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Girl Genius --Volume Seven Cast
Warning: Contains Spoilers

Cast Lists for Volumes: One \|\| Two \|\| Three \|\| Four \|\| Five \|\| Six \|\| Seven \|\| Eight \|\| Nine

On This Page: --Scene: With Agatha in Mechanicsburg --Scene: Mechanicsburg Streets --Scene: The Coffee House in Mechanicsburg --Scene: On Board the "Liberated" Airship with Master Payne's Circus --Scene: Outside of Town with the Jägermonsters --Scene: The Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg --Other Wulfenbach Troops --Scene: Pinky and her Pals --Scene: Inside Castle Heterodyne --Scene: The War Stompers --Old Heterodynes --The Faculty
The Setting for Volume Seven:
The Town of Mechanicsburg The Ancestral Hometown of the Heterodyne Family. One can say many, many, many derogatory things about the state of the Heterodyne family's sanity, but, first and foremost, they were cunning. The townspeople were, as they say, "In on the take." While the Heterodynes rampaged over the land, the folks back home were left reasonably unmolested. In return for their loyalty, they served as minions, guards, troops and fencers of stolen goods; as opposed to everyone else, who served as experimental subjects, victims, sources of wealth and decoration. Under the Heterodyne Boys, the town changed its modus operandi, but not its underlying purpose. Today Mechanicsburg is a magnificently-crafted machine designed to separate tourists and the gullible from their money. It is also the center of several thriving black markets and smuggling operations. Still, many of the older people fondly remember the Glory Days, when "Made in Mechanicsburg" brought terror to the world at large.
Key Concept: The Spark The mysterious quality that makes Mad Scientists what they are. Also used as another term for a Mad Scientist— so you would say that someone is a Spark if they have the Spark.

Volume Seven Players:
Scene: With Agatha in Mechanicsburg
Agatha Heterodyne The Girl Genius of the title, Agatha was recently revealed to the world as the last of the heroic Heterodyne family. Agatha is only now coming to realize her full potential as a Spark, and is finding that both her talent and her family make her a target in the eyes of the powerful. Because of some unfortunate events in a recent adventure, Agatha is currently sharing her mind with that of an evil mad scientist/goddess queen, (even more embarrassing, it's also her mom) and must wear an amulet to suppress the invader. She is now in Mechanicsburg, in the process of proving herself to the World.
Krosp I--Emperor of all Cats A failed experiment designed to rule over all Catkind. Sadly, Cats are too ineffective to be good for much. Krosp escaped from Castle Wulfenbach with Agatha and considers her his first and only subject, even though she isn't technically a cat. Krosp is the cynical voice of reason and practicality, and thus is usually ignored.
Zeetha, Daughter of Chump A Princess of the Lost City of Skifander, Zeetha doesn't remember how she got to Europe, so she's lost as well. She met Agatha while performing martial-arts tricks with Master Payne's Circus. Agatha was the first person who'd even heard of Skifander, in a story told by her uncle, Barry Heterodyne. Zeetha has now joined Agatha, with the idea of helping find Barry. She has also taken Agatha on as 'Kolee-dok-zumil', and is teaching her self defense, martial arts, and how to act like a princess. (It apparently involves swords and rescuing princes and such.)
Ardsley Wooster Every British citizen is required to travel and see a bit of the world. Wooster met Gilgamesh when they were both students in Paris. Gil had yet to be revealed as the Baron's son, and the two hit it off and spent many a jovial evening in the City of Light. Wooster asked if Gil could secure him a position as a manservant aboard Castle Wulfenbach. Gil did so, and Wooster was astonished to discover that his new master was actually the here-to-for unknown heir to the Baron. The two worked well together until Gil revealed that he had been aware all along that Wooster was actually a secret agent for British Intelligence. He has been sent to protect Agatha and convey her to England to keep her safe from the Baron. Unfortunately for Wooster, Agatha has a mind of her own and she went to Mechanicsburg instead. Wooster doesn't even want to imagine what will happen if she gets hurt on his watch.
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Scene: Mechanicsburg Streets
Arella Keeps von Mekkhan's house, and brings home rumors from the marketplace.
