2013/11/01 - [DMFA #1441] A Grim Retirement

[ChaosMageX]

Considering retirement for her means her death, it is rather grim indeed, and quite a shame, considering how much I like Zezzuva.
Also, it is a little worrisome.  If Zezzuva herself can't handle running her own clan anymore, what exactly does Kiki's grandmother have that would allow her to do so?
My guess is that she's an Insectis queen and their minds are actually naturally able to handle managing a colony of thousands, but I'm still in doubt as to whether she can handle a colony of Insectis-Cubi that have special needs beyond those of conventional Insectis.

[joshofspam]

I'm actually finding it interesting to all the different reactions they seem to have to her announcement.

It a pretty big one. Some seem to admire her, others seem a little put off. But Kiki seems a bit the same all around.

Edit: Maybe admire and put off aren't the right words. Maybe a little....what's the words...well a bit of silent contemplation on the fact already said and her statement another well known tri-wing is about to die.

Edit2: I think it's really interesting how Abyss follows a person with her eyes.

[ZacAttac21]

Judging from Jeremiah's words in the first panel... I'm guessing the theory of "more clan members = more powerful leader" was correct?

[Tapewolf]

Judging from Jeremiah's words in the first panel... I'm guessing the theory of "more clan members = more powerful leader" was correct?

Hard to say.  It could mean that she can't control that many members.  Cyra and Piflak both seem to suggest "less clan members = more power per member".

[Silverling]

Being that its an insect race, I'm going to take a guess that a hive mentality is a strong key to handling that many members at once...


Though there's a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that the transfer won't go as smoothly as planned...

[Tapewolf]

All said, this is rather a shame.  I do kind of like Zezzuva.  I wonder what the mammalian part of her clan will think about the change in Leadership?  For that matter, will they even be able to pronounce the new name of their clan?

[Naldru]

If Zezzuva herself can't handle running her own clan anymore, what exactly does Kiki's grandmother have that would allow her to do so?
My guess is that she's an Insectis queen and their minds are actually naturally able to handle managing a colony of thousands, but I'm still in doubt as to whether she can handle a colony of Insectis-Cubi that have special needs beyond those of conventional Insectis.

Given the time scale that Zezzuva is talking about, it is likely that Kiki's grandmother is an Insectis-Cubi hybrid and that Kiki's grandmother's grandmother was also an Insectis-Cubi hybrid.  While spending several centuries breeding an Insectis-Cubi race, she has also been breeding an Insectis-Cubi queen.

[Wdot]

Well, if I take this at face value, I'm sad because I liked what I know about Zezzuva. Of course no one wants characters they like to die in the story. However, Zezzuva is a spymaster, and spies obfuscate, deceive, misdirect, and downright lie. So given that, I can doubt that she's going to die. Another thing is the Dragons. If there is a war, how many Cubi are going to die? A major war can kill hundreds of thousands. Dragons from what I can tell in this particular Universe are almost as powerful as the Fae. I don't see them losing unless there is a edge. If most of Zezzuva's clan are lost in the war, she might hold off on the power transfer thing.

I did not expect this comic to have a war, really. I'm kinda curious how it will be handled, truth be told and I am worried about the characters I like and what will happen to them.  On a side note, I've never trusted bugs since I read Starship Troopers when I was a kid. Like the Borg, they are on my list of things to avoid if possible and eradicate if necessary. A conquering army of bugs might not be such a good thing for the beings...

[joshofspam]

Well, if I take this at face value, I'm sad because I liked what I know about Zezzuva. Of course no one wants characters they like to die in the story. However, Zezzuva is a spymaster, and spies obfuscate, deceive, misdirect, and downright lie. So given that, I can doubt that she's going to die. Another thing is the Dragons. If there is a war, how many Cubi are going to die? A major war can kill hundreds of thousands. Dragons from what I can tell in this particular Universe are almost as powerful as the Fae. I don't see them losing unless there is a edge. If most of Zezzuva's clan are lost in the war, she might hold off on the power transfer thing.

