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Dr. Bernadette Case

0 (0%)

Practicing medicine is fun and all

0 (0%)

Compared to LASERS? No Contest.

1 (2.3%)

This is my room!

0 (0%)

It's really, uh, minimal.

0 (0%)

Spend days adjusting bedsheets, curtains...

0 (0%)

And those were my FUNCTIONAL days.

0 (0%)

Wanna see pictures? I have a photo album!

1 (2.3%)

Dad? Dad? Hellooooo!

1 (2.3%)

Doctor John Ellicott-Chatham

7 (15.9%)

Not sure since the divorce.

1 (2.3%)

Can't rely on the AI for everything

1 (2.3%)

Lt. Potter's room

1 (2.3%)

"Friggin' A-hole AI..."

1 (2.3%)

AIM HIGH or ELSE

1 (2.3%)

I wanted to apologize...

0 (0%)

The doc's kid put you up to this.

0 (0%)

Some apology. Why don't you go fu-

0 (0%)

.76% of Ellicott-Chatham Technologies.

1 (2.3%)

Holdings worth US$4.6 million.

6 (13.6%)

Blink once/blink twice...

13 (29.5%)

Read it in an Alastair Reynolds novel.

0 (0%)

Ms. Farmer? Our head of security would like to have a word with you.

4 (9.1%)

Just come along quietly, Ms. Farmer.

3 (6.8%)

Wait, where'd Marigold go?

0 (0%)

Looking for the ladies' room.

2 (4.5%)

Total Members Voted: 41

[Kugai]

<Low, single instrument dramatic music>

<Fade to black>


TO BE CONTINUED........





The Major:   "Hello Marigold, it's been a while."

Marigold (shocked):  "D .. Dad??!"

[Method of Madness]

Wait, isn't she her dad's webmaster?  I figure she's in regular contact with him.  Her mom on the other hand...

[Delator]

<Low, single instrument dramatic music>

<Fade to black>

TO BE CONTINUED........

The Major:   "Hello Marigold, it's been a while."

Marigold (shocked):  "D .. Dad??!"

Ninja'd

I was going to say it's one of her parents.

Either that, or it's nobody we know...just some XKCD fan who wants someone out of uniform to have a real conversation with.  

[Is it cold in here?]

Point well taken. Not only are they disregarding "the doc", they seem to take for granted that Station isn't going to intervene.

It does not do to leave an AI out of your calculations, if you live inside one.

[iduguphergrave]

Marigold: Dad?!
Head of Security: Not really. I just thought this form might be more pleasing to you.

[westrim]

The head of security is a fan of her fanfiction. *whooshes away*

[MamiyaOtaru]

Marigold: Dad?!
Head of Security: Not really. I just thought this form might be more pleasing to you.

ooh yay a reference I get! 

[Loki]

The head of security is a fan of her fanfiction. *whooshes away*

It's Hagrid.

"You are a wizard, Marigold."

But seriously, I think it's Daledad. Or Dalemom.

[Soulsynger]

Someone recently posted the idea that she'd coincidentally meet some of her World of Warcraft buddies on the station... I can't find the post anymore but anyway thats the idea I immediately jumped to. °O

My best bet is this is about the vomiting incident on the Ship. Poor Marigold will have to identify its scattered remains and break up into tears crying "Please, please, cover it up! I can't look at it!".
(Well... that ruined my breakfast.)

edit:
@poll: Money like that would go half into financing my dreams. (studying art, becoming someone usefull in the design business) and half into helping my family members finance THEIR dreams. I don't much care for giving to big charities that keep most of the money to finance their advertisement anyway.

[snubnose]

Marigold gets bullied ! 

[Sidhekin]

The head of security is a fan of her fanfiction. *whooshes away*

Oh my.  That got the first LLOL of the day.

[Skewbrow]

Hmm. Either a stowaway bandicoot in Marigold's luggage or ten members of the Alliance USAFWoW-guild wanting to PvP.

Or may be a few questions about the spacefootwear MariDad sold them?

[akronnick]

Point well taken. Not only are they disregarding "the doc", they seem to take for granted that Station isn't going to intervene.

It does not do to leave an AI out of your calculations, if you live inside one.

I'm sorry, Major, I'm afraid I can't let you do that...

[pwhodges]

I don't much care for giving to big charities that keep most of the money to finance their advertisement anyway.

It bears saying that this is usually a dreadful misrepresentation which people simply don't bother to check up on or think about.  Oxfam, for instance, spends 80% of its income directly on its charitable work - and the advertising and admin that the rest goes on is necessary to make that work effective.  Concerning advertising, I see nothing wrong in spending on advertising that increases their income by more than the amount spent on it - that represents an actual increase in money available for their work.