Carson von Mekkahn (alias: Carson Heliotrope) The retired seneschal of Castle Heterodyne. He knows all the secrets of the Castle and the town, and was the voice of the Heterodyne family to the general populace. After the Other's initial attack, he faked his death and allowed The Baron to believe that the family had gone extinct. He continues to pull Mechanicsburg's strings from the shadows.
Kars Kars sweeps the cobbles around the gates of Mechanicsburg, and keeps an eye on who comes and goes.
Wilhelm Diamant The outside man in charge of the Castle Heterodyne prisoners. He transports and supplies them and reports to the Baron.
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Scene: The Coffee House in Mechanicsburg
Vanamonde von Mekkahn (alias: Vanamonde Heliotrope) Carson's grandson. Ostensibly the current seneschal, though he obviously has not been confirmed either by a Heterodyne or by the Castle. He has a different management style than his grandfather, preferring to let people come to him, rather than visa-versa. Old-timers might grouse about the touristy claptrap, but Mechanicsburg has never been more profitable.
Nadja, Rinja, Salli Baristas in Van's Coffee House.
Herr Mitrant A master artificer who was in the Café trying to fix the coffee maker when Agatha happened to it. One of the first to take to Agatha as the new Heterodyne.
The Grave Robber Kid His (her?) family has served the Heterodynes for a hundred years. Wanting to get in on the act, this one has brought Agatha a dead rat, because that's all he (she?) could find. A loyal minion, indeed!
Assistant Look at that. She's already taking notes and organizing things while Agatha's working on the coffee maker. Everybody needs a good secretary...
Agatha's Little Clanks Cute little clanks. The originals were built by Agatha during her breakthrough, but they will cannibalize machine parts to build more of themselves all on their own. Dingbots are good assistants, but not very good builders, so each subsequent generation will be less functional. They are capable of infesting a lab for a short time and wreaking great havoc, but unless a group is acted upon by an outside source, the infestation will eventually die off due to lack of power sources and shoddy workmanship.
The People of Mechanicsburg Watch out for these folks. They really do want a Heterodyne in the Castle. They're thrilled to help out if somebody's building a doomsday device, or even just improving the local café's coffee maker. (Hey! Why not both?!) On the other hand, they're pretty fast with the tar and feathers (or worse) if they find out they've been duped by a fake.
Wulfenbach Troops They try to arrest Agatha. That doesn't go over so well with the people of Mechanicsburg.
Castle Guard The guy at the gate. Agatha has to get past him to get into the Castle. Fortunately, it's easy.
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Scene: On Board the "Liberated" Airship with Master Payne's Circus
Master Payne's Circus of Adventure! The Circus' big attraction is their Heterodyne Show-- popular commedia-style stage plays featuring well-known adventures. Shows of this type can be found all over Europe. Until Volume Seven, Agatha was traveling with this Circus. Their decision to aid her has put them in some danger, and they are currently embarking upon an extended tour of England in order to remove themselves from the Baron's lands. Most of the circus characters play no part in this volume, and are described more fully on the cast list for Volume Four.
Master Payne Of the International Brotherhood of Evil Magicians. A showman and minor Spark, his traveling Heterodyne Show travels the wastelands, entertaining, scavenging, and rescuing other minor Sparks from their home towns. It's his circus, and what he says, goes.
Countess Marie Royalty is not what it's cracked up to be, so she ran away to join the Circus and married the Circus Master. The perfect Yin to Master Payne's Yang, they run the circus like an extended family and don't you forget it. A mad chemist, among other things. Marie is distantly related to the British royal house.
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Scene: Outside of Town with the Jägermonsters
The Jägermonsters Enthusiastic construct soldiers created in the days when the Heterodyne ancestors were somewhat less than heroic. They are tough, crazed and possibly immortal. In the absence of their original masters, they have hired on as mercenaries to the Baron, but never gave up hope that the Heterodynes would return. The Jägers are currently banned from Mechanicsburg, until the Heterodynes return.
