A question of communication + Re: DCML Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19

[Lars Jensen]

Olaf Solstrand wrote:

> can someone help me figuring out this: How does Gyro and Helper
> communicate?

I don't think it has ever been established anywhere. My own answer to
that question would be:

They just do.

I don't really think of Helper as a voiceless battery-driven robot; I
think of him as a Little Man. In one of my stories ("The Missing
Millionaire", D 99045), Helper became Gyro's lawyer and visited him at
the police station. When one of my friends saw this, he asked: "How
would Helper even be able to tell police that Gyro was his client?"
Well, he just was. Helper is already an absurd character; why not accept
that he can somehow communicate with Gyro and others?

If you want a "sensible" answer, though, you can assume Helper
communicates via morse code. His lightbulb head can blink, you know.

Or, alternatively, you can -- as you yourself suggested -- have Gyro not
understand a word of what Helper is saying. It's funny, but I'd advice
against it. The joke will wear thin pretty quickly, I suspect.

> perhaps we should still look forward to new stories [with Il Gatto]?

Sadly, if I ever did get around to using the character, it probably
wouldn't be on this side of 2010. Seriously. But that doesn't prevent
others from using Il Gatto, of course...

Lars