despite everything it's still you
Parallax webcomic, p. 5
blech. had second thoughts about continuing this impromptu toot series of mine, but shit, I'm a chemist. if I tossed away everything of value just because it came from problematical sources, I'd have to throw my whole library away
anyway, page 5 of "Parallax".
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-05
looks like Chara has a name of their own, "Lomax Torchstone". what sort of name is THAT? I kinda _preferred_ "Chara"
oh, well, "Lomax" it is
🔴 booooo
I thought you said that wasn't you!
Parallax webcomic, p. 5
"Lomax Torchstone", there's a name that piles on the semiotic coding huh? "lo" + "max", and then "torchstone" is kind of a giveaway
anyway Lomax's teacher does that really shitty thing that teachers like to do, which is turn a small disruption like entering a class a few minutes late into a much bigger disruption by calling it out
🔴 hey that's why I'd never go into class if I was late. I was sparing the other kids!
yeah right Chara
Parallax webcomic, p. 5
teach's name is "Dan Rodgers", which is about as boring and white as a name gets. maybe he's related to Paul Rodgers
(puts some Bad Company on)
gawd I HATE being "introduced to the class". I'm with Chara in a way, classmates aren't my friends and I don't feel like I need to talk to 'em except in my own sweet time, don't need my teachers trying to push us together into groups and shit
Parallax webcomic, p. 6
let's continue I guess
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-06
not much goes on here. Paul Rodgers' physics-teaching cousin here acknowledges Lomax, Lomax is mortified of course and calls Rodgers an asshole (well, I mean, he IS a white physics teacher, I'd call that playing the odds), and then goes on with the lecture
Lomax tries to sneak out at the end (not smart enough to hide in the crowd huh kid) but gets hit with "talk to me before you leave". dun dun DUN!
Parallax webcomic, p. 6
bleh
fine, page 7
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-07
so it's the talk alluded to at the end of the previous page, except there's a bit of confusion because the teacher, Rodgers, referred to Lomax as a "new kid" on page 5 but now he's talking about Lomax's grades as though he's been dealing with Lomax for a while. maybe he's just looking at the kid's record as a transfer student or something...eh, whatever, but it feels like a slight inconsistency
Parallax webcomic, p. 6
anyway of course Lomax sucks as a student (just like we all did!) and Rodgers sorrowfully suggests that Lomax has given up. Lomax tries to shrug it off: "oh I'm just not good at studying."
Rodgers: "but why are you a science major then"? oh, so this isn't high school? and there's only one science major at this college? "the science major" (well I think that's not unheard of actually, sounds like some Evergreen State College write-your-own-portfolio crap though)
Parallax webcomic, p. 6
"but I didn't choose it" dun dun DUN!
I mean, pretty safe to guess Lomax's parents made the kid do it, but since this is a sci-fi webcomic I figure that the safe guess isn't the right guess
Parallax webcomic, p. 7 oops
oh pfft I typed "p. 6" when I'm on Page 7
whatever, just...add one in your head for the previous three toots
Parallax webcomic, p. 8
the conversation between Lomax and the teacher, Rodgers, continues
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-08
still no definite answer about why Lomax is in classes they do badly at (do we know Lomax's gender at this point?) but they're hinting that parents aren't the reason. well, like I said last night, it's fair to assume there's some _exciting_ reason for Lomax forcing themselves through classes they suck at other than the obvious ones
Parallax webcomic, p. 8
trying to spot anything noteworthy in the _mise en scene_. one detail that stands out is that there's a big chart labelled "SPECTROSCOPY" on a wall, but it's taller than it's wide, which is not usually how visible-light spectra are shown on a chart. also it goes from pink to white to yellow, but I'll chalk that up to stylization (or simplification)
finally Prof. Rodgers offers the help of after-school tutoring to Lomax...if they have "some DETERMINATION"
dun dun DUN!
Parallax webcomic, p. 8
(I feel inclined to twit Chara a bit about that one, seeing as how they work "determination" into conversation an average of three or four times a day)
🔴 I'm not THAT bad
yeah sure let's ask @KaylinEvergreen about that
Parallax webcomic, p. 9
ok, things take a turn
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-09
a top row of small boring frames, then suddenly we get a clear left-right split, light going into dark.
"determination" is repeated from page 8 *snorts* Chara, any thoughts?
🔴 you know, it's a good word, I like it
the Sun's setting behind Prof. Rodgers. (it looked higher up in earlier pages...we don't really know how long they talked)
anyway Rodgers uses the striking composition to castigate Lomax for being a doormat
Parallax webcomic, p. 9
*sighs* Chara, we know who did this, after all. I wouldn't put it past 'em to just AIM this at you
why have I even been typing this shit out as daily as I can manage? I suppose I was curious. but gawd this duty has really seemed like self-punishment sometimes
like...you know we're being played.
that's all I'm saying
Parallax webcomic, p. 9
🔴 whatever this is...it's more pleasant than whatever things were *shrugs* I'm game. might as well get some fun out of this charade
Parallax webcomic, p. 9
🔴 and let's face it, the folks playing with us have the advantage of being booked up. they've been marinating in decades of theorizing, we've just been cruising along with pure improvisation. we don't know what we're doing, we just...have a scent we're following
🔴 if nothing else we're probably gonna be learning some new shit, none of us have ever not enjoyed that
Parallax webcomic, p. 9
still think I should get the tattoo?
