NaNo 4328 / 50,000
bivalve
The guy talking to Tarvek and Higgs is Snacky, or what he turned/will turn into.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Hah, that'd be fun.
I'm helping!
I like that thought!
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
I used to be Ol Bear
I do so hope it's true!
If it moves, eat it. If it doesn't move, kick it—then eat it!
Okay, huge extra-dimensional being I grant you. But my dear Grey Cloaked Minion, what evidence do you have that it isn't a huge extra-dimensional equivalent to, say, a Banana Slug? Is downloading it's mind, if it has one, into your leader any way to find out?
On the other hand, suppose it is a being of vast and Godlike power and intellect. Do you know that it won't overload Snacklford's brain by 800% or more?
Or maybe its thoughts are just so unhuman that Snackleford will never function in this reality again. I don't know, AND NEITHER DO YOU!
Edited by Darkhound377 on Mar 25th 2019 at 1:02:18 PM
"In distress", my ass.
Because of course we've never seen sparks vastly overestimate their capabilities...
He really should have used another brain as a junction/filter. This is what minions are for, dammit!
Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.
Sorcerer in training
But then he risks the minion getting all the power! No self-respecting megalomaniac will allow that!
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry PratchettWell naturally you don't leave the brain in the minion, pfeh, I'm not an amateur.
Creed of the Happy Pessimist:Always expect the worst. Then, when it happens, it was only what you expected. All else is a happy surprise.
Think of the mooks!
This does get to the heart of the problem. Does Snackleford have any idea whatsoever what, precisely, he has called up? I mean, at least some of this could be answered if he knew what it was he was dealing with. I mean, it would serve him right if he ended up summoning the extradimensional equivalent of a garden slug and basically slagged his brain, followed by all the other cultings getting engulfed. But, y'know, some of the possible downsides could be avoided simply by knowing ahead of time as much as you can about all the elements of your experiment.
Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.
I used to be Ol Bear
But that would require prudence and we all know Spark≠Prudent.
If it moves, eat it. If it doesn't move, kick it—then eat it!
bivalve
We did see a Spark in the dome who evidently studies these various entities, so it is possible they actually do know who the visitor is..
http://www.mansionofe.com
I used to be Ol Bear
But I would guess that knowing 'who' and knowing 'how strong' could be two different things.
If it moves, eat it. If it doesn't move, kick it—then eat it!
Let alone... "actually getting it right".
He might know the name and even the telephone number, but nothing says it was actually dialled correctly. Or that the entity who picked the call up maybe wasn't, say, doing a favour for the equivalent of a driving friend who couldn't pick up right then. 
Edited by Euodiachloris on Mar 26th 2019 at 12:19:28 PM
Ahh, what will Mommy#####Albia say?
I used to be Ol Bear
"We are not amused!"
Edited by AnotherBear on Mar 26th 2019 at 9:47:15 AM
If it moves, eat it. If it doesn't move, kick it—then eat it!
Sorcerer in training
No, I think she expresses the workability of the idea quite eloquently in that last panel.
These cult members don't "waste" their time reading any fiction, do they? A few equivalents of the adventures of Conan the Cimmerian would have been very educational.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
Welp... either this is a massive red herring, or I think we just solved the Lucrezia mystery.
Ah, I had forgotten about that girl with her research manikins
.
Edited by Nomophilos on Mar 27th 2019 at 6:05:59 AM
so, modified summoning engine brings forth eldritch horror, plan is to absorb its power and knowledge and become a god-king. Suddenly T'Otheron (Dragon King of Mars) is not an unlikely part of the explanation.
"We want to surpass Albia!" We've already seen what that looks like.
Edited by Zephid on Mar 27th 2019 at 8:51:06 AM
I wrote about a fish turning into the moon.
I'm helping!
Ah, the Standard Fascist Narrative™.
Trouble Cube continues to be a general-purpose forum for those who desire such a thing.
Chaotic Greedy
And since he has promised the same power to his minions, we can now be sure he'll (try to) kill them all instead.
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
I mean, it might not necessarily result in brain explosion. I've seen works where it wasn't. Of course, that was because downloading eldritch information into your brain instead resulted in melting the brain... or baking it... or imploding it... or turning the entire person it's attached to (yes, including the brain) into ash...
But yeah, in-universe, Snacky's life expectancy here can be measured in minutes. That said, we've already established that time isn't exactly flowing at one-second-per-second for all present here, and Snacky has tapped into that. So I guess the question is, by whose minutes are we counting?
Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.