Saint James Infirmary Guest Page 7: Still a Few Bugs in the System

[Daphne]

Art by Montalis! Coming November 24th 22nd!

[jmundt29]

A triumphant return for Montalis after tantalizing us with Erin's Missouri crew.  So, is this a return to the same group, or is it a history lesson on the Belltower set-up or Claudia's plot?  Or maybe even Claudia's former master?

[Werdna]

My guess is that it has something to do with the hypnosis practice being set up.  Looking forward to it!  (Being so spoiled, I was really starting to miss my Saturday morning guest pages!)

[jmundt29]

So you're voting for Claudia's plot as it involves Zenon.  Interesting choice.

[GodWilling]

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[jmundt29]

Was '83 the year Wilmont went co-ed?  I thought it was '86?

Who are these people?  Is the guy Zenon way back when or are these people we haven't met at all?

[laguna85]

I have the same question Who are the people?

[Daphne]

Was '83 the year Wilmont went co-ed?

Yep!

[jmundt29]

Wonderful.  Who are these people?  Where have we seen them before?  It's beautiful art and interesting, but we lack context here.

Is that background mumbling supposed to be German or Russian or unknown Baltic-speak?

[Daphne]

Is that background mumbling supposed to be German or Russian or unknown Baltic-speak?

[jmundt29]

Zenon's name derivation doesn't appear to be German.  Is he a Baltic expatriate raised in Germany--or was his mother German?  Sorry, I'm locked in on Zenon here, but there doesn't seem to be anyone else we've already met who this could be...unless that's what Ezra Cantor looked like before he lost his hair.

[Werdna]

Zenon Cimasewski sounds like a Polish or Ukrainian name, not Baltic.  (Well, maybe Lithuanian, but certainly not Latvian or Estonian.)

I just assumed, given the very frequent references to music in SJI, that this was some German band of the type popular in the early 80s.  (I haven't looked it up, but my rough translation of the lyrics would be something like "Are the volcanoes still ?erupting/active?  Please don't [something] me!")

I too am curious as to identities in this strip.  This has also stimulated curiosity as to the history of Wilmot - like, why did it go coeducational?  Was it part of the overarching MC plot that it did?  This strip would suggest that they might be linked...

Looking forward to the next one!  Maybe some questions can be answered, or at least have answers hinted at.

Edited to add:  looked it up - the translation I found was "Are the volcanoes still active?  Please don't disappoint me!" 

[jmundt29]

I should have been more accurate in my queries.  Zenon's last name does look Polish, but I was looking to denote a region to cast a wider net and bumbled it.  Here's the thing.  The tech under the belltower looks like it's for some sort of control experiment and it predates the '80s by several decades.  The decision to go co-ed could have been part of someone's plan, but it seems like we've run into a hotbed of activity and there are several layers of plans

1. Belltower tech (could be connected to the Mantis Squad anomaly)

2. The Co-ed machinations from '83.  Those could be run by or center around this German-speaking gent we're meeting (this plot could latch onto the belltower tech and create the Mantis effect in '83, if it wasn't present earlier).

3. The current layer.  Claudia's master plan working through Zenon which might intersect with her own experiences with the Watch, or earlier generational experience at Wilmont.

Into this current layer, Adrian has stepped.

[Daphne]

To muddy the waters further...

1. We have never seen these people before in SJI.

2. The "noise" balloon containing lyrics is showing music playing over the scene.

3. The name of the band whose music it is, is given in the comic itself.

[Werdna]

We don't know he's German-speaking; just listening to a song with German lyrics. I listened to 99 Luftballoons and numerous operas way before I knew German.

ETA: Just looked up more about the band and the song, and listened to it as well.  I'm going back on his maybe not being German - "Armenia" was released in 1983 in Europe, but in 1984 in the States.  Or maybe this guy was just really, really plugged into the German Experimental Industrial music scene of the early 80s.  I will leave my crazy speculation about the thematic importance of the song, the band, and the album in my own head.

Also:  the "noise" balloon is accurately depicted.  It's definitely not the sort of music I would play to greet a new roommate at college if I wanted to set an impression of wanting to get along.