I did not expect this comic to have a war, really. I'm kinda curious how it will be handled, truth be told and I am worried about the characters I like and what will happen to them.  On a side note, I've never trusted bugs since I read Starship Troopers when I was a kid. Like the Borg, they are on my list of things to avoid if possible and eradicate if necessary. A conquering army of bugs might not be such a good thing for the beings...

Then again, when you look at Chichi, maybe it isn't so bad.

[Les]

Kiki's moth-antannae remind me of Zezzuva's ears.

[Xios Chiano]

All said, this is rather a shame.  I do kind of like Zezzuva.  I wonder what the mammalian part of her clan will think about the change in Leadership?  For that matter, will they even be able to pronounce the new name of their clan?

They could just carry around sandpaper and a small sheet of metal. Turn saying their clan name into a running gag. Oh wait that's more of DiDi's thing and someone else's...
--

It's interesting how abiding she is to her own motto of the strong will survive.

[Zeb]

I enjoy how Abyss is following her with her left hand eye rather then turning to follow her movements, just looks so interesting like that.

[Jasae Bushae]

Given the rate of the comics speed in universe, it could be YEARS before we see her retirement, much less the effects of it. Just think how long we have been in  Dan's stay at the academy.

[Mermidion]

"....if the world was Ready for them"

-Hah i knew it.Nothing good can come from involving this much insects. Quick get the trucks with the bugsprays while they can still be stopped.

[meltingface101]

I  don't  see  this  going  well  for  anyone  else  either ; they  possess  absolutely  none  of  the  limiting  factors  that  apply  to  other  races , and  if  they  are  anything  like  termites  or  ants  they  would  pose  a  far  greater  threat  than  the  undead  

[Jasae Bushae]

Well theres always the Fae. things never turn out badly for the Fae

[HaDDea]

I  don't  see  this  going  well  for  anyone  else  either ; they  possess  absolutely  none  of  the  limiting  factors  that  apply  to  other  races , and  if  they  are  anything  like  termites  or  ants  they  would  pose  a  far  greater  threat  than  the  undead  

Perhaps - we don't really know much about the Insectis race yet, or what kind of limitations the 'cubi traits will impose upon them. I imagine having emotional affinity added to the Insectis may drive them above ground (depending on how much emotion the average Insectis normally experiences - I suspect it may be less than that of a Being), and the emotional nature of 'cubi will likely make them harder to control than a normal Insectis colony might be. Our unknown queen might need all the power she can muster to help keep her clan in check and successful.

Hard to say.  It could mean that she can't control that many members.  Cyra and Piflak both seem to suggest "less clan members = more power per member".

Funny how this doesn't seem to work when it comes to having offspring, as the bigger clan tends to get a new member in 'cubi-'cubi matches.

[Tapewolf]

Funny how this doesn't seem to work when it comes to having offspring, as the bigger clan tends to get a new member in 'cubi-'cubi matches.

I'm not sure it was the bigger clan that was dominant, I thought it was the most powerful.  It was left ambiguous what 'powerful' meant, but I took it to mean magic power.  I am fairly certain that if you have a leaderless 'cubi and a 'cubi with a clan leader, the child of that match will always be the clan with the leader, regardless of the number of members in either clan.

EDIT: Ah, here we are....

http://clockworkmansion.com/forum/index.php/topic,3528.msg151827.html#msg151827
"In the case of two Cubi from different clans having children, the more powerful clan will pass the symbol on to their offspring."

...nice and ambiguous.

[Eboreg]

What I gathered was that "power" was proportional to how many members the clan had and whether or not the clan had a tri-wing in power.

[seikueon]

Having reread the Demo info on Insectis...  and the other thing people keep bringing up...

Are there any non-Cubi Insectis left?  Yes, probably.  Since the info suggested "Queens".  But they've been conquering underground.  So...?

Are there any non-Insectis Cubi left in her Clan?  Original Clan strength wasn't hardly comparable.  So any that are left that don't like it can change Clans, I guess... Do the ones hagning at SAIA even know?

How are the Mer handling the change in their allies?

And why hasn't Kiki ripped out all the feathers of Zezzuva?

Questions we may never get answered.

[joshofspam]

Of course the whole use of the word power can be a little ambiguous.

