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She's lost the only person she's ever loved, but Athena Spartan's world is about to get worse as Lucifer reveals to her the nature of the enemy responsible for her loss, and that if he isn't stopped all of humanity is doomed to an existence of servitude.

Episode 24 of Janissary is now available in the member's area at http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-24

As always, comments and discussion are welcomed and encouraged.

Interesting setup to coming clash between Centrum and Spartan. Don't think Ericka died, scenario seemed off.

Alien in the beginning was with Centrum then or not? If so Centrum wanted Athena dead right?

Lucifer mentioned all her victims died, meaning Ganderon. So who/what's with Charlie/Centrum? Great issue, looking forward to next one.

-Sumatra

Now understanding the magnitude of the threat they're facing, Athena and the rest of the people trapped in the Elysian system wait for the intervention of the god-like Artificial Intelligent Entities who have their own reasons for stopping Charlie, but a surprising arrival may change everything.

Episode 25 of Janissary is now available in the member's area at:

http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-25

Well, I'd call this a twist but it was set up from earlier -- the drones are facing extinction in the face of Willu's vanity, and aren't prepared to go down meekly. This is definitely a game-changer... basically it's gone from "hopeless" to "very long shot", which is still an improvement. I'm curious as to the odd coloration of this drone (or rather, the lack thereof).... maybe she's cut off from the hive mind to make sure that Charlie doesn't find out or take control of her?

Anyway, the threads are coming together, and just how bad things are is clear. The AIs, previously considered for all practical purposes untouchable and unassailable, have been swatted aside with humiliating ease by Charlie. Of course, that's largely their own fault... they were arrogant and extremely rigid in their thinking, and it was that inability to think outside the box that cost them. Now it's just the woefully outmatched humans and allies against a reality warper -- though now it seems they have inside help, combined with Charlie's own mental limits (massive IQ but emotionally underdeveloped, meaning his application of that intellect is erratic).

Good stuff.

ETA: Oh, played a hunch and a cool callback! This drone is the very same one who was converted much earlier in the story. Wonder how that plays into everything?

The unexpected defection of a Centrum drone gives Athena and her allies the remote hope of stopping Charlie, and Athena launches herself on a mission that no one expects her to come back from. Unnoticed in the general confusion, meanwhile, an old enemy proves he's not out of the game yet.

Episode 26 of Janissary in now available in the Member's Area at http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-26.

Comments and discussion, as always, are welcome.

Two and a half decades ago an experiment began that reached far back into the lost history of Novaroma and would have repercussions in the future that no one could have predicted. Meanwhile, in that future, Athena and her new ally have reached the Forge while Charlie has arrived at Elysia and the desperate defense of everything begins.

http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-27

As always, comments are welcome.

Now that was a fight that I didn't expect. I'm excited to see the next chapter.

I admit to overlooking this comic for quite a stretch, and reading through the chapters back to back makes it that much more enjoyable. The dualism between the various factions juxtaposed between Athena and characters she meets along the way is interesting in itself as an operatic read. I believe my only real feedback I can give is Athena's plot armor is too solid at times, and she never reads as though she may be in actual danger, even when Alarius captured her. On the other hand, the ancillary characters were all open game to me, with the exception of Ericka's demise which was blunt and surprising, and well done. Hoping to read more soon!

Charlie has arrived on Elysia looking for the key to unlock the power of the Forge, and all hope seems lost. Her allies defeated or fleeing, Athena herself is captured and Willu decides that if external measures can't control Athena's mind, perhaps her innermost thoughts will break it instead.

Episode 28 of Janissary is now available in the member's area at http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-28. The end has begun.

As always, comments and discussion are welcome and appreciated.

Great as always. The only problem is that I need to wait another two weeks before I get to see what happens next!

Wow, just... wow. I honestly didn't see that explanation for Willu's behavior, but it does answer several discrepancies, namely:

- Why Willu immediately declared Charlie to be her love, and never questioned his course of actions. Regarding the first, Willu (the original) would likely have viewed Charlie as a son/little brother, and it's highly doubtful that she would have been sexually attracted to him even in his altered form. And she sure as hell would have at least raised concerns on his 'assimilate everyone' plan. In this, it boils down to an Oedipus complex combined with a deep seated need for Willu's approval. And since nu-Willu's personality is based on not what Willu was actually like but what Charlie wants her to be like, she would of course be egging him on in whatever task he set out to do.

- The seeming lack of mental trauma from her long stasis and the display of very sadistic and egocentric behavior. I originally thought the latter was caused by the former -- that her changed behavior was a result of having gone crazy being unable to move and having a horrific experience replayed in her head for years. There was no transition period here, though... she didn't seem to need to adjust at all to suddenly being able to move again or having her physical form altered. And the sadism seemed completely new. Again, it's now revealed that it's because she's basically the embodiment of all of Charlie's darker urges, the ones he apparently didn't want to openly admit to until now.

- Her seeming vanity project of changing Centrum into a bunch of copies of herself. The female drones were clearly stand-ins for Willu, and to Charlie's immature mind he now doesn't need stand-ins. And what's better than having the object of your obsession here and agreeable to your every whim? Having LOTS of them! So essentially Centrum is being cast aside because Charlie-boy has a new toy that's occupying his attention and he doesn't need to pretend to have any noble purpose any longer. Oh, he might have believed that he was doing something great and good, but it all came down to having his fantasies fulfilled.

The question is whether Charlie even realizes that he didn't really resurrect Willu... that he took her shell and made her into a reflection of his desires -- a 'mom' who is all too happy to have sex with him, has no problem being in a permanent fetish outfit, and giving an outlet for his cruel side (because let's face it, forcibly turning countless people into obedient drones is pretty hard to justify as being without malice). Or that his entire 'noble goal' was just a cover for his desire for revenge and control. Remember that for all of his intellect, he's emotionally stunted and there's no evidence that he ever really 'got' the psychology of organic minds. I suspect being confronted with this would cause a breakdown of high order (which is not necessarily a good thing -- a vastly powerful and amoral being throwing a temper tantrum is pretty high on the 'bad thing' scale).

Even a warrior like Athena Spartan can only do so much, and now, near death, she faces the fact that even if she succeeds in denying the insane Charlie the power of the Forge, she won't survive, and he's still an entity capable of untold destruction who has enslaved her allies on Elysia.

Episode 29 of Janissary is now available in the members' Area at http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-29. The end continues.

Can't wait to see how that wraps up. Also hoping for an Adventures of Garberille-bot mini-series eventually.

Great issue. Setup for the next episode seems solid. Guessing finale?

Liking Spartan's new look, dream sequences as well. Charlie and Willu's developments look finished, wonder if Ericka's going to make a comeback.

-Sumatra

Athena has returned from her apparent death to face Charlie directly, but how can she expect to stop an insane godlike AI who still holds all her allies on Elysia in his thrall?

Episode 30 of Janissary is available in the Member's Area at http://www.mccomix.com/members/gallery3 ... Episode-30 The end continues.

As a note to readers, I am on a bi-weekly schedule (obviously), which would make the next update on December 31st. Due to it being the holiday season and New Year's Eve there will not be an update that week, and the next episode (Episode 31) will be released on January 14th.