Maxim, Dimo & Oggie When the Jägermonsters signed on with the House of Wulfenbach, a small number of them were sent out into the world to search for the Heterodynes: forever, if need be. These Jägers do not work for Wulfenbach, and are considered "wild" Jägers. Oggie, Dimo & Maxim are some of these, and are the ones who actually found Agatha. They are very proud of themselves, and have been protecting her ever since. They are all amazing fighters, and unsettlingly smarter than they look; but then they'd have to be, wouldn't they? When Agatha entered Mechanicsburg, these three remained behind, observing from an old watchtower outside the town.
Ognian "Oggie" One of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. Oggie is the most care-free of the group. He still keeps track of his Mechanicsburg descendants, and nags them about continuing the family line.
Dimo One of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. Dimo is the oldest, and arguably the smartest of the three. He is the one who usually comes up with "the plan." He is as world-weary as a Jäger can get, which isn't saying much.
Maxim One of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. An ex-cavalry officer, Maxim is the most resigned of the group.
Jenka and Füst Jenka is one of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. When her little band found Agatha, Jenka went off to report to some unknown person, setting Ognian, Maxim and Dimo to keep Agatha alive. She has just returned, but is being mysterious about where she has been. Füst is Jenka's bear.
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Scene: The Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach Probably the most powerful Spark around. Rules a large part of Europe from his vast airship Castle Wulfenbach. Even though he traveled with the Heterodyne Boys in his younger days, and therefore has some claim to "hero" cred, he is now considered a despot. He's the first to admit that he is a despot, but he doesn't enjoy it. The Baron tried his best to capture Agatha because he believes her to be The Other, a malevolent Spark who almost destroyed Europe nineteen years ago. This idea was bolstered when Agatha, who was being possessed by The Other at the time, infected Klaus with a new form of slaver wasp, unleashed monsters upon the city of Sturmhalten, beat back his army, and dropped a chicken house on him. (Actually, Agatha wasn't possessed when she dropped the chicken house on the Baron, that was all her own doing. But he'd got her mad.) He is currently recuperating at the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg.
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach The Baron's son and heir presumptive to the Wulfenbach Empire, Gil was raised in secret and only recently revealed to the World at large. Said World is less than thrilled. Gil would very much like to marry Agatha, and, as a top-notch Spark himself, has a reasonable chance of keeping up with her. Unfortunately, his father is dead set against it, what with the whole "possibly crazed person responsible for the last twenty years of war and assorted atrocities" thing. Gil wants nothing more than to find Agatha and sort all this out, but so far he's been unable to take the time. He's been too busy with the waves of assassins and invaders that keep popping up.
Dr. Sun Jen-djieh The Spark in charge of the Great Hospital of Mechanicsburg. A friend and traveling companion of Baron Wulfenbach in his youth, and one of the few people who feels free to contradict Klaus on a wide variety of subjects. He rules the Hospital with an iron hand, and aside from a tendency to indulge in unorthodox experiments (which usually yield surprisingly beneficial results), has made it a model of efficiency, hygiene and advanced medicine. Until recently, his grand-daughter was being educated on Castle Wulfenbach.
Bangladesh DuPree Our favorite bloodthirsty maniac. A dethroned pirate queen currently working for Baron Wulfenbach.
The Unstoppable Higgs So far only seen in a flashback. Machinist Mate third Class Higgs has quietly served aboard various Wulfenbach airships for ten years without distinction. Recently he survived a airship crash and succeeded in rescuing the Baron while he was at it. Everyone was very impressed.
Captain Vole A Jäger who is considered (by all the Jägers including himself) an Ex-Jägermonster. Most non-Jägers are puzzled by this assertion, but it works for them. So, Vole was thrown out of the club, for reasons that are as yet unclear. While the rest of the Jägers are forbidden to enter Mechanicsburg until a new Heterodyne returns, he has been confined there for the last fifteen years. He has a great deal of hate for the Heterodynes, and tried to kill Agatha.
Assassins #1-4 Part of the reason Gil can't leave his father's side just yet. Pesky assassins.
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*Other Wulfenbach Troops*
The Black Squad Wulfenbach troops who appear to have some sort of spacial-displacement ability. Not to be tangled with...usually.
Sergeant Scorp (First Appearance: Vol. 6) An old soldier. One of the Wulfenbach soldiers who specializes in dealing with slaver wasps and revenants. Scorp is one of the few Wulfenbach soldiers who got a good look at Agatha back in Sturmhalten, and is now in Mechanicsburg helping search for her.
