The reason it got down to five is because it can be very difficult to tell who are the “good guys” in this case. Carl simply made a choice. One would think that if these were the “bad guys” then Carl wouldn’t have survived this long (granted he could be using his skills to help them and, unknowingly, keeping himself alive).

OTOH, I’m pretty sure the rake people are the bad guys. If they were, they would be better skilled in combat (they’d have to be to take the Hiawatha crew) and they would probably have more than just rakes with them. No, their “attack first” policy impresses me as their reaction to the same thing happening to them that was happening to the crew. I’m beginning to think there might be a mysterious third party involved. If the Orehu didn’t know of that party, they would obviously blame the other people for their troubles (after all, they’re hiding, too).

2) “By the end of the first year…” That is so ominous. Just how many years have passed between the Hiawatha jump and the Galaxion jump? If it’s ten years (nice round number) then there could be a discrepancy between that and how long Carl has been on planet. (I would check, but I’m too sleepy right now.)

If the crew is ‘going native’ and there are two warring tribes, I’d expect Karl to end up on the wrong one, based on what I’ve already seen.

Of course, there is the question: Why did the creepy rake people attack? After all, they could have jabbered and motioned to get the Galaxion folk to follow them… of course, the Morlocks…er…Orehu.. seemed pretty forceful too.

Basically, this situation looks WAY to complex to trust Karl’s appraisal.

(BTW— is this the place where I then segue into a rant about how your totally free webcomic of awesomeness is crimping my style by NOT being a daily so I have to wait for the next episode? I mean, why are you eating and sleeping? We need to know what’s HAPPENING!)

er…. I mean… thank you for making this! I’ll have to buy the book when the kids are older so they can read it straight through!

@Nate: That. Was. Hilarious. I have rarely witnessed so much thought put into what is, essentially, utter nonsense. Great stuff, man.

It is said they build their dwellings surrounded with moats of deadly green tendrils, to the upkeep of which they will sacrifice many a Freeday. They fashion cruel rotating many-bladed implements with which, every quarter-moon, they shave slivers from the green moat, keeping it in a perpetual state of fury and hostility. They drench it with toxic chemicals and remove from it every other lifeform. Around the moat they cause to be added infestations of bilious sporulating genitalia, hideous in their vile chromatic shrieks, an outrage to the visual spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet.

At night they succumb to the radiations of their Thought-Synchrotroller Box, filling their minds with the incanted Si’ Tcoms of Dreaded Su Bur Bi Ar. By day they patrol the green moats, watching for a stranger to trespass, upon which they lurch, rake in hand, wailing the ancient blood-freezing war-cry:

“Gah toff mah lorn!”

This is the hell the Ilxyk brought to our planet, and will bring to yours.

Frankly I’d use something bigger than nuking the site from orbit, but we’re all out of nova bombs.

BTW, you can get around the html problem by using ampersand “lt” semicolon and ampersand “gt” semicolon (“<” and “>” unless it translates within the quotes).