Odd Transformations Part Two

I didn't think the end of the last chapter was really the end of this. Very glad to see that it wasn't. The first part of Odd Transformations was both fun and thought provoking.

It begins with Cerebus sleeping soundly, then shifts to a jail cell, once again the aardvark is back in his vest and medallions. The cell opens and Lord Julius appears at the door. He tells Cerebus that they're having some trouble in the kitchen so the Red Marches may not be well done, but he could take the ladder to Upper Felda. Cerebus is wearing his papal robes and now notices a ladder up against the wall.

Cerebus climbs out of a pillar with Julius telling him not to bother wiping his feet, Astoria's busy changing the baby. Cerebus' robes are tatters and he's holding a white sword with runes clearly visible just below the hilt. He hears a voice calling to him and the Wolveroach is standing on a stone telling him not to stand on the quick grass. Cerebus suddenly realises that he is sinking, he manages to grab onto a stone just in time, haul himself up on to it and look at the landscape.

The stones lead Cerebus across a grassland, through a canyon and across a river. Professor Claremont's Woman Thing appears in front of him. Cerebus' papal robes are back, he stabs the Woman Thing and leaves his sword in it, it topples off the pillar into the water. Suddenly the pillar that Cerebus is standing on begins to tip alarmingly. Cerebus jumps off and lands on the water. He rides a wave up to it's peak and then it crashes, taking it's passenger with it.

Back in the hotel Cerebus wakes before he falls, following the old myth about a fall in a dream leads to a fall and possibly death in the real world, Cerebus looks around and falls back to sleep and back to his dream. He is standing in the snow, dressed in winter clothing, out the front of a cathedral. Elrod is shouting about chickens and Lord Julius looks like one of Henrot the Wizard's magical creatures.

Cerebus, now wearing a shapeless white robe, trimmed around the collar with fur, leaves Elrod shouting nonsense and looks in on an argument between Astoria and Countess Michelle about who was a better niece to Lord Julius. Cerebus is again a child. Maybe it's just me, but as a child Cerebus looks incredibly cute, absolutely drawn to make a soft toy out of.

Continuing on, and now maybe dressed as he was when he was a child, with a cap covering his ears, Cerebus sees the adult Jaka and a child, who is either Jaka's child or Jaka as a child. Echoing through Cerebus' head is the argument he had with Jaka so many times about love and loss. Cerebus morphs back into an adult and his vest and medallions are back. The child Jaka's hand, holding a flower appears out of the wall and Cerebus' hears someone shouting: 'Did you hear me?'

Sitting by Cerebus' bed is Lord Storm'send from The Deciding Vote, way back when Cerebus ran for President. It's not a dream any longer.

If the first part of this chapter stretched Dave and Gerhard then this one must have damn near killed them. Dreams are hard enough to write I can only imagine how difficult they are to draw and keep the quality throughout the chapter. It was also a way for readers to connect to all the recurring characters they'd come to enjoy and possibly missed throughout a lot of Church & State.

The Deciding Vote

In an effort to get secure the one vote that Cerebus needs to become the Prime Minister, Cerebus, Astoria and the Roach travel to the far flung,snowy province of Lord Storm’send. In keeping with the wintry environs the Roach has invented a new alter ego, this one is the fearless Sgt Preston (based on the old matinee idol Sgt Preston of the Mounties).

Lord Storm’send proves to be a crusty old farmer type, although given that he and Cerebus are about the same height he’s either a midget or old age shrunk him dramatically. If the movie ever gets made I’m putting in a vote for Warwick Davis right here and now, provided that they haven't put him in the Cerebus costume. The straight talking Lord locks Astoria and the Roach in his shed and takes Cerebus cross country for a ‘chat’.

Storm’send and Cerebus do not get along well. This is odd because they’re both very practical and no nonsense, although Stom’send has a moral compass, which is something the aardvark lost a long time ago. It is possibly because the two are so alike that they strike sparks off one another. Surprisingly Storm’send knows something about the albatross. The one that Cerebus has been looking for that formed his ransom, is worthless, it’s a painted lead decoy. The real one is priceless, exactly how a back water ruler knows this is not explained.

The farming lord also tells Cerebus about how elections run up in his province of Northbell, you get the impression he’s not a fan of democracy, too much fuss and bother for him. He had to distribute 78 leaflets to people who mostly could care less and waste a day when he could have been mending fences on his property. When he gathered the leaflets up only 4 had been properly filled in. Two for Cerebus and two for the goat. Storm’send has the deciding vote. Lord Julius has already visited him, but he gives no indication which way he’s likely to vote. I discovered one thing; the voting system wasn’t based on the Australian version. Down here voting is compulsory, you exercise your democratic right to vote or you get fined. Rather interesting way to do it; force people to vote. Then again we’re all so apathetic that if they didn’t do it this way so few people would bother that any result would be largely meaningless.

Eventually Storm’send and Cerebus reach a hill top with two beacons. Storm’send lights one to indicate who he’s voting for. His brother will see it and relay the message back to the city. He refuses to tell Cerebus who he voted for. Once Cerebus has made certain that the vote cannot be changed and nothing can be done about it he punches Storm’send out and then treks back to the farm to liberate Astoria and the Roach.

The shed is full of home made liquor. As Storm’send had told Cerebus, Astoria and the Roach have started to drink it. The alcohol affects the Roach’s addled mind to the effect that he believes he is the Roach version of the Hulk and Professor X. An inebriated Astoria goes along with the fantasy and thinks she’s got spider powers. By the time Cerebus gets them out they are both drunk to the point of almost losing consciousness.

Cerebus loads them both into the sled and with the Roach’s slurred commentary (Kevitch is still awake) ringing in his ears he heads off for Iest. Cerebus is forced to stuff one of the Roach’s gloves in his mouth to shut him up or at the very least muffle him partway through the trip. He gets lost, winds up going in the wrong direction and is eventually pointed the right way by a local. He arrives at the main bridge to be told that it’s out and won’t be passable for at least a week. After finding out that there’s no other option but to wait he agrees to check in at the inn on the bridge. As he’s giving the clerk his details the man comments that it’s odd his name is the same as the new Prime Minister. After letting this sink in, realising that he’s won and doing a very unCerebuslike celebration he goes to his room to think on his victory.

The Roach is becoming more and more unhinged by the issue, considering that he’s always been crazy this shouldn’t be surprising, but it is funny. The prospect of Cerebus as Prime Minister is a scary one. On the one hand he may try and turn his power into absolute power, on the other he may find out that working as a bureaucrat is not the same as being a military commander and he’ll plunge Iest into chaos. Going to be a fun ride either way.