2015-08-05
Posted on 2015-08-07 by Aaron

125 thoughts on “2015-08-05”

  1. Eagle0600

    Well, congratulations to everyone who called it.

  2. Kolth

    It’s nice that Veles asks her directly to hand it over so that all the humans can’t make this bog on by saying how she failed and such.

    It amuses me that all the actions are put on display as it were. Conjurer is NOT going to come out of this smelling fresh, considering how much of a dick he was acting throughout. And then he finishes strong with his little tantrum.

    Neuronet’s fate is a bit murkier considering that most of his dickery was with the Phlogiston mess, and I doubt Veles broadcast their thoughts as well.

    84 is going to explode in popularity though, considering the fact that she figured out/got past all of the challenges. She definitely earned the title of Champion of Earth, even if other heroes would probably complain anyways for the sake of it.

    1. Rock

      Fire Dragon will probably get points for being cool to 84… but now the world knows his secret. And that includes the supervillains.
      Worrisome…

      1. Robin Bobcat

        Only if he’s including audio. I can’t imagine he’s not, but then again it would be amusing not to. Maybe to have some select sound effects…

      2. Gordon

        Supervillains are already working under the assumption that genuine heroic types with powers like Firedrake’s aren’t just going to let loose with them in places where people could get hurt. Having it confirmed isn’t going to drastically change anything.

    2. Mollyscribbles

      Agreed — it’s no fun having a Champion whose self-esteem gets worn down by the public thinking they’re not any good at their job.

    3. Wanderer

      Considering *we* could understand everything Neuronet was “saying” to Phlogiston and 84, the safe bet is that Veles was broadcasting everything that counted as communication. Thus, like us, they “heard” everything that Neuronet “said”, including the parts that amounted to “stop telling me to get out of your head, it’s distracting”.

  3. Mike

    Love Veles’ dry sense of humor. “It’s almost as if they don’t trust me for some reason”. Heh.

    Also, my thanks to Aaron for not dragging the suspense out long enough to cause aneurysms.

    1. Brainstorm

      Hear, hear! This arc feels like it’s gone on for ages – I can’t wait to see the resolution and falling action.

  4. Town Crier

    The “eye” of a needle is a fairly typical answer. I wonder if Veles pretty much would have accepted any “eye” from the room at the center of the egg, the point being to simply win one’s way to that room within the determined time frame.

    1. Nightsbridge

      There’s a russian myth about koschei the deathless’ soul, hidden in an eye of a needle, in an egg, on a secret island . . . I think this is the only right answer.

      1. Raffzahn

        It’s more llike Koshtchei, and there are a few more levels liek a duck and a chest and a tree, but yeah. It came as an idea when the name first showed up.

    2. VinnyHavoc

      The soul of the immortal sorcerer Koschei the Deathless, hidden within the eye of a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, locked within a chest buried at the roots of an ancient tree in the center of a secret island in the middle of the north sea that you can only find if you know where it is.

      Get to the island, dig up the tree, unlock the chest, and the hare flees. Kill the hare and the duck bursts forth and flies away. Slay the duck and retrieve the egg, you now have the means to torment and defeat Koschei. Retrieve the needle, or smash the egg on his forehead thereby driving the needle into his skull, and you have the means to kill Koschei.

      Obviously Veles already took care of most of that. He just needed to get the needle out of the egg. Koschei was a nasty piece of work, as evidenced by Baba Yaga offering some cryptic help. Even other villains call Koschei an enemy.

      1. Dave III

        Wait wait wait… In the hare is a duck? I mean, ignore (for the moment) how to get a needle into the egg, and the egg back into the duck, how in the world does the duck get inside the hare?

        Koschei really IS a villain’s villain, it seems.

        1. Lycanthromancer

          Turducken, anyone?

          Was there bacon involved?

        2. Gordon

          Magic? That seems an obvious answer. These are sorcerers and witches.

          I mean, how many children did Zeus literally pull out of his own body? At least two. A frickin winged horse and a sword wielding giant popped out of Medusa when she died.

          That’s a different mythology of course, but still… Living things popping out of the bodies of other living things when they die or at other times is a mythological staple.

        3. Dave III

          True, but–

          The soul was put into the needle.
          The needle was put into the egg. (Fine so far.)
          The egg was put into the duck. (This seems cruel, but within the realm of plausibility, as aggs often come *out* of ducks, putting one back doesn’t seem like such a stretch.)
          The duck was put into the hare.
          –I’m sorry but none of the possibilities of how that can work that I can think of end well for either subject. You can handwave and say “Magic”, but even then things don’t look so rosy. Unless the hare turns *into* the duck as part of the escape plan, I guess.

