And, inevitably in a mind- or memory-reading sequence, we switch to the inner world of the subject, in this case Snuka.
Who, right on schedule, seems preoccupied with the mystery surrounding his parentage – which only goes to show how this question has secretly always tormented him, and he was just trying to hide his suffering from his friends. So my never showing him much concerned with the issue ever before wasn’t a plothole at all, but a long-term, subtle set-up for an important aspect of Snuka’s psyche in this chapter! So there. Well done.
And the magic…uh, I mean, scientifically grounded and plausible effects of the…uh…memory ray? …uh, anyway, those effects apparently came tatalizingly close to pushing Snuka towards a significant realization in that regard. But then his (unusually strong) self-preservation instinct kicked in, and he grew worried about the possible consequences of finding his lost parents. He is an Asian comic character, which strays dangerously close to being a manga/anime character…and then he had visions of some of the most sterling examples of examplary parenthood from manga/anime dancing in his mind, and he just felt it was safer to try to force his mind into a totally different direction. The Professor might not be the ideal adoptive father, but he sure stands head and shoulders above and of those guys. >_>
But will Snuka really succeed in forcing his mind back to safer waters? Will this chapter end up revealing the secret of his lost puppy, instead of his lost parents? (And likely that secret would only amount to the puppy getting run over by a car shortly after getting lost). His track record on keeping his mind sticking to the straight and narrow doesn’t necessarily speak in favor of it, for one thing…but only time will tell.
More on Thurs…uh, Monday!