Preeetty sure Gil is deliberately being a jerk here, but it’s not a bad question, is it? The Jägers he’s asked have said they don’t know, which might just mean it’s a rather personal question they’re suddenly being asked, or might mean they really don’t.

The Jäger candidates are most likely drawn from the people who ride with them. A demographic Old Man Death describes here for us. Young men who didn’t care what happened to them.

There’s an element of gangs or organized crime, as well as the obvious military ones, to the Jägerkin. From the family terms they throw around to the internal code of honour. The Jägerbrau itself has elements – although the way it works is by necessity not design – of hazing, initiation, or even Russian Roulette. You suffer excrutiating pain and the chance of death to be part of this group.

Tarvek’s asking a different question. Not “why would anyone become a Jäger?” but “Why would a smart educated person become a Jäger?”

Jorgi’s answer is flippant, but maybe there’s some truth in it too. Vole still wanted to burn down the world.

And, fifteen? Even if he’s counting from when he was old enough to first understand his father, or perhaps to when he left home rather than to when he was offered the brau, it doesn’t sound like he was very old.

So you have a demographic of people in their teens or early twenties, people who don’t care much what happens to them and don’t expect anyone else to either. The kind of people who would be drawn to crime or gangs, because they’re looking for somewhere to belong and half-expect to die young anyway.

What the Heterodyne offers – what might be too embarrassing to tell a nosy Spark asking nosy questions – is the promise that they will be loved and valued, even in a harsh, possessive way.

Vlad made Jägers as soldiers and companions (according to the Secret Blueprints). Heterodynes are isolated, the sole Masters in their town of Minions. They don’t have friends. But Jägers get some of the leeway of court jesters, their unquestionable loyalty and dependency meaning they get a licence to tease. Dimo’s “get your own pants” attitude didn’t strike me as odd, but as something Agatha could probably put an end to if she got mad enough about it to command him. As long as she doesn’t, he’s allowed to play (and how much of “borink” as a description of Bill and Barry means “they wouldn’t play with us”?)

Jägers are wildly attention seeking. They clown for each other, for outsiders, and probably for their Heterodynes. As long as it doesn’t interfere too much with work, amusing your Heterodyne is a good thing.

Heterodynes are hedonistic, usually. I think a lot of what I’m trying to say here is… Heterodynes want to have fun. Often considerably more than they actually want to conquer a thing. They chose people they could have fun with, people who shared their idea of fun. Heterodynes are gleefully destructive and so are Jägers. Whether they were angry – looking to burn down the world – or just reckless and uncaring, they could come away covered in someone else’s blood and smiling. Soldiers who can do the work but take no pleasure in it are no fun to ride with.