          Koschei really would have to be all that vile and repugnant to set that up. Although if he was *smart* the whole thing would have been a big lie to get would-be opponents off his back, and it really is JUST a needle.

      2. Town Crier

        Reading your more in depth description, I believe that I may have actually read that story a few decades ago, and I just didn’t remember. Baba Yaga’s stories remained in my memory much better, as I liked those stories more.

        1. Dave III

          You might possibly be remembering an episode of Henson’s “The Storyteller”, specifically “The Heartless Giant”, whose heart was hidden inside an egg, in a duck, in a well, in a church, in an island, in a lake, in a mountain, so far away you cannot fathom it. The writers freely admitted they pulled different traditional stories together and made a sort of patchwork version for the show.

        2. Town Crier

          Nope. Didn’t see it.

        3. WaytoomanyUIDs

          Also the villain of Bridge of Birds has hidden his heart in an even more complex manner, and makes a disparagingly references a character who has hidden his heat in a manner similar to Koschei

        4. WaytoomanyUIDs

          Oops forgive the misspellings

        5. WaytoomanyUIDs

          OK, what I was trying to say was that the book “The Bridge of Birds” (great read) has a villain who has hidden his heart in an even more convoluted manner than Koschei, and who makes disparaging remarks about another character who has hidden his heart in a similar manner to Koschei making it easy for heroes out to kill him.

  5. Doughbelly

    I was thinking needle, too but it just occurred to me that Julie might say, “The other reason you didn’t tell us because you didn’t know yourself.”

  6. Knug

    The only reason why the Eye of the needle is viewed as being a typical answer, is either because folks were aware of The Deathless’s soul being kept in the eye of a needle inside an egg, or researched the story after Aaron dropped the names.

    If one was utterly unaware of the story (and did not bother to read the comments posting about this puzzle egg for the last 3 months) then the use of the eye of a needle would be a surprising answer.

    Bravo to Aaron for awaking my (and I’m sure many other’s) interest in a mythology and story cycle that I was previously unaware of.

    1. Town Crier

      Actually, I have seen such used often in books, riddles, and FRPG’s. It is like that riddle where you have two sources of information, one always lies, and one always tells the truth, figure out what question to ask to pick the correct door. This riddle was not frequently used until the movie “Labyrinth” came out, then it started popping up all over the place. That is, until the Dead Gentlemen beat it soundly into submission. Heh.

      1. fiddlerbird

        The logic puzzle of “one always lies/the other always tells the truth” existed long before Labyrinth. And it was done wrong there (which is why she failed). She got the information that one lied and one told the truth from one of the doors. Unless it was a door that was telling the truth, then the information would be a lie, and the logic to pick the right door was invalid (and there is no way to tell if both doors were liars or either were capable of lying part of the time.)

      2. Luke

        Oh wow, someone who actually watched Journeyquest. Love that webseries!

    2. Mark

      I got the reference from reading Monster Hunter Alpha by Larry Correia.

    3. trlkly

      Nope. It had to do with the “the eye” clue for me, plus knowing certain riddles that use “the eye of the needle” as the answer.

  7. With Respect

    And now.. we see the consequences of fulfilling a bargain with a mischief god?

    Or will the impacts of that needle being wrested from its place of safekeeping and the contents of Eggverse spilling out into the world be a slow reveal?

    Not that I don’t trust Veles.

    It’s just his nature; if he is indeed Julie’s opposite and equal, and she is Champion of Earth, then he must be the Archvillain of all villains, no?

    1. Ie Yamof Ool

      Fulfilling a bargain with a mischief god usually isn’t bad (as long as you read the fine print). It’s having a bargain fulfilled that’s the problem.

      If the god needs something from you bad enough to make a deal with you, he usually is quite helpful if you succeed. It’s when YOU try to make a deal with HIM that backfires.

      1. Mechwarrior

        Or worse, if you try to weasel out of your side.

    2. MattStriker

      The thing to remember is that in the original myth Veles is not a villain. He is one of a pair of constantly opposing forces.

      Perun (his opponent) represented the sky and sun, Veles represented water and earth. Hot and cold, light and dark, summer and winter…their constant struggle kept the seasons going. And both gods were widely worshipped as benevolent protectors. If Aaron is sticking with the source material, Atlas/Veles (and now 84/Veles) wouldn’t be a Superman/Luthor-type relationship (or superhero/archnemesis in general) but rather something like…well, Superman and Mister Mxyzptlk would probably still be too antagonistic, but it’s a lot closer.

