- Scarlet: Brrr.
- Scarlet: It just doesn’t want to get warm this year.
- Tibor: Yes, I have a very bad feeling about this.
- Tibor: If the weather doesn’t improve soon, there’ll be devastating crop failures.
- Scarlet: What should we do?
- Tibor: We need to buy as much food as possible and store it for later.
- Scarlet: That’d be easier if we had any money…
- Tibor: Was there anything in one of your books about how to survive a famine?
- Scarlet: Well, one or two things.
- Scarlet: Do you really think it’ll be that bad?
- Tibor: Yes.
A Sky Full of Stars 054
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16 thoughts on “A Sky Full of Stars 054”
HKMaly
… ok, I don’t think those ideas Scarlet read about would be particularly nice …
Tough
„Sure there were some things about that in my books: in one they started eating each other, but that was the more pleasant story…“
And thus right after this comic relief page… tough world.
Filias
well,the first metod solve 2 problems at the same time…
Arthur
Calm down, Johnathan Swift.
Graybeard
So is this supposed to be in the same calendar year as when the attempt to get married flopped? I’m having a hard time judging the passage of time with this (presumably) background material.
Midgard
When a substantial amount of time passes, this is marked as in https://www.sandraandwoo.com/scarlet/comic/a-sky-full-of-stars-052/.
Cyn
that appears to be the case, seeing as this is the page right after the one with the failed marriage attempt
Crystalgate
I can also add that Scarlet is significantly taller than she was when she first met Julius. Her face also looks significantly more mature in panel 4 than previous, but that one may be unintentional.
Vicious Sand
If food could grow indoors, people would be doing that by now. Tibor looking ahead and seeing food shortages isn’t good. Food riots always start with taking down anyone more successful than the rioters- like Julius’s family. With Scarlet’s (inherited) beet farm still (presumably) behind enemy lines, she can’t go back there. It’s too cold to grow beets anyway. (also presumably) It might be too late to turn the mystery machine cave into a greenhouse, given how slow plants grow. Though a few waterwheel energy generators could power some heating coils…
MegaJar
Whoa, Scarlet had another growth spurt during the time-skip! She’s nearly as tall as Tibor now!
Brian Harvey
And, I don’t know if this was intentional, but on this page her face looks like a time-worn adult, not like the child she so clearly was when trying to get married.
Hegel-Marx
On table 20 there were three narrow bars at the beginning and at the end. We later saw that this meant that three years had passed (on table 24 it is mentioned that Scarlet is nine years old).
On table 52 there are those three bars again. Perhaps they mean that three more years have passed. Scarlet is now 12 years old.
MegaJar
I don’t think the number of bars has anything to do with how much time has passed; it’s just a visual effect to indicate that a time-skip of SOME duration has taken place.
Crystalgate
If things goes bad, there are people who do have money who will reach the same conclusion as Tibor. If they start stockpiling food, that will speed up food shortages. With famine, there will likely be war as well.
Hegel-Marx
It is worrying that in Samaris there is bureaucracy (problems with Scarlet’s proof of origin), there are police and army, but there is no state that performs social services. And there are no civil charities, such as religious ones, which in various societies performed these tasks.
A worker who gets injured at work is not entitled to even basic medical care (Scarlet paid for Tibor’s leg surgery). He is forced to beg to survive. (Admittedly, the policeman gives him alms. By the way, we saw the policewoman from panel 51 on panel 26, and maybe her colleague too.)
The state does not care about compulsory education of children (Scarlet only went to school for a week and was probably expelled after one incident).
The policemen themselves openly violate the law. In the case of panels 50-51, the law is probably stupid, but there should be some responsible legislative body that will change it, instead of openly violating it.
The state should stockpile and introduce food rationing when famine threatens. It is clear from Tibor’s words that he does not count on such a thing.
When you are starving, the only way to survive is to attack someone who has supplies and take them. The rational course of action is to kill them, to avoid retaliation. The police will not be able to protect the rich from the desperate mob.
Scarlet and Tibor may find themselves in a situation where their gun will be very useful. Firearms are probably rare.
The way for the state to solve this is to direct their anger against another state. The people of Grondan are probably not cruel imperialists, but starving. They attacked and annexed the area around Milik, which from the beginning of the story we can assume is still fertile.
Crystalgate
It’s hard to judge this society as it’s in a different situation compared to ours. Food is an issue here, but other resources seem plentiful. From our world, we can look at South Korea and Japan. They have in common that they became modern in a very short amount of time historically and they are both a strange mix of old outdated and modern systems and laws. This society is some ways the opposite, technology has regressed and food which once was presumable plentiful has become scarce. A strange mix of modern and ancient systems is expected. Rights and social safety nets are also a product of societies where you have a high chance of surviving until old age.
The government should have a plan for food shortage though as this is a looming threat. Such a plan may still be insufficient.
Characters
Ariana Carolus Athamas Baako Bolin Clara Graybold Cyril Darius Leyh Elwin Flammt Evelina Ferrus Gale Nenawa Gavin Carolus Iona Jehona Shardyk Julius Mirkning Kala Silverspring Kenan Orege King Protos Lauro Levon Goldwood Leyton Wayt Ludis Graybold Luitpold Marik Marton Princess Elodie Raymond Reto Mirkning Reva Rodar Rosetta Greenleaf Scarlet Carolus Severin Silvana Mirkning Tibor Frey Vidal Viola Vreni Xaver Yerim Zach Ilkin