🔴 "the threat is often stronger than the execution". didn't some chess player say that
Nimzovich maybe. probably not really Nimzovich though
anyway I take your point
Parallax webcomic, p. 10
fine, let's keep playing. page ten
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-10
still expounding on Lomax's willingness to be a doormat, Prof. Rodgers advances on Lomax, casting the shadow from the setting Sun on him, which of course is totally not intimidating in any way: "you're powerless".
hehe didn't mean to scare you though! both Lomax and Rodgers are sweating at this point. Rodgers promises he's only wanting to help, and holds out...a small ornamented wooden box, perhaps?
Parallax webcomic, p. 11
page eleven.
detailed closeup of the box sitting in Prof. Rodgers's outstretched hand. there's some lettering on the lid and I can make out the word "LUX" (light, of course) but nothing else is immediately clear.
what is it? Lomax sensibly asks. "consider it a gift". o-kay. Lomax is already mentally preparing to bolt for the door and Rodgers does the "hehe sorry for keeping you" thing. just how long have they been talking?
Parallax webcomic, p. 12
and page twelve, just because these have been swiftly moving pages with little to summarize really
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-12
Lomax does in fact bolt, but not before Prof. Rodgers assures them, "if you ever need help you can come to me". not worrisome at all! Lomax thanks him with a hasty backwards glance. the kid wants out of the awkwardness, fast
they hasten away, almost running, and finally give vent to a "WHAT THE HELL" when they're a safe distance down the hall
Parallax webcomic, p. 12
I'm trying to think of how I'd react to an exchange like this when I was Lomax's age. (like, okay, I sort of feel myself to be a teenager, but I'm occupying the same head as a forty-four-year-old human, so it's complicated)
Chara, any thoughts?
🔴 eh when Kara was this age she probably would have at least half believed the teacher could be some source of help, she still tended to look up to teachers as trusted authorities, despite the calamities, until her 30s, it's sad
Parallax webcomic, p. 13
what the heck, I'll do another. lucky thirteen
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-13
Lomax really IS running now, drawing the attention of other kids. and it doesn't look like they stop until they're well away from the school. it's evening, and Lomax is on some remotish-looking road, trees behind him, looking down on a town nestled in among mountains
🔴 ...huh
more coincidences, Chara?
🔴 well I'm thinking of the Ebottsville stuff of Kara's but shit nobody paid attention to that
Parallax webcomic, p. 13
🔴 anyway "town in the foothills of some mountains" ain't exactly uncommon
yeah there's that. we're still in reasonably generic territory here
the town has a name, "Silverdalen", which just makes me think of Silverdale, WA, in Kitsap County. we've been there once!
🔴 yeah Kara drove that far to buy an electric piano. it was an expensive machine and her / our left-right coördination issues meant we hardly improved with practice and Kara quit trying early. as per usual hah
Parallax webcomic, p. 13
are we doing some kind of reverse cold read on this thing, Chara
🔴 eh maybe. patterns are patterns
Parallax webcomic, p. 14
another page before bed
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-14
another hint that Lomax's situation is unusual. they'd said something earlier about the reason for their being stuck in an ill-fitting major wasn't their parents, but wouldn't say what the reason was. now another hint: "this is the worst of the places I've lived". so Lomax has been kicked around from place to place...Army brat?
up a steep-looking grade to a single family home. Lomax collapses into bed
Parallax webcomic, p. 15
page fifteen.
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-15
Lomax's mom comes into the room asking what's wrong. she looks young, and kindly enough. well that puts to bed any idea this is based on YOU in some way, Chara, haha ;=3
🔴 guess that depends on which mom you mean. *sighs* none of my moms have been entirely nice. certainly none of the human ones
Parallax webcomic, p. 16
and in page sixteen Lomax's reality instantly shatters
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-16
(also unlike our experiences. we don't remember dreams)
Parallax webcomic, p. 17
all right, let's move on
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-17
welp, this won't take long. Lomax in his dream / vision sees a pair of figures in shadow whom he takes for his parents. Lomax dreams they're in a glass bottle.
"will you let me out?"
"sorry you'll have to stay in there a little longer Max" says dad (maybe)
okay, interesting that they shorten "Lo + Max" to just "Max"
Parallax webcomic, p. 17 (DROWNING)
eighteen.
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-18
the bottle is filling slowly with water but conversation continues. the parents (mom is much more clearly seen than dad) says something about "well you know what our jobs are like" and Lomax accepts it
only then in the bottom half of the page does Lomax notice the water. it's submerged them
and now Lomax is drowned
Parallax webcomic, p. 19 (drowning nightmare)
oops forgot to edit the CW properly on the last one. oh well
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-19
Lomax bolts awake. so, a "night terror". after an ordinary nightmare you don't move around, you just wake up. Kara used to have night terrors but it's been ages since their last one
"same dream" says Lomax. hm
turns out Lomax has a kitty! striped orange kitten named "Ramsay". (Gordon Ramsay? William Ramsay, discoverer of the noble gases)
"I feel terrible"
Parallax webcomic, p. 20 (anger)
and page 20 before I do something else
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-20
Lomax starts to shamble out of bed to the bathroom to wash their face when they trip over something and land flat on their face. "my backpack?" nope, it was that ornate wooden box Prof. Rodgers gave 'em. oh SNAP!