      1. Dave III

        Mxy’s not really antagonistic, reading between the lines of the various interpretations. He can succumb to anger over being defeated repeatedly, but he wouldn’t REALLY want to hurt anyone. Letting you *believe* that he would, to motivate you into playing the game, THAT’S another story.

        The play’s the thing, after all. While Veles will undoubtedly set himself up as 84’s opponent, I’m sure he’ll take a paternal view to her training and career.

    3. Wanderer

      Besides the consequence of giving the I in the eye to Veles, thus releasing Baba Yaga from the egg, I suspect not too much. His confrontations with 84 may be a bit more public than those with Atlas, but they’ve been happening all along–by his very nature Veles requires an opponent (twice a year, in fact).

  8. Owlmirror

    A couple of points:

    The viewers may have seen everything, but did they hear anything at all? Surely Julie would have heard the reporter’s voice and/or her own voice bellowing from the magic window, if she were wired for sound, and would not have needed the window pointed out in the first place. Without sound, a lot of what happened in the egg becomes much more ambiguous.

    We (the readers) guessed that a needle was probably correct, given our knowledge of the stories, but Julie presumably was ignorant of those, and had to deduce it on the fly while under time pressure — definitely big points for cleverness and insight.

    1. Christopher

      Veles did this before. As he points out.

      Of course sound is muted once a person leaves the egg/trial dimension.
      You know how disconcerting it was for the people in the middle ages that did not have TV to suddenly hear the same voice twice?
      Not to mention the audio and visual feedback loop he got into the first time it showed a person outside the egg in front of the Mago-Vision 3000.

      Few things are as annoying as a microphone feedback loop, because somebody set up the loutspeakers inpoperly.

      1. Dave III

        I’ve heard it said that feedback is your electronics screaming in pain. It is not a sound to deliberately invoke. ^_^

    2. trlkly

      I just finally figured out you meant after she got out. I could not figure out why you thought that microphones had to be two-way communication.

      And it’s obviously muted once you get out, or interviewing her with a microphone would be impossible. Though perhaps it is muted only for those for whom it needs to be muted–it is magic, after all, not real sound.

  9. Knug

    I wonder where Julie is on the Vetinari Scale ?

    1. Ie Yamof Ool

      Probably not very high yet. People high on the Vetinari scale rarely actually have to DO anything. They just mention things to somebody in passing, and they deal with it without any overt prompting.

      The Vetinari scale isn’t just intelligence, it’s also manipulation & control. Right now 84 barely has control over herself much less everyone around her, just look at what Atlas 2.0 has been doing with/ to her.

      1. Matthew Davis

        I like the “yet,” there, because I suspect the Revenant rates very high on that scale — and I also suspect she’s on his radar if for not other reason than being the teammate of his protege.

    2. Wanderer

      If she keeps hanging around with Moon Shadow, as seems likely, some of it will undoubtedly rub off. Though Tyler doesn’t seem to do it consciously, any more tha Julie does. The Revenant rates higher for the same reason as the Scale’s namesake; they do it consciously!

  10. Non Verbal

    I still don’t trust Veles to keep his word and give up control of New York just like that. I think 84’s going to have to kick his ass and break his staff.

    1. Blob

      I dunno. From Veles’ perspective, New York is probably not much better than an ant farm. Sure, you can mess with the ants, but where’s the challenge? And no, I don’t torment ants for fun. I’m trying to think from Veles’ mindset, to the extent that we know it.

      1. Loksley

        Yes, Veles doesn’t care about petty mortals except in how they can be used to get what he wants, or perhaps to spread the tale of his latest epic battle. Look at how fast he grew bored of riding his rampaging Draco-Bertram and then once he finally found out why Atlas wouldn’t come out and play with him when called like a good little nemesis, he dropped Bertram’s transformation and Bertram himself like he was nothing more than an empty candy wrapper.

    2. HappyHead

      Veles didn’t _want_ New York – he _wanted_ a proper opponent. New York was just a way of motivating her to put her best effort forward. She’s not going to have to break anything to get him to leave alone the thing he didn’t really want in the first place.

      1. Dave III

        This. The fact that she’s a ten year old is irrelevant– She proved she can play the game, fair and square. The would mean a lot to someone like him… Veles is the type to whom honesty and integrity is as potent as “The Old Magic”. I’m reminded of the game of Four Square officiated by the Lords or Law and of Chaos. I suspect this would have appealed to Veles a great deal: A playground game used to settle a matter of grave import.

        1. Matthew

          Her being 10 is probably a plus. If she looks after herself he won’t need to find a new rival for 50, 60 years!

