NofNA, "Syconium" page #180

Syconium
180

July 1st, 2017

40 .	by: Jackal	July 4, 2017, 6:49 pm
Why does Scruffy seem so dang loud? (theoretically speaking) His orange speech bubbles really stand out and the orange-backed panels really have a presence on this page (similar to pages 10-12). Don't yet know if there's any significance in the orange or not. Guess we'll see.

39 .	by: Seven	July 3, 2017, 9:33 pm
This is one of those times that I wish I could justify buying Zack's books... I need to know more about this tapeworm-wielder.

38 .	by: Furrama	July 3, 2017, 7:17 pm
I do wonder how predatory animal bodies function after the moment of these first intelligent contacts. Once fish and bugs are off the table, what do they eat? After a certain point I assume that they can synthesize or grow protein and such. But in the meantime, does civilization just prey on wilds out of necessity? Is it like ancient "I kill you for sustenance but I see you as an equal worthy of respect, thank you for your sacrifice" kind of deal? The implications for such growing pains in this world are interesting to me.

37 .	by: Downhill	July 3, 2017, 5:34 pm
That tapeworm-wielding guy from Secretary totally cracked the secret to Worm Friendship, but everyone thought he was a nut and the knowledge died with him. Just another one of the tragic losses caused by Malice.

36 .	by:	July 3, 2017, 4:22 pm
Scruffy sure is a cocky sonuvabitch, ain't he.

35 .	by: 9times	July 3, 2017, 2:17 pm
Honestly though, that and other parasites (barnacles etc) sound fascinating to explore.

34 .	by: 9times	July 3, 2017, 2:16 pm
Intestinal worms have probably long since been eradicated thanks to the auspices of society.

33 .	by: kuu	July 3, 2017, 5:54 am
the idea of intestinal worms with halos and if they could communicate with their host. nightmare fuel or cute? will they ever develop contact? would fish and amphibians have an easier time communicating?

32 .	by: Crescent	July 3, 2017, 4:49 am
I wish I didn't have severe arachniphobia, Lycosa sounds really intriguing..

31 .	by: Juna	July 3, 2017, 12:10 am
So that means fish and mammals are about on the same level, but their means of communication don't line up, while insects are actually more advanced? While it does seem counter-intuitive to me at first, I can see it if we take the egg-sac based network in Lycosa as a major form of technology. (Well, those are arachnids but...) Maybe the nature of eusocial insects like bees and ants could be taken as a key shift in thinking.

30 .	by: Kai	July 2, 2017, 11:03 pm
Seems that way, but Zach says they can't communicate. While insects recognize mammals as intelligent, I guess mammals don't view insects and fish as creatures "developed enough" to have a halo brain.

29 .	by: 9times	July 2, 2017, 10:29 pm
That's fine if true, but it's not what Zack said. He seemed to be describing it in more rational terms - they can't establish contact. From what we've seen, it seems like they should be able.

28 .	by:	July 2, 2017, 9:12 pm
@9times it's not, happens all the time in the real world. People are ignored and shuffled into lesser categories when it's convenient. Think about racists and chew on that. The receiving end of judgement is very well aware of what the majority has to say about them, and the majority go their happy way without batting an eye at the lives of minorities, because it would be very inconvenient to consider. The mammals and birds in society at this point in time don't want to consider the implications of this, so they don't, they look the other way. Wilds don't believe in this and hunt as our animals do. When confronted with the idea of eating another mammal/bird, Açai's response is Oh God, but Cherry's response is Eh!

27 .	by: 9times	July 2, 2017, 8:27 pm
If insects can recognize that mammals are intelligent, it seems inexplicable that mammals and fish can't do the same.

26 .	by:	July 2, 2017, 11:35 am
The morality in this world is varied between different cultures, exemplified in the differences between Meander and Rule's point of view.

25 .	by: natoon	July 2, 2017, 10:28 am
(11)That would be interesting, HIOT members sneaking away to eat brains.:)

24 .	by: Furrama	July 2, 2017, 12:03 am
No, they don't know the fish was intelligent. Remember that wilds also eat people all the time, but they generally know and don't care. You never know what or who you're going to eat.

23 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 10:41 pm
*ate

22 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 10:41 pm
But do the people on this page KNOW that they just age a person? And what's Hearts of Valor? I don't remember that from the comic.