[idontunderstand]

Omigosh Marigold's effin' getting' GANGBANGED!

[Soulsynger]

I don't much care for giving to big charities that keep most of the money to finance their advertisement anyway.

It bears saying that this is usually a dreadful misrepresentation which people simply don't bother to check up on or think about.  Oxfam, for instance, spends 80% of its income directly on its charitable work - and the advertising and admin that the rest goes on is necessary to make that work effective.  Concerning advertising, I see nothing wrong in spending on advertising that increases their income by more than the amount spent on it - that represents an actual increase in money available for their work.

I might have oversimplified, truly.
Still, my plans for the money remain rather selfish.

Omigosh Marigold's effin' getting' GANGBANGED!

There's no need for the third apostrophe. ...

[Y]

The dot in Marigold's speech bubble made me try to clean my screen. Am I getting OCD too to get unnerved by it?

[slydon]

Why's Hanners so blase about Marigold's disappearance? And how did they not notice? Didn't she shout for help?

Being on a space station limits the number of places she could just wander off to.

[TinPenguin]

Interesting that they escorted away a guest of the station's owner without even acknowledging him.

Well yes, how else can she help them get his birthday surprise ready?

[Delator]

New theory...

The station's website needs a new webmaster, and they like what they've seen of Marigold's work. Given that Station is horrible at tailoring a site to human tastes, they want to offer Marigold the position.

It's a job offer...IN SPAAACE.

[pwhodges]

"Just come along quietly" with the grasping of the upper arm doesn't come over as being as friendly as most of these theories.

[El_Flesh]

Our security friend needs his nose broken.

That is entirely bullying. He needs to learn what it feels like to be on the receiving end.

[Border Reiver]

It looks like military police (or whatever they're called in the USAF) have the same lack of a sense of humour everywhere. I wonder what the problem is? Biologically hazardous vintage pocky?

There are a number of names for members of the Provosts:

a.  Meatheads;
b.  Boneheads (when budget cuts are rampant and the military can no longer afford meat); and
c.  Thunderchickens (only applicable to the Canadian Forces where the MP's cap badge displays the Thunderbird).

I'm just wondering why none of these people can form a beret to save their souls, and why their working uniform displays the ribbon bars - at least in the CF we restrict that to our dress uniforms)

[Throg]

Yeah, that upper arm grab / come along quietly seems unusually and needlessly bullying and intimidating.  Being a butt seems to be an occupational hazard for security / MP types.   

From Hanners' cheerful dismissal of Marigold's disappearance, it almost seems like she knows what's going on and can just shrug it off.  I hope that's the case...

Helluva Friday cliffhanger, though. No idea where this could go. 

JAAAAAAACQUES

[Jabberwocky]

Another possibility is that one or more AnthroPCs somehow managed to smuggle themselves on board.

Wacky hijinks ensue. 

[Deadlywonky]

my favorite slang for military police is one I learned in the RAF: Mod Plod

[jwhouk]

Wow, I feel like a moron now. I just got it. Dale the pizza guy. Marigold Farmer. HI HO THE MERRY-O, THE FARMER AND THE DELL.

JAAAAAAACQUES!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

The head of security will turn out to be Tony Verdeschi.

(Semi obscure pop culture reference is semi obscure.)

[jwhouk]

Another possibility is that one or more AnthroPCs somehow managed to smuggle themselves on board.

Wacky hijinks ensue. 

Only one needs to have smuggled himself on board, and it ain't the one that's sitting on my desk right now.

[lepetitfromage]

If I were in Lt. Potter's position, I would probably try and make a deal with Station- I'd ask him to remove all traces of that photograph from everywhere then I'd draw up some sort of agreement where if I ever ended up in a bind, Station would help me out.

Of course, if all went off without a hitch and the transaction was just done in cash...I'd buy a house, pay off all of my/my fiance's/my family's debt, pay for our wedding, put a nice chunk aside for my future kid's college fund and use a few million to buy and donate books, supplies and new technology to schools around here that are in need. No need to worry about where funds are going if you take care of specific expenses rather that just cutting a check.

As for Mari- I noticed that the bags they all came on board with are now missing. Obviously, they probably didn't feel like walking around with them so theoretically they could be in Hanner's room. But- there is the possibility that their bags are being "checked" while they tour the facilities. Perhaps Marigold brought something questionable with her. It could have been accidental/mostly harmless, but Security didn't want to take any chances? But I have to admit that I'm with Jabberwocky- I really want it to be Pintsize

[Is it cold in here?]

Why's Hanners so blase about Marigold's disappearance? And how did they not notice? Didn't she shout for help?