        2. Loksley

          The fact that she is only 10 could be seen as a major plus for Veles. From all appearances so far, he seems to be all about epic narratives. Such things as public competitions to select a worthy champion,
          riddles, quests, tests that reward character and quick thinking over normal definitions of might and power, journeys of self discovery, and worthy opponents that need their eternal battles to define them are all elements of the storyteller’s craft. A young and easily overlooked and often dismissed hero(ine) unaware of their potential, yet who surprises everyone by succeeding where others who were considered more capable had failed fits the bill perfectly. Think of King Arthur (mort), David against Goliath, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Paul Attradies, Jaxom of Pern, and Jack the Giant Killer to name just a few. A champion that starts out as a youth only makes them more blessed by fate in such stories. As Commander William Riker put it in the STTNG episode Contagion: “Fate: Protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise.”

          Remember, this isn’t Veles first rodeo by far. He’s already made it clear he needs a worthy opponent. He’s almost certainly won and lost so many confrontations in the past that he probably doesn’t care much about the final outcome. It’s the eternal battle itself that is important. He just needs to find a champion worthy of battling. I think he has the attitude of Kahlis the Unforgettable form the Star Trek TNG episode Rightful Heir: “We do not fight merely to spill blood, but to enrich the spirit. Look at us. Two warriors locked in battle, fighting for honour. How can you not sing for all to hear? We are Klingons! Yes! Let it out! Let the joy in your heart be heard. We are Klingons!”

          If anything, helping guide a young champion to grow into the role would only add to the epic nature of the story they will create, even if such help were to come by being the motivating thorn in her side. As Captain Black put it in the new Captain Scarlet Series, “Now we’re best of enemies!”

  11. Kerin Schiesser

    Should she be just handing it over to him, though – if it has someone’s soul in it?

    PS: Have I mentioned lately how very MUCH I love this comic? Only wish it updated faster, but that’s just me being greedy! (Hello to fellow Midwesterner! I’m from Topeka and Lawrence, KS myself, originally, though I live not too far from San Francisco, CAs for the last 18 or so years) <3 Keep up the good work! Like your other comics too, but this has LONG been my favorite of yours. Kind of miss Moonshadow, though, even though I really like 84 too. ciao!

    1. Mechwarrior

      Even if there is someone’s soul in it, Veles isn’t evil or overtly malicious, so suddenly refusing to hand it over wouldn’t make much sense.

      And even if she didn’t hand it over, what would she do with it? Hang onto it until she could give it to Miss Vashti?

    2. Rens

      Let’s just say that if it is Koschei the Deathless’ soul in there, then that rampaging murdering pillaging kidnapping raping jackass deserves whatever fate Veles has in store for him.

      Like Baba Yaga, he’s from Russian folklore. And *unlike* Baba Yaga, the guy was complete and total bad news. The nicest thing Koschei is known to have done was not killing a guy the first three times he tried to save his wife after Koschei kidnapped her, because he’d given him a drink of water when he was thirsty.

      … The fourth time he killed the guy, cut him up into tiny pieces and scattered them across the land, because he really didn’t want any interruptions while he was busy “persuading” the guy’s wife to “yield to him”…

      1. VinnyHavoc

        Baba Yaga wasn’t very nice either. She could easily be seen as a villain as well. All in all her alignment and motivations were largely ambiguous and unknowable, and very alien as befits supernatural beings. She was just as likely to want to eat you alive as help you.

        That Baba Yaga would unambiguously like to see Koschei’s end is testament to his unredeemably evil nature, even more that she wouldn’t ask some price or need to be tricked into it.

        1. Veritas

          Baba Yaga could quite fairly be described as evil – capricious and self-serving and quite willing to indulge in violence when her mood swings that way – but there’s evil and there’s evil. You don’t want to cause trouble with Baba Yaga if you can avoid it, but Koschei will cause all kinds of trouble just on his own.

        2. Rens

          ‘zactly.

          Baba Yaga was a highly uncomfortable neighbor, but generally she’d only do something nasty to you if you annoyed her first, whereas Koschei’s watch was pretty much permanently stuck on Rampage o’Clock, and ‘one-man army’ didn’t begin to describe the damage to the countryside…

        3. DoomedElf

          So he is the Joker?

  12. Pax

    YES!!! I was right aboutit being a needle, mwa ha ha ha!!!!

  13. Evil Otto

    Called it. What’s funny is that Arrogant Jerkmage (aka The Conjurer) didn’t know that bit of folklore. He could have said “Guys, we’re looking for a needle,” but apparently he hadn’t heard of Koschei, didn’t know where his soul was kept, and couldn’t connect Veles wanting an “eye” with being in Koschei’s egg, where his soul is kept in a needle.

