Chapter 4: The Scholar

legonovsky · September 2010

Anyone else notice the missing letters from various words in that chapter? I was halfway towards being totally incredulous about Jerry's copyediting when I wrote out the missing letters in sequence: ettubrahe. In Latin, this would appear as "et tu Brahe", translated as "and you, Brahe". This itself is a paraphrase of a popular dying quote of Julius Caesar (et tu, Brutus), referring to his double-crossing general.

Interesting!

Teburninator · September 2010

OH SHI-! I saw the same thing but thought it was just the style! Damnit I wish I could understand the 1st and 2nd chapters as well as I did the 3rd and 4th. Good job!

bulimicwalrus · September 2010

I noticed that, too. Now I'm wondering if there's anything squirreled away in the previous pages.

Aidan_ · September 2010

I missed the "et" and came up with "tu brahe", so I'm glad to hear that it actually makes sense. Very clever.

Flambino · September 2010

Yeah, I started wondering about the missing letters at around the 3rd paragraph too, and found the "et tu, Brahe?" message in there.

It's just a guess, but judging from the previous chapters it would appear that Tycho's brother is up to something. Maybe. The quote from Julius Caesar also implies familial ties; Brutus wasn't just a general, he was Caesar's son.

I'm guessing that the villain in ep3 will probably been a brother of (or at least someone related to) Tycho.

Aidan_ · September 2010

Flambino wrote: »

Yeah, I started wondering about the missing letters at around the 3rd paragraph too, and found the "et tu, Brahe?" message in there.

It's just a guess, but judging from the previous chapters it would appear that Tycho's brother is up to something. Maybe. The quote from Julius Caesar also implies familial ties; Brutus wasn't just a general, he was Caesar's son.

I'm guessing that the villain in ep3 will probably been a brother of (or at least someone related to) Tycho.

Well, to be fair, he was Caesar's adopted son. Still yes, given the subject of fathers and sons it does imply some family shenanigans.

Tofystedeth · September 2010

Man, I was all proud of myself for finding that but apparently I'm hours late.

Flambino · September 2010

Aidan_ wrote: »

Well, to be fair, he was Caesar's adopted son.

I stand corrected

Aidan_ wrote: »

Still yes, given the subject of fathers and sons it does imply some family shenanigans.

Yeah, only... how exactly? I mean, assuming the theory's correct.

My guess is that the first chapter is about Tycho's dad and brother. The line that "this son has no brother. At least, no brother worth the name of Brahe" is maybe directed at Tycho? In the comic his family doesn't seem to think too much of him; my guess is that he's the black sheep of the family in the game too.

And we know that Tycho has a brother in the game, and Anne-Claire is this brother's daughter. Again: Like the comic. But that brother, though we've never seen him, doesn't fit the mold of a villain. He just doesn't care much for Tycho (as far as I remember from eps 1 & 2). Nor would it seem likely that Anne-Claire would help out players out in ep. 3 if the goal to, y'know, kill her dad.

I dunno, just seems odd. Still, signs tentatively point to Dr. Raven Darktalon Blood being some brother of Tycho's.

Flames · September 2010

Flambino wrote: »

My guess is that the first chapter is about Tycho's dad and brother. The line that "this son has no brother. At least, no brother worth the name of Brahe" is maybe directed at Tycho? In the comic his family doesn't seem to think too much of him; my guess is that he's the black sheep of the family in the game too.

And we know that Tycho has a brother in the game, and Anne-Claire is this brother's daughter. Again: Like the comic. But that brother, though we've never seen him, doesn't fit the mold of a villain. He just doesn't care much for Tycho (as far as I remember from eps 1 & 2). Nor would it seem likely that Anne-Claire would help out players out in ep. 3 if the goal to, y'know, kill her dad.

I dunno, just seems odd. Still, signs tentatively point to Dr. Raven Darktalon Blood being some brother of Tycho's.

Really? My impression was that the first chapter was a conversation between Tycho and his father, with the "This son has no brother. At least, no brother worth the name of Brahe" line being a reference to his brother, who changed his surname to Forthwith. And the Brahe family (though still super-dysfunctional) seems somewhat inverted in the game/story; Tycho seems to be the one living up to the Brahe standard, with Forthwith being the one who was ousted (by choice, it would seem.)

Perhaps the "et tu, Brahe?" is a reference to Forthwith interring T. Emeritus to Cloying Odor, maybe before he changed his name? It would make more sense than Tycho, who had quite a beef with Cloying Odor in Ep. 2. Then again, the Dr. Blood theory's interesting...we're gonna have to see how that one turns out.

As for the villain aspect, I highly doubt Forthwith would be the main antagonist; he seems more like a Charles-level pain in the ass. But you never know; those gods on the windowsill are tricky.

By the way, the hidden message was TOTALLY BADASSED!!!!!

legonovsky · September 2010

I totally didn't look at the bigger picture, with the "has no brother..." line and everything, and I definitely didn't consider how it fits with the first two chapters. I was too busy giggling at the fact that a friend of mine, playing for a cheap laugh, has always used "ettubrattus" as a username because she liked putting a Latin spin on the word "brat". Nearly finding her name in Ch. 4 was a real distraction.

So.

I didn't know the family (adopted or otherwise) relation between Julius and Brutus, which definitely adds something. I wouldn't be surprised if Jerry put more than just a token reference to the whole Caesar thing. I'm wondering if maybe they're talking about Tycho's Erasmus's uncle, though. The line "In the end, his brother Erasmus - his son's namesake" refers to Tycho Emeritus's brother, not the Tycho we know. Maybe Erasmus had a hand in Tycho the Elder's being committed to Cloying Odor?

I'm pretty sure I remember a line in the Episode 1, I think when you upgrade Tycho's tommy gun, that he feels ganged up on and asks "et tu, Gabriel?" as his last hope that maybe his gun is no no need of an upgrade. Cheap throwaway line, or hint of things to come (a double-cross from with in the Startling Developments family unit)? Or putting in that line could have been a joke, which evolved into the "et tu, Brahe" thing we're talking about now.

Sometimes I hate literary criticism...

EldritchM · October 2010

The chapter says the symmetry appealed to him. If a family member were disowned, then another family member does something equally unfamilial in retribution, there's symmetry for you.

Not that Tycho realizes it yet, he's just tying his tie.

KaeElBee · August 2011

I think you're all missing the big picture. From about midway through chapter 2 (the game) I had a feeling that one of the Protagonists would end up being the 4th god. My rationalization is that the Quartet speaks of how the gods are waging war among themselves, and that in the end one will triumph and simultaneously end the world. Seeing as the 3 protagonists are the ones who are killing the gods, it only makes sense that one of them is one of the 4 remaining gods. What I'm trying to say is, and I'm sure you can agree, that said missing letters make out "et tu, Brahe" which "and you, Brahe" or "you too, Brahe" is referring to the fact that Tycho is in fact the 4th God.

Penny Arcade

Quick Links

Chapter 4: The Scholar

Posts