Wouldn't doing something that assertive be out of character?

[dreed]

Another possibility is that one or more AnthroPCs somehow managed to smuggle themselves on board.

Wacky hijinks ensue. 

and he is hidding inside Marigold if you know what i mean

[Milesb]

Anyone think maybe this strip has relevance?

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2104

Marten's already got a full all clear apparently, Marigold may not. Maybe they're just gonna do a 10 minute examination to ensure she's not a secret robot and the security guard is a muscle head with no manners?

Dale being head of security would make my week though, that sinister Gendo Ikari glasses thing and his apparent self belief in his own superiority would be considerably more justified if he was indeed head of security on the station.




Edit: Having said that, if you were concerned that someone was a secret robot, waiting until they were on the station before checking them would be pretty stupid. But although Station is pretty well organized, the military on the station seem to be slightly out the loop... who knows?

[pwhodges]

Maybe they're just gonna do a 10 minute examination

Station has already examined them down to molecular level; but perhaps the military don't fully trust the AI that their lives actually depend on?

[Earin]

Maybe the head of security is just a major anime nerd and wants another fan to talk to?

"Colonel Sosuke wants to have a word with you about this... 'Magical Love Gentleman'."

[Throg]

Stoopid poll (not to be taken seriously)

• Dale was an intelligence agent all along, sent by the government to spy on the Ellicot-Chatham clan; they need someone to 'get close' to Hanners as part of a long campaign to get inside the company.
• Pintsize stowed away, and the military is suspicious of a high-grade military chassis (surplus, but classified) in civilian hands.
• Momo is a fugitive AI from Ellicot-Chatham industries.
• The government detected Raven's quantum teleportation espresso maker, and they've mistaken Mari for Faye and want her to give up the technology.
• Vintage pocky as a new bioweapon.
• The head of security...wants his own holo-pony dammit
• Butts disease, IN SPACE. Mean security guard is a butt.

[FunkyTuba]

I'm starting to align with pwhodges here... we've seen that there's tension between the mil presence and Station... Doublechecking him would be par for the course, but perhaps they'll nvite her to a plot of intrigue based on seeing her badassery her in-game, only to be hilariously wrong about Marigold IRL.

As hijinks go, are these too wacky?

Edit: just noticed the title... Probably a TSA joke will ensue.

Edit2: security guy's name looks to be "Oglaf" lending further support to the gangbanging theory

[Mr. Doctor]

I'm surprised none in the group saw Mari dissapear all of a sudden if they walk so near each other... Or at least how they didn't notice the tall dude walking and talking to Mari.

[Mr_Rose]

This is probably a total misunderstanding; we're dealing with the US military here, after all. Like some "military intelligence" dude (probably a stuffy colonel that failed upwards into a desk job on a GIGO assignment and still thinks he's important) got wind of all these "gold farmers" in red china and wants to know what Mari knows.

[DSL]

Or the Major isn't the hardass the Lieutenant or this new fellow thinks he/she is and the subordinates follow the orders by the book. I've had to deal with folks like that and it's amazing how often things are a "misunderstanding" when you finally get to whomever issued the order/made the request/wanted to say hi.

I'm thinking of the joke about the general who, not recognized in the dark by a Pfc., says "That's OK, son. You're just lucky I'm not a second lieutenant."

[Milesb]

Looking at the comic again, I kinda feel like "Oglaf" looks more like he's marginally impatient or exasperated. There's no scary face going on, if anything he looks like a man doing a chore he'd rather get over and done with quickly.

Maybe the head of security wants to see Marigold for something unofficial and poor Oglaf has been sent to reel in Marigold? I sure as hell know if a security agent tried to peel me away from my group and I thought I was in serious trouble I'd make enough of a squawk to make sure my friends knew what was happening!

Edit: My avatar compelled me to vote "Go see Spamalot for Something Completely Different."

[pendrake]

For comic #2120...

1. Weekend cliffhanger!  Will Marigold be tagged as a security risk due to her heavily online status (blogs, MMOs, websites, etc)?  Is it another plot by "GenDale Ikari" to recruit her to NERV's Space Division (or the WoW Alliance)?  Does the head of security want to have zero-G make-outs with our well-endowed tauren raid-tank? ...dunh Dunh DUNH!

2. Really though... I doubt any of this has anything to do with Dale, at least directly.  I suppose an indirect method would be that the station's head of security would be one of Dale's guild-mates in WoW Alliance, among the ones he was talking to via voice-chat in #1693.  (Because in most MMO voice chat, it is rarely ever just two people.)