    Well done, Julie!

    1. Big Lurker

      It’s possible that Conjurer knew, he was just keeping it to himself. We didn’t see him step on the disc at the first gate. Keeping an ace to himself to guarantee he gets the title, so to speak.

      1. Nightmask

        Conjurer couldn’t have known, if he had known the first test with the guardians they’d have read in his mind that he was after the needle and refused him entry.

    2. mltsandwich

      Or it could be a case of the Celebrity Paradox, where there is no folklore about Baba Yaga and Koschei in a world where they exist.

  14. Benjamin Urrutia

    “Aren’t I?” ain’t English. You do not say “I aren’t” or “Are I” or “I are.” Julie should say “I’m right, am I not?”
    And Veles, there is no “almost” about it.

    1. GeekLady

      In most English dialects, ‘aren’t I’ is acceptable in casual usage because they do not contain a contraction of am + not. Ain’t is much more controversial and frequently considered explicitly bad grammar instead of just casual grammar.

    2. Dave III

      Don’t forget, she’s American, and she’s a kid. (I don’t think Aaron’s said, but she’s like what, ten? Eleven? Definitely pre-pubescent.)

      Anyway, my point is, flawless Queen’s English is not a reasonable thing to expect from her. “I’m right, aren’t I?” isn’t outside common (not to say correct) usage.

    3. Non Verbal

      What then is the correct contraction of “am I not?” Amn’t I?” Aren’t I is a perfectly reasonable placeholder until you come up with answer.

    4. James

      “are not I” is both grammatically correct AND commonly used, sheesh! Grammar pedantry would be a lot less annoying if it was not quite so frequently incorrect in proscriptiveness.

      1. trlkly

        I was almost going to correct the use of “proscriptiveness,” but then I realized it really is more often about forbidding rather than requiring.

        1. James

          I’m just glad the spelling was remotely close to correct, as I was not in a position to check it 🙂

    5. darnkitten

      “Aren’t I” and “ain’t I” are both correct contractions for “am not I”/”am I not,” thought “ain’t I” is generally considered an archaic form; I have encountered “amn’t I” as well (both in Twain, and in Appalachia), and Merriam Webster says that it, as well, is a correct (Scot/Irish) usage, dating back to the 17th century..

      Ah, English…

    6. trlkly

      In addition to what everyone else said, why did you use a contraction for “am not” to mean “is not”? If “I are not” is wrong, then so is “This am not.”

      (of course, both are perfectly valid, although “ain’t” is a lower register of English.)

    7. jameshuey

      Actually if I may make a correction, “Aren’t I?” is perfectly valid American English.
      “I’m right, am I not?” is perfectly valid British English and while similar the two are not the same.
      As one of my T-shirts says-English doesn’t borrow from other languages,
      it follows other languages down dark alleys and mugs them for loose terms and grammar.
      English is a unholy mix of Welsh, French, German,in addition to bits and pieces from many others.
      American English has in addition added both words and grammar from a dozen different Native American languages, (Chicago,,kayak,toboggan,bayou,moose,each from a different language by the way)
      a number of African languages,(banjo,zombie)Chinese,(Zen) Japanese,(karaoke, tycoon,Polish,
      (horde, gurken)plus dozens of other languages and hundreds of words.
      In addition English did not actually have a set grammar or spelling until the publishing
      of the first English dictionary.
      Before then you just wrote what looked good without really caring whether your spelling
      matched that of someone on the other side of the country.
      (look at Shakespeare- he made up more new words than anyone in history)
      In addition American English has a dozen different dialects-Cajun, New England, Texan,
      among others, none of whom agree on what is correct grammar,although admittedly radio and TV
      have blended and evened a lot of them out.
      But I can still go home to Southern Maryland and find a crab fisherman
      who even though he supposedly is speaking English, would be completely intelligible
      to somebody native to Chicago or LA.
      (sorry about the rant, but this is a subject I’ve studied)

  15. Harknail

    I was thinking eye of the needle as the most likely answer, without ever having heard of the soul in the eye of the needle in the egg. It’s rarely (if every) called anything else, and it isn’t as obviously an eye as all the decoys (most (if not all) of which did have alternate names).

    But I was not at all certain of that. In any case, 84 has proven her worth as an adversary for Veles. And I’ve really enjoyed this story arc!

  16. dana

    It’s interesting that Veles thought it was clever to sent them to recover an “eye” and when 84 entered the cottage it was filled with “eyes”. Almost as if Koschei anticipated that trick.

    Although if Koschei anticipated it, why didn’t the stone guards prevent 84’s party from entering when she said they were looking for an “eye”.