Lomax is furious, crying. they snatch up the box, ready to dash it to the floor I guess
Parallax webcomic, p. 21
all right, page twenty-one
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-21
Lomax hesitates and doesn't toss the little box down. a meow from their kitty Ramsay (Ramsay Lewis? no, wait, that's "Ramsey" Lewis. nm) calms the kid and instead of throwing the thing Lomax looks at it again.
there's a phone number on a scrap of paper that reads, "Call me if anything happens." that's...a bit weird coming from a teacher who's known Lomax for like a day, but I guess this is an unusual situation
Parallax webcomic, p. 21
page twenty-two.
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-22
Lomax quite sensibly worries about what's in the box, calling Prof. Rodgers a "creep" (I mean) and, with the cat Ramsay looking on curiously, Lomax opens it
there's a small square, or lozenge really, of what looks like glass, polished with bevelled edges, laid in the box on a bed of velvet
Lomax picks it up and looks at it, baffled
Parallax webcomic, p. 21
🔴 ooh it's like that scene in that awful "Golden Compass" movie where what's her name gets the alethiometer! hope this comic turns out to be better than that fuckin' movie
I really hope we don't end up having to read any Philip Pullman, Chara, I really don't
well anyway the thing looks ordinary enough and Lomax is sarcastic. "here, have this piece of glass!" they imagine Rodgers saying, "it'll make you better at math!"
but then
BUT THEN
Parallax webcomic, p. 23 (gawd I keep messing these up)
oops, forgot to change the CW AGAIN
ok, page twenty-three
https://www.parallaxcomic.com/comic/page-23
but THEN the glass lozenge starts glowing very brightly, with a pinkish light, bright enough to illuminate the room. the cat's excited to see it but Lomax is stunned, tears in their eyes
the glass lozenge asks a question and here the comic has resorted to some kind of alien-looking script.
Parallax webcomic, p. 23 (gawd I keep messing these up)
now I know from experience that such scripts tend to be simply transliterated from some human writing, probably English in this case. and studying the short line of text I can see things like repeated double letters. so I bet there's a simple English statement concealed by the strange letters
then the glowing lozenge (held up almost perfectly in front of a windowpane with a cross pattern, in a manner not symbolic in any way) asks a question
Parallax webcomic, p. 23 (gawd I keep messing these up)
"speak key"
Lomax stammers out "w-what?"
"key accepted" [burst of onomatopoeia]
so maybe the thing was keyed simply to Lomax's voice, or possibly the voice of any speaker. guess we'll be finding out huh? maybe
Parallax webcomic, p. 23 (gawd I keep messing these up)
tempted to try to decipher the strange text. there's not a lot of it so the usual method of counting up character frequencies might not yield anything. but...eh, it's an exercise, innit
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text
ok here's a transcript. double-checking it...
there's just enough ambiguity about some of the characters that I'm not certain I can commit to this transcript entirely. I suspect the period might be just what it is in English, punctuation, but we'll see (maybe)
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text
counted up the frequencies (hopefully accurately)
three characters occur most frequently, six times. there's a plus or cross, something like an uppercase gamma flipped back to front, and a T tilted sideways
"plus" and "sideways T" appear always alone. "backwards gamma" has a couple doubled appearances. it could _still_ be E, though...the most frequent English letter. if this is English
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text
but let's assume for now that these three characters correspond, in some way, to the set of letters E, T, and A. the three most frequent English letters. E and T double up, but A hardly ever does, so "backwards gamma" probably isn't A
"plus" comes at the end of a word, sticking by the assumption that "." is just what it appears to be here. words do end in A but not often
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text
next most frequent, an uppercase pi and an uppercase pi turned upside down, both five times
"upside down pi" has a doubled occurrence; "uppercase pi" does not
at some point I'm just gonna have to try options instead of trying to reason it out
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text
bleh enough interruptions are coming up that I should just do something else for a bit. there's probably software for this too. I can just arbitrarily assign letters to mean the various symbols and then unscramble from there probably, bleh
anyway I'll get back to it
Parallax webcomic, p. 23, "alien" text, substitution cypher
ok I haven't given up on this, but it's resisting my efforts to decode it. tried an online tool and it gave me hilariously wrong results
there's software for semi-automagic decoding of substitution cyphers, right? there has to be
anyway time to move forward
Parallax webcomic, p. 15
anyway mom is sensible enough to give Lomax some space (yeah, Chara, I see what you mean) and the kid's left alone
two more years to graduation, then maybe things will get better...
"I will just have to endure" are hard words to come from the mouth of someone that young...dunno how old any of us was, when we first decided that was our lot in life, endurance. mere persistence is an empty sort of goal, but it _is_ a goal