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Scene: Pinky and her Pals
Zola "Heterodyne" A young woman who claims to be the Heterodyne girl who beat Baron Wulfenbach. (Of course, we all know she's not, that was Agatha...) She has backers who have yet to reveal their agenda.
Zola's Minions A bunch of guys in funny hats who appear to be along to carry the equipment and get killed.
Duke Strinbeck One of the people behind the false Heterodyne. Currently lurking above the city in a pink airship.
Baron Oublenmach Part of a plot to install a false Heterodyne. Oublenmach is also above the city in the pink airship.
Un-named Airship Captain Captain of the ship currently hovering over Mechanicsburg. Isn't too thrilled with his current employers, job, or ship.
Kraddok Wheelman of the ship currently hovering over Mechanicsburg. An old airshipman who knows enough to be nervous about flying over Mechanicsburg.
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Scene: Inside Castle Heterodyne
Castle Heterodyne The home of the Heterodynes. Several hundred years ago, Faustus Heterodyne modified it, turning it into a gigantic, self regulating A.I. It's been broken for years, but the stories say that when new it could repair itself, re-arrange itself, and defend itself and possibly even the town. It has the personality of old Faustus, who was an evil, bloodthirsty, megalomaniacal schemer. It is insanely loyal to the Heterodyne family, and it spends a great deal of time and effort making sure that there will be another generation of Heterodynes to carry on the trouble. Young Heterodynes learn very quickly not to bring home dates. Castle Heterodyne was damaged years ago, and is currently not functioning properly. Part of the Castle has acknowledged Agatha as the ruling Heterodyne, but many other areas are still dangerous territory for her. Currently, Castle Heterodyne is populated by a group of convicts. For various offences, these people have been put to work on exploring and repairing the Castle. There are a lot of them, but most aren't important to the story right now.
Professor Hristo Tiktoffen A senior prisoner within Castle Heterodyne. He is an "old timer," meaning he's been there for longer than three months. In charge of figuring out the layout of the defenses, wiring and such, and also one of the people who keep track of how many points prisoners earn. When someone is sentenced to work in Castle Heterodyne, they are sentenced not in years, but in points. They have to complete X number of points of service in order to be released. Go-getters, while they accumulate points quickly, also tend to take on more dangerous assignments and thus die. Some slackers have survived for years by doing nothing. Hristo is actually part of the conspiracy to install a false Heterodyne.
Sanaa Wilhelm One of the Castle Heterodyne prisoners. She's keeping her head down and carefully counting her points.
"Snapper" Boikov A prisoner within Castle Heterodyne. Not as nice as he looks.
Veilhat, Mister Tattoos, Manicure Guy, Bug Eyes More prisoners. We see them standing around in the background.
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*Scene: The War Stompers*
Wulfenbach Technicians They're putting the finishing touches on Gil's lightning generators when our heroes get to the city walls.
The War Stompers The mysterious order known as the "Knights of Jove" attempt to take Mechanicsburg with these. Gil makes them stop.
Lord Selnikov Isn't having the best month. He's doing his best, though. He's led the Knights of Jove to Mechanicsburg in an attempt to capture the town and Baron Wulfenbach in one fell swoop. The Council would have been very pleased... had he succeeded.
The Idiot in an Awesome Hat We never got his name. He's probably toast at this point, anyway. Was an officer on Selnikov's war stomper.
Mister "Fourth in Command" An officer with the Knights of Jove. Tried to kill Gil while Gil was accepting their surrender. Too bad for him, the Jägers had Gil's back.
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Old Heterodynes
Heterodyne Shows The Heterodynes aren't really around anymore, but they still have a big impact. Heterodyne Shows are popular commedia-style stage plays featuring well-known adventures of the Heterodyne Boys and other popular folk heroes. Shows of this type can be found all over Europe. Although some of them may have roots in actual historical events, most are simply entertainments created and added to by innumerable theatre troops for the entertainment of a public which has no interest in anything so boring as facts.
