Issue 18, Page 18
Geeze dude thanks for dragging the mood down, just trying to eat some ZA here.
Transcript
1: Vidali leans forward on her hand, other hand idly playing with a half empty glass of soda.
Vidali: So what brings you to Earth, doctor? You’ve got daughters waiting for you, Mars doesn’t have a problem with these things does it?
2: Xijo looks serious and pensive.
Xijo: Negative. I am already on Earth. There are discrete technology trades to aid plans for the Oasis space station. This, ah, mission is very quiet.
Vidali: I didn’t know we had Martians on Earth for that…
Xijo: Few people know…
3: Xijo speaks, he’s starting to undo and open his respirator.
Xijo: A scientist was a good friend to me.
4: A flashback panel shows Xijo, smiling, talking to a cobra woman, Doctor Rati, who laughs uproariously.
5: Respirator off, we see Xijo’s entire face revealed as he rubs his jaw.
6: We see Vidali’s somber reaction. Xijo puts the respirator back on.
Xijo: This organism is owed understanding and control. I require an explanation of why it acts as it does.
[Untranslated martian]
I’m not proud of the fact that when I first scanned over this page, I totally thought that the front part of the face mask in panel 4 was the Martian trying to suck a piece of pizza through said mask. Then I realized that it was a completely different scene, and that I’m an idiot.
[I would] like to see that scene! 😀
Why did he take off his mask, in this scene?
Yeah, that’s weird… He can’t breathe properly without it, can he? I mean, isn’t it an oxygen filter? Martians are lacking self-preservation instinct…
It might be a particulate filter designed to filter out microbes, allergens and pathogens since his body might not be accustomed to those that are found on Earth. That said, it does make eating things rather…awkward.
I should also add that having a mask plastered to your face for extended periods of time causes a lot of discomfort, both from the pressure against your skin as well as the limited movement of your mouth as you are trying to speak. He may have taken it off for the moment to help stretch his jaw muscles as well as cooling off his face.
Cool. Thanks. 🙂
It does not really matters what kind of filter it is, it’s still a filter, and I’m sure as hell it’s dangerous for him to take thing off.
Something about that line, in context, makes me like him a lot. “I require an explanation of why it acts as it does.”
Some things transcend culture. Go get it.