After several hours of applied mad sciences, Dr. Muskiday finally has a plan.
The macronanos have been feeding on Fairmount City’s emotions, growing stronger with every burst of anger, embarrassment, infatuation, and fear. Muskiday’s new device is designed to reverse the process — converting a macronano back into harmless micronanos while safely discharging all that stolen emotional energy.
There’s just one problem.
To test the thing, they need a macronano.
Fortunately, HoloClone Miss Match knows exactly how to bait the hook. A little romance. A little melodrama. And perhaps just a touch more enthusiasm than Dr. Muskiday was expecting.
Science demands sacrifice. Apparently, dignity is first on the list.
Panel 1 Dr. Muskiday finishes tinkering on his device in front of a whiteboard that shows how the device works.
Macronano —> containment unit —> compression field emitter —> emotion output emitter
Muskiday: OK… I think we’re ready to test it out. Can you attract one of the macronanos?
Panel 2 HoloClone Miss Match: Musky, darling, this may be our last chance to consummate our love before the macronanos take over!
Panel 3 A macronano reacts as Holoclone Miss Match (continues off-panel): Take me, my love. I’m yours, body and soul!
Panel 4 The macronano enters the lab, and HoloClone Miss Match slams the door behind it. HoloClone Miss Match: Ha-HA! You sure are gullible! I can’t believe you fell for that. GET ’IM MUSKY!
Panel 5 Dr. Muskiday is in the act of taking off his pants: …Huh??
Videos from the Webcomics panel at Vericon, held at Harvard University, have already begun to surface on Youtube. And a few photos have been posted on Flickr. This may be the signature photo for the entire discussion, though.
Kris and I and sci-fi author Catherynne Valente, who has been co-writing a new Guitar Hero webcomic, held forth for about two hours and covered a multitude of topics. More to come!