The Night Crawlers or Grays

[montbriac]

Elle posed an interesting question about Harlan in the Cheat The Grave thread and her question got me to thinking that the Gray’s or the Night Crawlers deserved their own thread.

In my mind, they are the true heroes and the good guys in this world because their agenda is the most pure – it’s about empowerment, not control. They are united because they have all made a conscious choice to take what measure of control they can of their lives. The fact that they are composed of both Light and Shadow with members of both backgrounds having committed many acts of kindness and cruelty, makes them the most tangible and empathetic in my mind because they aren’t good or bad, instead they just are – like you and me. What they’re fighting for are basic human rights, and as a Westerner, it’s impossible for me not to be empathetic to that cause.

Making the Gray’s even more appealing to me is the fact that they are the only troop that truly is committed to each other. Even though the odds are stacked against them and they’re the underdogs, I think they have more class and deserve more of this mere mortal’s respect than either the Light or Shadow troops in Vegas.

Here’s my big question about the Gray’s… now that Jo is officially a part of them and Zoe and Ashlyn (by default) are allies, will this mean that there will be a comic book created for the Gray’s? Will they obtain relevance and more power through finally being recognized and given their own manuals?

I’d LOVE to see Zane and the boys make head’s and tails of the Grays… maybe we’ll get a chance in book 6? I hope so.


Looking at Harlan Tripp in particular, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Budd from Kill Bill 2 – sure he was a broken-down mercenary assassin but he also had a sense of fair play about him, he’d take a cheap shot but he didn’t begrudge anyone from having the right to come right back at him with the same. Like Budd, Harlan wasn’t a good guy but unlike Budd, I think Harlan truly believed in justice and I think while that doesn't make him a good guy, he's not all bad either.

Since Harlan reminded me of Bud, in my mind’s eye I pictured Harlan like Michael Madsen…

[moonsanity]

I haven't seen Kill Bill 2, but man that picture is right on how I saw him in my mind. I think they are "good" in the sense that they aren't evil. They want many of the same things, but they believe working together, supporting each other with a give and take type of team mentality is the way instead of a Dictatorship like the other two sides have. All is not black and white in the battle against evil:)

[dawn8226]

I don't think there will be a comic for the greys. There have always been independent agents and they existed as a little troop before Jo joined, so I don't think her joining the group would change whether they had a comic. I'm having difficulty at the moment remembering why the comics were so important to the Light and Shadow troops. I remember it had something to do with their power, but I can't remember it clearly. So I guess the question I have is how does not having a comic that children read and follow affect the greys and their power?

Another thing I wondered about is why the greys can't touch a conduit (except for Jo)? Maybe this was explained in the book and I just read it so fast I don't remember the explanation, ha ha ha. Is it just that the conduit is made for either shadow or light, so if the greys had their own weapons master they could have their own conduits? I'm guessing the answer is more complicated than that, since members of Light can touch a Shadow's conduit without any harm. Maybe there just is that big of a difference between "real" agents (those accepted by the troop) and the independent. The greys have many of the same powers as the full Light/Shadow members (speed, healing, etc) but they can't make the comics come to life and they can't use a conduit.

I also wonder, since there are differences between the independents and the Light/Shadow members, can these differences really just be turned on and off by the acceptance of the troop leader. For example, after Jo was kicked out of the troop the comic books no longer came to life for her, so when Warren told her she could have her spot back would that change everything for her again if she had agreed, and would she now be able to really see the comics moving? The troop leader really has a lot of power if he/she can kick someone out and make it so they can no longer use a conduit or really see the comic books.

Anyway, those were just some of my rambling thoughts as I read the book.

I loved Jo's new troop. Tripp was great. It was nice to see that being born a Shadow agent doesn't make you inherently evil, and maybe that will help Jo accept who and what she is.

[deathlynx]

Well, we know from CoS that people are surprised in general with how easily Jo can use other people's conduits in general...Specific to the grays, however, it's never explained beyond that they can't...

As for the differences, actually, it was because Jo gave up all of her powers that the comics didn't work for her...pretty much everything with her stems from that act rather than being kicked out of the troop...

Although you bring up a tangental point, can the grays pick up a comic and if so which one?

And I love the loyalty that the grays actually show each other!

[dawn8226]

Who gave Jo the bag full of comics, which included Dark Matters? Wasn't one the greys, or am I remembering wrong? You are right, I am confusing all the greys with things that are specific to Jo and she gave up her powers, so those things don't necessarily apply to all. I just assumed they could read both comics now and that they didn't move. Thanks for reminding me of that, I need to go back and re-read (slower this time).

[elle]

Well, there is the possibility that Jo can still handle conduits like a normal agent would (using someone's conduit against them sorta thing) because she is pregnant with Hunter's child and that connection there is what is letting her still use the weapons (cause seriously, conduit one more time in that sentence woulda been silly).

the thing with the comics and children reading them and such ... I think it's almost similar to what the Tulpa does with his followers and the mask. the kids read and believe and invest energy and thought into the characters in the comics and that thought energy helps fuels some of their powers. at least that how I kinda see it.

[deathlynx]

No worries Dawn...sometimes it takes a couple of reads for most of us to catch everything and get everything strait...Elle, that sounds about right...although the kids don't feed their souls into it, just their belief to fuel everyone...

I hadn't thought about the possibility that the only reason she can still use conduits is because she's preggers...though I kind of doubt it...I'd think it's just a Kairos thing...though that very well might be a gray thing as well, since we've seen a couple of shadow agents fondling Jo's conduit, so we know normal agents can at least handle them without melting...

[spunkyfrog22]

I'm not saying that I didn't love the grays because I did but there still seems to be something iffy about Carlos. Like maybe he wants the power for himself and I'm not saying that getting rid of the Tulpa and Warren would be a bad thing just that there has to be some type of balance there is all.

I don't know as I was reading the book I got the vibe that the grays or maybe carlos was like warren in that he really has his own agenda and maybe it isn't for the good of everyone. Then again maybe it was just me.

[spunkyfrog22]

oh and I totally agree that harlan reminds me of Bud from kill Bill.

[elle]

everyone has their own agenda, but at least Carlos doesn't make Jo feel like she's only worth what she can do for him. that right there in my mind is a so much better place to start with.

[Raven]

I really like Carlos! But, no, there won't be a comic book about the grays.
Unless they got involved in a skirmish with the Light and Shadows, they'd have no reason to be in one.
But that's the same reason a mortal would be in one, like when they're getting saved or something.

[khrystyne]

Zoe is independent and she can also handle the conduits. I think she said "hold a little back for yourself" or something like that. It's probably why she and Jo can still handle the conduits. I think Jo was able to handle Hunter's whip due to the soul connection. I dunno...all out of ideas.

As to the Greys, my guess is that other than their own super-human abilities that they ultimately inherited, most of the rules that apply to the accepted star signs don't apply to the greys, like traveling outside of city limits. This leads me to think that comic books won't come to life either.

[elle]

see, here's the thing though .... the Grays haven't given up all of their powers. they just don't belong to a troop and therefore aren't in a comic and probably lose some power for that. but Zoe and Jo have pretty much given up everything that made them superhuman. so now the question is, can humans handle conduits?

[deathlynx]

Quick answer, Elle, Yes...after all, remember that whassername, the traitor therapist not only had conduits of her own (needles) but Jo used them to get the Aureole...

[elle]

only traitor therapist I can think of is whassername from Scent that was stuck in the Sanctuary cause she couldn't actually get out cause she was a Shadow, but she was actually really a Shadow member.....was there another that I missed?