    1. Kheldarson

      Because the guardians are usually set to protect the one thing. The first part of the traditional tale is getting past those guardians by being clever in your description of said object
      Veles just gave the party an up by not telling them.

      1. dana

        Umm, except the stone guard said “We don’t think that’s on the list of stuff we’re suppose to guard”. An “eye” could have been added.

        Although I do wonder what else is on that list.

        1. Kheldarson

          Right, but I did mention my comment was in regards to the traditional tales this arc is pulling from. That’s a rather minor variation. The point is that the first challenge is to trick the guards in some manner. And Veles gave them a hand there.

    2. Mike

      It actually makes sense if you think about it. “Eye” was left off the list as a deliberate act, as leaving such openings increases the lasting power of the magic (if I followed correctly what Conjurer was talking about back near the beginning). Since the stone guardians could “read the souls” of those they confront, anyone making use of that loophole would have to not know the eye was a needle’s, hence all the distracting eyes in the heart of the egg. Koschei had to leave an opening to extend the life of the magic, but he made sure to “guard” it from a different direction.

    3. Veritas

      It could be that the “treasure room” contains a great many nonreal things, which obfuscate the real target by becoming what the seeker expects to see in some fashion or another. Julie went in there looking for an eye, so she saw a whole crapton of eyes. While it’s possible that (as another commenter said lower down) all those things were a deliberate smokescreen to cover up a loophole (getting in by not knowing that the “eye” is a needle’s), where magic is involved, it’s also possible that you see what you expect to see. Or in this case, everything you see is shaded by what you’re looking for.

      1. Veritas

        That was “just above” not “farther down,” didn’t keep track of comment threading quite right. Whoops.

      2. Mike

        That would make even more sense, especially if there was more than one “loophole” available for getting past the first guardians.

      3. scantrontb

        i was thinking that she was going to bring out a mirror, kinda like PO the Dragon Warrior, did in Kung Fu Panda… the “eye” being an “I”, as in “Me, Myself and I”…

  17. Yog

    Didn’t see this coming. Probably because of “it is not called anything else” and the eye images / objects in the final room in connection to slav mythology. In Russian the eye of the needle is called the ear of the needle. So, unless the egg changes to fit perceptions of those entering (possible, since Baba Yaga spoke English, and not the medieval version), it would mean that Koschei set the egg for English language native speakers.

    1. Dave III

      Maybe it wasn’t the real Baba Yaga, just a holodeck character like the Guardians and the Mist. By *appearing* to help and give a clue that would cause much overthinking (HOW long did we gnaw on this one?) she might be described as the last of the security measures.

      Just a thought.

      1. Jasae Bushae

        Or, she was giving a hint that she knew her audience would understand, even if it was not necessarily accurate. As far as 84 knows, that is the only term for the eye of a needle.

      2. Mike

        A quite plausible thought, although I’m loath to give up my fantasy of Baba Yaga getting out of the egg and wandering through Washington D.C. for a while before heading home.

        1. Dave III

          That would involve Aaron drawing the house-with-chicken-legs.

          *squee* ^_^

    2. trlkly

      As I said, other languages could hardly count, as then every object has more than one name.

      The big question is if the contents of the cottage at the end actually change depending on what it is you think you are looking for….

    3. VinnyHavoc

      In english it’s called the eye of the needle, in russian it’s called the ear of the needle, however the object, and it’s feature, remain the same. A thin, sharp shard of metal with a loop at the end to pull thread. Koschei’s soul is hidden within that loop.

      Had Julie been a native russian speaker, Veles would have told her to look for an ear. She would tell the guardians she’s looking for an ear, and they, being tasked to guard a needle, would let her through. At the final store room, the needle would be surrounded by a bunch of ear-related paraphernalia, in line with the expectation of searching for an ear ‘of some kind,’ in an effort to obfuscate the target.

      Even if the terminology of the language changes, the riddle and it’s challenge remains the same, because the objects and loopholes themselves are the same. It’s basically just a substitution cipher to decide what actual words to sue based on native language.

  18. Matt [in Middletown]

    What if… Veles isn’t actually a villain, but something of a hero gardener?
    Weeding out the ones who aren’t quite up to snuff because some REAL BIG baddie is on the way?
    [Don’t worry, he’s obviously a villain. But still, what if?]

    1. VinnyHavoc

      I don’t think he consciously sets out to do so, but it is the end result. It’s in his nature to test and challenge the champion of the world, and in so doing, the champion is kept in top form and made cleverer and stronger.

      In general, that’s the purpose of trickster gods, to be an antagonistic foil against heroes and champions, obstacles and tests to overcome, with real consequences for failure, but no true malice of forethought.

