Volcanic Disciple

Volcanic Disciple

Manga Chapter 17-3

Manga Chapter Summary:

Aboard the 999, the Conductor tells Tetsuro the next stop has changed a little and to be prepared. They approach a strange shaped planet, which appears as if it is hovering over a circular nebula. Maetel says this array is very rare and she looks forward to going there. The Conductor says he doesn’t think it’s much fun. The layover time here is 24 hours. As they approach the planet, Tetsuro finds the planet covered with mist, with a pattern like a bowling ball. As the 999 descends, Tetsuro spots striped land masses. Small dandelion-hair type objects start floating into the 999. Suddenly the Locomotive declares a strange abnormality has occurred, with every part of the train failing. The train cars start decoupling from each other and falling.

The various train cars collapse into the ground, into a black tar-like substance. Tetsuro and the Conductor watch in horror as the Locomotive stars sinking, eventually going completely under the surface. They worry about Maetel and Tetsuro finds her floating on the substance nearby; soon sinking into it. Tetsuro and the Conductor find that the passenger car is not as heavy as the Locomotive and as such isn’t sinking. Tetsuro stares off to the horizon, not seeing anything there. The Conductor turns his back for a moment and when he returns, Tetsuro is gone, having been drug into the black substance himself. Suddenly a cloaked figure appears on the train car, calling himself Volcanic. Volcanic brings the Conductor with him on a craft, with the Conductor worrying about him leaving the train behind. Volcanic says it’s okay; the train won’t be able to move anyway.

Volcanic brings the Conductor towards his house, a tall structure that is balancing very unstably as if it is about to collapse. Volcanic says this planet has no large land mass and this is actually the most expensive place. The Conductor worries about them falling, but Volcanic says it won’t happen. Volcanic brings the Conductor to an old fashioned room and locks him in! Volcanic says he wants him to live here forever. The Conductor worries about what has happened to Tetsuro and Maetel and also about the house falling over. By looking out the window, the Conductor is able to see the large nebula beneath the planet in the night sky. Meanwhile Tetsuro wakes up in a room with a chain attached to his ankle. A young man wearing a black shirt and sunglasses brings Tetsuro some food and says he wants him to stay here forever. He tells him that Maetel is around 10 kilometers from here and is safe.

At that moment we see Maetel being held in a chamber, with a woman outside tending to her, also wearing sunglasses. The woman claims all Maetel has to do is stay there and live. Tetsuro pulls on the chain until they snap off. He feels as if he has superhuman strength here and easily punches through the walls of the chamber he is in. The young man with him says he’ll be in trouble for something like this happening. Tetsuro spots Maetel nearby; she has riden here on a vehicle with the woman. To Tetsuro’s dismay, Maetel pulls out a gun and shoots the young man in the chest. Maetel claims he has just been knocked out. She says this planet is going to collapse soon. The woman and young man say their father, Professor Volcanic is a great person and Maetel realizes he’s alive, saying Volcanic is a famous person here.

As they continue traveling the planet starts collapsing and falling into the nebula below it. The crumbled bits of the planet start falling into the center of the nebula. They spot the remains of the house and the Conductor asking for help. He is able to jump into the vehicle and they look around for the parts of the 999. The 999 train cars are able to connect to each other and Tetsuro and Maetel get back on. Maetel tells Tetsuro the planet collapsed because of iron-eating insects created by Professor Volcanic. He had originally developed them as a digestive enhancer and sprinkled them over the planet. They were the size of bacteria and ate, dissolved and oxidized metal. Tetsuro thinks of how easy it was to escape his chains and the building he was in as a result. Because of Volcanic, everyone on this planet was able to escape.

We hear Volcanic with his kids in the other train car. The train car they are in detaches from the 999 and floats out into space. Tetsuro’s hand which he used to break out is kept in some bandages. Maetel says it is okay to invent something, but people should be careful to invent something that doesn’t bother people. The narrator concludes the chapter by explaining about the fame of how the planet became powder into the nebula and that the nebula itself disappeared several years later. No one knows what happened to Volcanic and his disciples…

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This chapter features the 999 going to a rather unique looking planet that floats above a nebula. Upon landing however, things start going wrong. The train car starts falling apart, most likely due to the iron consuming insects. As a result, the 999 sinks and all three of our main characters are quickly separated from each other and locked up by inhabitants of the planet. The insects which caused this predicament in the first place end up being our character’s saving grace too as they are easily able to escape and reunite with each other. We find that those who captured our heroes are all related to one another and they are able to get together on a vehicle and escape into the 999 which reunites as the planet collapses entirely and falls into the nebula.

It unfortunately wasn’t the most interesting storyline to me. The 999 arriving at a planet only for the planet to soon be destroyed is a commonly used plot point and while I wanted to see why each of our characters were separated and locked up, we never really get an answer why. At least things look somewhat interesting in this chapter including the planet from both out of space and while on it. The nearly collapsing house the Conductor is brought into is also an interesting design. I worried for him that it would collapse quite quickly, but he seems to make it out okay until the 999 arrives to rescue him. Volcanic appears throughout the chapter only in a cloak, reminding me of the disguise Captain Harlock used back in chapters 12-4/13-1, “The Pirate’s Time Castle”.