Cueball and Megan meet the original trio of Beanies to appear in the comic, here labeled according to their commonly used numbers.
The Beanie People (so named for their apparent wearing of "beanie" caps on their heads) are members of an advanced society met by Cueball and Megan in frame 2661 soon after they reached the top of the mountain. The original trio (pictured to the right) provided medical assistance for the wound Megan suffered during the raptorcat attack, as well as a water and a place for them to sleep. Using a series of hand gestures, pictograms and visual demonstrations, the beanies and Cuegan were able to communicate with one another. When Megan explained that she and Cueball were attempting to determine why their sea was rising, the Beanies became very excited and invited Cuegan to return with them to their home.
The Beanies invite Cuegan to come to their castle.
There they met a woman, apparently the leader of the Beanie people, who spoke enough of their language for them to be able to communicate effectively.
Society[]
The Beanies' community is part of a technologically advanced society where women can rise to a position of power. The pursuit of knowledge not relevant to survival is permitted, and perhaps even encouraged. However the existence of the outer wall, guard house, and watch towers suggest that the Beanies are on guard against an external threat. Whether they are protecting the city from predators like the raptorcat or an invader is unknown.
Security appears to be tight.
Members[]
Cuegan's interaction with the Beanies was limited to the original scouting/surveying party that they encountered at the top of the mountain and the Beanie leader, a woman who knows a bit of their language. Several other people were seen as Cuegan passed through the Beanie city.
Language[]
for more information, see Beanish
The Beanish language is an artificial language created by Randall Munroe, referred to commonly as Beanish. When spoken in the comic, dialogue appears as a series of glyphs accented with diacritics (possibly to denote emphasis or formal-ness.). Few of these glyphs are found in any language outside the OTC. The beanies aside from the leader find Cuegan's language equally incomprehensible and even the leader herself claims that it was very difficult to learn.