      Q from Star Trek is the same way, and it’s hinted that Q is actually rigging his own tests and games in humanity’s favor, specifically to accelerate their development.

  19. mrtt

    My bet is that he didn’t care what she brings out as long as she has good reasoning and gives a good show

  20. Jackspades

    But the eye of a needle DOES have another name, it’s a Grommet.
    therefor the hint that it had no other name was incorrect.

    1. trlkly

      I can’t find any dictionary that backs up that usage. A grommet is ring of metal and not one attached to a needle. Click my name above to see a Google Image search–no “needle eye” in the bunch.

      1. trlkly

        I mean, click my name in this comment. I hit submit too soon…

        1. Jackspades

          a Grommet is a hole designed to allow a cable, string, or rope to pass through:
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grommet

          all needle eyes are grommets, not all grommets are eyes of needles and of course a google image search is going to show only unattached grommets rather than needles which contain a built in grommet just as a google image search for Gaskets will not show you a car even though all cars contain gaskets.

          for reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle See Also Eyelet (which is synonymous with grommet and redirects to that page.)

    2. enderlord99

      You mean that claymation dog that hangs out with Wallace, the latter of which is also the 8th Gym Leader of Hoenn?

      …

      Wait, what?

  21. Delver

    Ah so he stuck to the fable all along.

  22. HardWearJunkie

    Slang is an off-the-cuff verbal grammar. I see it used when people are trying to make a quick point about their ideas spending too much energy about the grammar rules. In a text based conversation the “speaker” has more time to form a proper response and, thus, has more time to edit the grammar mistakes. 84’s use of “aren’t I” is fine because she is speaking off-the-cuff; if she were speaking the Queen’s English then we would have scoffed at her vocabulary and our suspension of disbelief would be broken. (Now that I look at it, “would be broken” or “would have been broken”? That is my grammar weak point.)

    I want their yearly contests to be Magic: The Gathering card games. That would be interesting to watch.

    1. Stephen R. Bierce

      In the tradition of duel protocols the CHALLENGED has the right to choose the “game”. Intercontinental Hopscotch, anyone?

    2. William H. Stoddard

      I use “were” with “would be” and “had been” with “would have been.” It’s sort of present vs. past.

  23. luagha

    Drat, my other prediction didn’t come true. I predicted 84 was going to ‘present’ the eye to Veles… but then keep it, slam shut her super strong hand. On the basis that he said ‘present it’ not ‘give it’. Ah well.

    1. Dave III

      She’s a kid, and not quite that literal. Plus, Veles magicked it out of her hand almost immediately, only by using her superspeed would she have been (mentally) fast enough to snatch it back. I don’t know if she’s learned to use her reflexes that way, yet– nor do I think her innocence dinged and chipped with enough cynicism to assume Veles might have any other reason to want the eye/needle other than it being a “flag”… that is to say, any reason to think the needle could be anything other than an actual needle, or that Veles might misrepresent himself in what otherwise would appear to be a fairly straightforward test. Just like in class.

      If she were ten years older, she might’ve done. It heavily depends on how Veles behaves next.

  24. Russell White

    The worst part? watching the “show” as they repeatedly walked down the path for hours on end

    1. HardWearJunkie

      I’m sure there was a time delay or some sort of Instant Forward button or “jump this grotesque display of death” button.

  25. Eric

    Here is a thought: could Julie be of Russian/Slavic decent? Meeting Baba Yaga may have tipped her off about the needle being “it”. BY may hve been mentioned in a class about myths around the world or magical beings one may encounter as a hero, but realizing it be a needle’s eye above all others might be influenced by knowing the tale. I agree, whole heartedly, that it wasn’t an eye in the literal sense of the word, hence the guards not seeing it in anyone’s thoughts, making it exceptional, but it does add a little flavor to the character.

    1. Mechwarrior

      Given that it’s possible to find and face mythological characters in this universe, PS238 might actually teach a wide selection of mythology to the students.

  26. Benjamin Urrutia

    Are I blue?
    Are I blue?
    Ain’t these tears telling you?

  27. With Respect

    At this point, must say, well done, Mr. Williams. A masterfully told story. Thank you.

  28. Opus the Poet

    Just vamping for a second, what if Veles says something along the lines of “Now that you found it I have to put it back for the next hero to find for their test.” As in the evil villain whose soul was in the eye has been long since vanquished, but finding the Eye is still a fun way to find a worthy hero.

    1. Knug

      I also suspect that the eye no longer holds the villain’s sole, and that Veles uses the egg for amusement.