Bill and Barry: The Heterodyne Boys A generation ago, Bill and Barry Heterodyne renounced their family's tradition of evil, and traveled the World righting wrongs, helping the helpless, and having fantastic adventures. They gathered together a group of like-minded individuals and changed the face of Europe. But after Bill's wife Lucrezia was kidnapped and his son killed in a mysterious attack on Castle Heterodyne, they began a long war with the mysterious Other, which culminated in their disappearance. The peace they worked for fell into ruin, paving the way for the far less patient Baron Wulfenbach. Today, close to twenty years later, they are still great favorites in song and story. Many say that they will someday return, bringing about the fall of Wulfenbach and free beer for all.
Lucrezia Mongfish The Beautiful Daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys most persistent foes, Lucifer Mongfish. She is/was worshipped as a Goddess (for reasons that her family always found a bit confusing) by a lost civilization of ghost-white amazons living near her father's secret base/summer home. After a series of futile clashes with the Heterodynes, she eventually married Bill and joined the Forces of Good. This lasted until Castle Heterodyne was attacked while the Heterodyne Boys were off on a mission. That was the last anyone in Europe ever heard of Lucrezia, and she was presumed to have been kidnapped by the mysterious person who came to be known as "the Other." In reality, as Agatha has recently discovered, Lucrezia herself is the Other. Her purposes are, as yet, unexplained.
The Other Big Nasty Mysterious Spark of unknown origin. Made a real mess of Europe before the Heterodynes went off to put a stop the whole business. They must have succeeded, because the Other's attacks stopped right around the time they disappeared. That's all most people know. Recently, Agatha has discovered that the Other was actually her own Mother, (Lucrezia Mongfish) backed by Geisterdamen priestesses and an as-yet unnamed order of knights that she apparently subverted for her own purposes.
Faustus Heterodyne One of the old Heterodynes, which means a dangerous madman of the first water. Faustus was responsible for "awakening" Castle Heterodyne, endowing it with his own charming personality. HISTORICAL
The High Priestess A stock character in the Heterodyne stories. Not played as a consistent character, "The High Priestess" can be written as the queen or priestess of whatever lost city to which the adventure takes the heroes, or, more rarely, simply as the latest villain's beautiful-but-misguided assistant. The character of Bill always winds up with Lucrezia, and Barry always ends up with "the High Priestess," whomever she may be this week. Most stories favor exotic characterizations and attire for this role.
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The Faculty
Professors Foglio and Foglio Of the Transylvania Polygnostic University dept. of Almost Certainly True History. "We make our textbooks fun!" Both Professors research and write their version of the life of Agatha Heterodyne, entitled Girl Genius. Professor Phil Foglio storyboards the action and draws the pictures. Colors are provided by various assistant professors. Professora Kaja Foglio does all the digital work, such as scanning, lettering, book layout and Web design. Both professors are responsible for hashing out the final scripting between them. The resulting fights are fine examples of high drama, and are spectacular to behold. No, you can't watch. Professora Foglio provides the voice of Agatha Heterodyne in the University's popular, if dangerous, Girl Genius Radio Theatre productions. Professor Foglio does the voice for Krosp, the Emperor of Cats, Deathwish DuPree, and various others, depending upon how he feels that day.
Professor Foglio as Wandering Storyteller Throughout the story, we get small glimpses of the Professors from the days before they met. In Volume Six, we met Professor Phil Foglio when our heroes accidentally released him from a dungeon in Sturmhalten. It appears that Prof. Foglio is one of Ognian's descendants, which explains a lot. He has promised to get married and start a family when the Jägers find a Heterodyne. (i.e. "Never.") He is now hiding.
Professor Cheyenne Wright Professor Wright teaches Advanced Experimental Color Theory at Transylvania Polygnostic University. He also provides the beautiful colors for Professors Foglio and Foglio's popular graphic textbooks on the life of Agatha Heterodyne, and performs the voice of: "Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer!" for the University's controversial radio plays.
Winslow HI! He's everywhere. All hail.
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Cast Lists for Volumes: One \|\| Two \|\| Three \|\| Four \|\| Five \|\| Six \|\| Seven \|\| Eight \|\| Nine

Girl Genius --Volume Seven Cast Warning: Contains Spoilers

Girl Genius --Volume Seven Cast
Warning: Contains Spoilers