Erfworld Conspiracies!

[Native Jovian]

So, the newest update has revealed some interesting tidbits -- the bit about "the Great Minds that Think Alike" being the most tantalizing.

At this point, we've got a bunch of different groups, above and beyond the normal Erfworld sides, with different goals. Groups with non-obvious goals include, at the very least: Janis and the predictamancers, Maggie and the Great Minds, Charlie, and Wanda.

Janis' goals have been stated (peace on Erf via the perfect warlord), but she seems to be somewhat clandistine about it. Text Page 37 from Book 2 mentions that "they pulled off the link-up without giving away the real aim. The Predictamancers all knew, of course. The Thinkamancers only sort of thought they knew. Hubble (the Lookamancer in the link-up) knew, but he was no trouble. And Janis knew. And...Wanda knew." Sizemore knows as well (Book 2, Text Page 2), but doesn't seem to be an active member of Janis' group. He's helping her as a friend, not as a co-conspirator.

The newest kids on the block (at least to us) are the Great Minds who Think Alike. The only mention we have of them so far is in the most recent page (Book 2, Text Page 38). They seem to be a group of thinkamancers who perceive Charlie as a threat and are taking steps to deal with him. The fact that they're using strange methods of coded communication seems to imply that they're aware of Charlie's ability to eavesdrop on thinkagrams -- or else they're paranoid enough to consider the possibility, at least. The reason why they don't like Charlie isn't clear yet -- they don't seem to consider him a thinkamancer (he's "not part of the close-knit fraternity of Thinkamancers") but he knows things that only thinkamancers know. It seems likely that the Great Minds are who Janis was referring to when she said "the thinkamancers only sort of thought they knew" (about ending war via the perfect warlord), but whether she knows about the Great Minds (and their anti-Charlie stance) specifically or just think they're representative of thinkamancers in general is up in the air. The Great Minds membership is also interesting -- some of them we've seen before, in the company of Janis, even! (Book 1, Page 140 -- "Spock" from the first panel and "Carl Sagan" from the last are both in the Great Minds illustration, mostly cut off on the bottom left, and second from right at the top, respectively), though we didn't know they were Great Minds at the time, and we don't know if Janis knew either. Other members seem to be Psyco Mantis and Princess Zelda, though what their role in Erfworld is we have no idea.

Charlie is pretty opaque. Most of the information we have on him comes from Summer Update 46. According to the archons, he wants money. That's the sum total of his goals as far as they're aware. He may or may not be a thinkamancer (the Great Minds don't think of him as one, as mentioned above), but he's attuned to the Arkendish, which certainly gives him thinkamancy powers beyond most actual thinkamancers. He's not a toolist, but he seems terrified of Parson. That's about all we know about him.

Wanda is a mystery as well. The clearest picture we have of her motivations comes from Book 2, Text Page 20. She's something of a fatalist -- she believes her destination is set, and her actions can only make the path to it easier or harder, not actually change where she's going. Originally, she believed that her destiny was to attune to an Arkentool... but now she's done that. So what does she think she's supposed to do now? We don't know, and she may not know. One interesting possibility, however, is that she's actually working to help Janis in her own way. Janis said that Wanda knows about the peace-through-perfect-warlord plan. Perhaps Wanda believes that it's her fate to help him do that.

That's about all I got, but this stuff is really interesting. What does everyone else think?

[Rizban]

Originally, she believed that her destiny was to attune to an Arkentool... but now she's done that. So what does she think she's supposed to do now? We don't know, and she may not know. One interesting possibility, however, is that she's actually working to help Janis in her own way. Janis said that Wanda knows about the peace-through-perfect-warlord plan. Perhaps Wanda believes that it's her fate to help him do that.

That's about all I got, but this stuff is really interesting. What does everyone else think?

Maybe, just maybe Wanda saw the decrypted, thought they were "something new, something glorious" and decided to have some fun with them by conquering the world. That doesn't necessarily mean she's actively trying to help or hurt the conspiracy. I think she's just enjoying playing with her toys and being unstoppable.

[Talanic]

I suspect that they see different approaches to peace. Wanda, for example, may believe that if only one Side exists anymore, there will be peace on Erfworld. Janis may expect Parson to teach the other Sides how horrible war really is when it's not treated like a game anymore.

[Foolamancer]

I suspect that they see different approaches to peace. Wanda, for example, may believe that if only one Side exists anymore, there will be peace on Erfworld. Janis may expect Parson to teach the other Sides how horrible war really is when it's not treated like a game anymore.

I don't think Erfworlders ever thought of war as a game.

[the_tick_rules]

I suspect that they see different approaches to peace. Wanda, for example, may believe that if only one Side exists anymore, there will be peace on Erfworld. Janis may expect Parson to teach the other Sides how horrible war really is when it's not treated like a game anymore.

I don't think Erfworlders ever thought of war as a game.

Indeed, it's just what they do.

[Wrath]

If anything Parson is teaching them that it is a game.

[Shusagi]

If anything Parson is teaching them that it is a game.

Agreed. Or they think Parson's weird for treating it like a game.

[Foolamancer]

If anything Parson is teaching them that it is a game.

Excuse me, but have we been reading different comics this entire time?

That's exactly the opposite of what's going on here. Parson isn't teaching the Erfworlders that war is a game. The Erfworlders are teaching Parson that it isn't. He's appalled by what happens in war, even when Erfworld's natural censorship prevents things like blood from appearing. Despite the fact that he is very, very good at war, he's learning to hate it. That's the point, and it's been made very clear several times.