      1. trlkly

        Yeah, he’s got the sole hanging on his shoe horn.

        1. Knug

          Arrgh. Yes, soul not sole. My apologies to the fish.

  29. Van

    Now Conjurer and Neuronet have some serious serious but kissing and apologizing to do. Also they are in really deep doodoo with their bosses and sponsors at this point. And I think that the feds may want a word or two with them. Especially for “abuse of a minor”, and a few other things.

    1. Lycanthromancer

      Question is, did Neuronet perform the act on American soil? If not, he can’t actually be charged with anything.

      1. Weatherheight

        While it’s difficult to charge someone with a crime committed outside a given jurisdiction in that jurisdiction, it’s conceivable that international law may have some bearing in a circumstance like this. Although burden of proof for the prosecution is going to be rough – the “video” of the events would most likely be qualified as hearsay (given the nature of the source) and trying to prove use of psi would also be difficult unless psi-detectors are a thing in PS238-land – the testimony of eyewitness victims might still prove pretty compelling. Since international law essentially delineates those actions that the signatories have agreed are unlawful regardless of where someone is, UN prosecution is still a possibility (assuming that a UN-ish body exists in PS 238-land).

        Most comic writers don’t figure out legal codes throughout the Genre (thus the resulting Civil War storyline at Marvel). I sat down and figured this out for an RPG I run because I KNEW my players would try to weasel out of the consequences of the horrific actions they would take to win at any cost. WWI in that campaign world was awash in supers, and the body counts and property destruction were just more than anyone could tolerate – use of superpowers in international conflict and incidents (including political and diplomatic situations) and having a unified code for dealing with supers was a VERY big part of the Geneva Convention.

        1. Weatherheight

          In addition, everything Shadur said in such elegant fashion, and that goes triple for the social consequences. Both of the offending parties should expect a shunning and public shaming of galactic proportions. If they were characters in any game I run, their reputations and their working relationships with governmental bodies (and thus their superheroic careers) are shot.

      2. Van

        Tell that to the guy who shot Cecil the Lion. He is being tried in American court.

      3. Gordon

        I am sure there are laws about crimes committed in alternate dimensions, temporal anomalies, and other weird setting that magical/superhero shenanigans often take place in.

        Especially when the transgressions are broadcast for all to see.

    2. Veritas

      Julie and her peers (most of them*) are in an odd place. Yes, they’re technically minors. However, they semi-regularly go up against real-world situations that our society goes out of its way to protect typical children from. Several of them don’t conform to the usual standards of human cognition and/or development, and in Julie’s case, her very durability makes it not unreasonable to step outside the protections of childhood and go into what for most people would be harm’s way.

      (*: I say “most of them” because there are some over whom time does not have normal sway; time-travellers, ancient goddesses of the hearth…)

      Neuronet treated 84 as a superhero in that situation (if not before), as did Veles (throughout). To turn around and slap him with charges relating to a minor might or might not be legal in the PS238 setting (and it would almost certainly fly in the media, which is not something I see as a good thing), but it’s certainly fallacious – moving the goalposts after the kick. It’s especially troublesome logic when one considers just how much flak Neuronet was getting for treating her as a child. Then he treats her like someone of majority (which even child superheroes may count as while they’re in costume) and a member of his team (which was in error), and he gets flak for doing that to a child.

      It seems likely to me that this legal wrinkle is exactly why (or at least one reason why) PS238 students are required to keep secret identities in the first place: Julie, the girl, is a separate legal entity from 84, the costumed superhero. Julie might enjoy certain protections, but the moment she puts on that costume and becomes 84, at least some of them are void.

      1. Shadur

        Depending on the laws about mind control — and in a universe where that’s a thing, there had better BE laws for it — he should still get hammered pretty hard for coercion, non-consent, and reckless endangerment.

        “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine” is not in any shape or form going to stand up in court regardless of whether it turned out to be true.

        At the very *least* his particular supergroup’s likely to have zero new applicants while he’s still in it.

        1. Haligon

          Considering everything happened in another dimension, I don’t think anything legal would stand up…it’s way out of anyone’s jurisdiction.

          The *social* backlash, on the other hand….

      2. Van

        That may hold a little water, but I think that in the court of public opinion they will still be crucified. Look At the cops who defended themselves from attackers, whether the attackers were armed or not. They were crucified for doing their jobs, and witch hunted by the feds. The 84 and Julie being separate will not hold up. Besides, being in New York, they would have laws most states either took off the books decades ago or new ones just to be wrong.

  30. Jack Simth

    Cue “But wait… what are you going to do with it, and what if I don’t want to be named champion of Earth?”

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