21 .	by: Zack	July 1, 2017, 6:47 pm
Hi, It's true that all animals have the halo brain. But if they can't establish contact with each other, it's like a Terran trying to ascertain whether Plutonians exist. They couldn't parse the signal. The insects have taken this in stride because of their... culture? Their advanced state. For the underwater denizens, they know as much as the land-dwellers. Later on, fish and insects enter the cultural envelope of society and start to feature in works, like Hearts of Valor (which was continually revised throughout its history). I never draw them any longer, but the NofNA world also has a few giant insects which larger carnivores might seek out for a more convenient meal.

20 .	by: Papeipou	July 1, 2017, 2:13 pm
#12/hazard- perhaps XX "getting rid of that property" will be us seeing things go back full-circle.. as in Greenie returning the favor.

19 .	by: Papeipou	July 1, 2017, 2:13 pm
#12/hazard- perhaps XX "getting rid of that property" will be us seeing things go back full-circle.. as in Greenie returning the favor.

18 .	by: Witticaster	July 1, 2017, 1:30 pm
"As long as she's in there, you're bust." Breakout saga go!

17 .	by: Nobody	July 1, 2017, 1:12 pm
there was a lion in the 10%+ arc as well as several snakes (who are also obligate carnivores). i'm guessing the ethics of veganism vs cannibalism was somethin zack just didn't want to touch? who knows. cannibalism seems to not be as abhorred in this society as it is in our society, because it is technically legal, and somewhat expected from wild predator populations. yea, they did eat a living, sentient "person", fish, like them though, without realizing it. fucked up! i'm assuming that's why the fish is not outlined.

16 .	by: Seven	July 1, 2017, 1:10 pm
@11 Could be a cultural taboo even if they don't know that fish have halos.

15 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 12:39 pm
I'd say large cats would have trouble integrating in society at this point for that reason - eating enough insects would be pretty difficult. In areas near water with consistent populations of fish perhaps it can work out. Canids are more omnivorous and can probably manage fine, and certainly bears. It's more an issue for hypercarnivores like cats.

14 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 12:21 pm
@Witch You raise an interesting point! I forget, do we ever see large carnivores appearing in society? All I remember are smaller animals, certainly no lions - so I wonder if big predators refuse to join society simply because they can't survive in it? I mean, that's assuming there isn't - or won't eventually be - an alembic that resolves the issue, but still.

13 .	by: Witch	July 1, 2017, 11:38 am
It would be really hard to survive if they wouldn't allow predators to eat fish. A lion cant be a vegetarian, even with 5000 lycosas.

12 .	by: hazard	July 1, 2017, 11:08 am
"as long as she keeps property of her committment to sex" That tells us what XX has to do - get rid of that property, but what does he mean by that?

11 .	by: ItPierces	July 1, 2017, 11:08 am
I believe that Zach earlier implied within the comment section that difficulty in communication prevents land vertebrates from establishing the halo nature of fish, insects, et al. What I'm curious about is why a pair of mustelids would avoid eating their prey's brain. That's usually the first thing they go after (see link): URL : http://youtu.be/iIK9lExPgOM

10 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 11:06 am
At this point, mammals/birds don't know that insects have halo brains. I think Zach once said that this goes for fish, too? So yeah, it IS messed up in our point of view, but the animals simply...don't know?

9 .	by: hazard	July 1, 2017, 11:04 am
There could be reasons it's considered okay to eat spiders and bugs - my guess is a communication barrier. If your senses literally can't pick up and understand the other person, you may assume they're not speaking. (I would LOVE to see an arc where one group figures out another is also conscious) Great now XX has to defeat Fig and also prove this guy friggin wrong Gotta wonder how much of Scruffy's research is biased because he started out looking for primal instincts winning from the get go.

8 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 10:14 am
But they eat spiders too. I'd really like this to be explained. Cannibalism being acceptable is a big deal.

7 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 8:30 am
Scruffy reminds me of Gary Oak actually, a dick and a show off and conceited, but that doesn't make him a bad person.

6 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 8:26 am
Fish must if arachnids do, these two are escaping to the wild areas for fun and being bad, enjoying life's base animalistic pleasures. To show they aren't "above" it.

5 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 7:59 am
Do fish not have have halo brains?

4 .	by: Downhill	July 1, 2017, 7:40 am
Scruffy has such a limited worldview compared to Smoothie. Smoothie (or Snooty now lol) agrees that sex is a large part of the world, but he thinks there's more to people than primal instinct. I hope he can show that to everyone.

3 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 5:13 am
hmmmmmmm Scruffy is kind of a dick

2 .	by:	July 1, 2017, 4:30 am
I was wondering when we'd see that guy again.

1 .	by: Furrama	July 1, 2017, 2:46 am
Winter is coming.