Power in this case could mean a whole lot of things Clan size, magic support, magic generated between the members and the Tri-wing of their clan, shear numbers of the  members or the mind link with all those members.

Another interesting thought is what's going to happen with all the non insectis members of Zezzuva's clan once she passes it over to Kiki's grandmother?

[Jasae Bushae]

As I recall, wasnt it stated somewhere that Piflaks clan was so friggin powerful because she limited the number of members?
And that clan Cyra had an especially large amount of power because it wasn't being shared?

As I understood it, the clan leaders were basically the physical manifestation of their clans power, with the power of a clan leader taking away the need for eating or sleeping with any member of a clan able to effortlessly tap that connection to ring up their clan leader at any time. (Abel doesn't have a leader and needed to eat and sleep once he left the academy which was formed of Falina's power which was not being shared.)

So her clan might actually be weaker in terms of power with this large population

[Tapewolf]

As I understood it, the clan leaders were basically the physical manifestation of their clans power, with the power of a clan leader taking away the need for eating or sleeping with any member of a clan able to effortlessly tap that connection to ring up their clan leader at any time. (Abel doesn't have a leader and needed to eat and sleep once he left the academy which was formed of Falina's power which was not being shared.)

I don't think there's a strong link between sleeping or eating and the clan leader - from what's been said in and out of comic, I think that's innate to all 'Cubi with headwings, clan leader or no.  With Abel, he never weaned himself off food and sleep and thus retained some of his Being characteristics like the ability to dream.  If he had a living Leader he would have lost the ability to dream, though the reasons for this are very hazy.

As I understand it, most 'Cubi naturally become more magical over their lives, and less dependent on physical sustenance, be it food, water or air.  However, it is possible to aggressively accelerate this process as well.  Abel seems to have done the opposite and retarded it, by accident or otherwise.

[Les]

I just interpreted it as... More Cubi in clan, more powerful the clan leader.   Fewer Cubi in clan, less powerful the clan leader, but less power has to be shared among members...  this is power beyond basic cubi abilities, cubi abilities do not spring-forth from this.


Granted a sufficiently powerful Clan Leader could have enough to spare that their clan members get enough 'bonus power' anyway despite having so many fellow clan-members to share it with.. So from that we could infer that Zezzuva's strategy is twofold.

1) Out-Breed the Dragons:  Zezzuva's gambit has led to there being so many Cubi that the Dragon's genocidal ambitions are severely hampered by weight of numbers alone.

2) Quantity has a Quality of it's own, and then some:  Zezzuva's plan essentially has 'Broken the Scale', and once she's successfully transffered clan leadership her clan will have not only numbers undreamt of by other Cubi clans it will have power to match.

[Wanderer]

Zezzuva: "Wellp, now that I've created a hybrid species that has the potential for a population explosion that could result in the complete extinction of every other species in the world, I'ma hand all my power over to them and commit suicide. Don't worry, they're completely trustworthy. You all have fun now!"

[Tuyu]

As I understand it, most 'Cubi naturally become more magical over their lives, and less dependent on physical sustenance, be it food, water or air.  However, it is possible to aggressively accelerate this process as well.  Abel seems to have done the opposite and retarded it, by accident or otherwise.

I seem to be in "real world" mode today.

It could be simply that if a cubi feeds off emotions more or less exclusively, their physical digestive system atrophies.


Abel seems to have spent a *lot* of time in cooking classes. And in using those skills.

[Brunhidden]

okay, now that they are a full blown invasive species can i interest people in a cubi-pot-pie?



stop escaping delicious sexy pie

[YawnPB]

There might be another factor to consider.  The clan leader has some awareness of every cubi in their clan do they not?  Just managing the sheer amount of minds and energies of all those members must be taxing to some degree. 

Current cubi have never had this many members before ever, it seems to exceed their limits somewhat.  In theory Zezzuva planned for this in her selective breeding and made an "heir" capable of handling all of this? 

Another thing too... cubi wings are the toughest part of their bodies generally.  With the insectis natural body armor just how much more damage resistant would their wings be?  Though Kiki's wings look fragile, given the clan they just might be anything but.