3. As to why Station would need 600-ish million US-Dollars.  A "reasonable" (for QC) explanation could be that Station's physical form (a long-term orbital space station) likely requires a lot of funding and maintenance, and it is probably good to have "personal" (for the cyber-sentient rights' world of QC) assets to draw upon rather than rely too heavily upon administration-by-administration government funding (see: RL NASA ).

4. If a very large military-looking goon tells you to, "Just come along quietly" without even the most basic explanation to "why?"  Be damn sure to let as many people as possible know you have been taken away as such.

5. Also, is said large military goon not wearing any shirt under his jumpsuit?  His jumpsuit zipper is pretty low, and I am seeing nothing but flesh-colors.

[jwhouk]

So what would YOU do with those stock options?

Keep 'em and have the baby from eTrade watch them like a hawk.    - 5 (11.1%)
Refuse the gift. I love my Air Force position too much.    - 1 (2.2%)
(Yeah, right.)    - 2 (4.4%)
Sell them and buy shares in Facebook.    - 1 (2.2%)
Cash some of it in and buy a little coffee shop in the Pioneer Valley of Western Mass.    - 4 (8.9%)
Take the money and RUN (preferably to Jamaica).    - 9 (20%)
Buy waffles.    - 1 (2.2%)
Buy a Waffle House franchise.    - 5 (11.1%)
Go see Spamalot for Something Completely Different.    - 5 (11.1%)
Get a Fender Stratocaster.    - 1 (2.2%)
It's just a show, I should probably just relax...    - 2 (4.4%)
Don't look at this too closely.    - 5 (11.1%)
Something different (specify!)    - 4 (8.9%)

Total Voters: 45

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Indeed.  There's plenty of drama to be had simply by Hannelore and her father recalling what her childhood was like.

[jmucchiello]

3. As to why Station would need 600-ish million US-Dollars.  A "reasonable" (for QC) explanation could be that Station's physical form (a long-term orbital space station) likely requires a lot of funding and maintenance, and it is probably good to have "personal" (for the cyber-sentient rights' world of QC) assets to draw upon rather than rely too heavily upon administration-by-administration government funding (see: RL NASA ).

Bah, the simple answer is AIs are paid to do work. Station is on the job 24/7/365.25, arguably does the work of 20-30 humans, and is responsible for the lives 100+ humans and the maintenance of the station itself. How much would pay him for that service? He would easily accumulate millions of dollars a year and with good investments could easily have $600 million.

[JRDelirio]

OK, finally decided to get in after a long time following...

(A) If you are a big mil/ind contractor and in one of your research facilities there's such activity going on that there is required a security presence, if you are allowed to bring in visitors under your personal responsibility you comply with a specific procedure, you don't just dismissively blow off the people trying to do their job.  In that Jeph is being consistent and Hanners, who has been adapting to dealing with the imperfect, uncontrolled environment, is right in standing up for the Lieutenant.

(B) In between the first encounter with Lt. Potter and Hanners telling Station to go apologize, Potter's no longer there so there was a lapse of time.  So it's possible that during this lapse of time it was arranged to have the overlooked screenings/searches conducted and then it would be plausible for one of the AnthroPCs to smuggle hirself into their luggage or for something to be found amiss.

(C) However, grab/"come quietly" would NOT be a likely way of pulling Marigold aside under any normal procedure for dealing with civilian visitors at such a facility.  Jeph's using artist's license to skip over the normal niceties of escalation to get to where Marigold is taken somewhere. As to how come they did not notice it, by now she may have been straggling back trying to see some LASERS!!!1!!11 so often they were expecting her to fall behind.  Heck, they may be even using a ruse to take her to see the LASERS!!, to show no hard feelings as part of the Potter/Station settlement.  (man, MG really loves LASERS!! doesn't she?)

(D) Of all the AIs so far, Station is the first one that I perceive as being actually dickish to someone*, and picking and choosing who he feels deserves or not respect or consideration.  "I'm having difficulty hearing you", rolling his eyes at having to apologize, etc. (*PintSize can be rude and crude but he is not cruel; Station deliberately sought to humiliate Lt. Potter)

(E) OK, so IRL it would be hard to graduate USAF Academy if you have the kind of bad judgement to pull a Cadets Gone Wild and put it on facebook.  Academy people, whatever the branch, are very career-minded. That line kind of took me out of it for a moment. It would make more sense if the picture had been shared among fellow cadets/graduates and Station had come into possession of it because of a breach of proper file security.  "I should have asked Zyrkowski to wipe that memory card"  or something like that.

(F) What with AIs having been declared persons with rights at some point in the recent past of the QCverse, it would make perfect sense if companies were to do a share-option compensation package for someone like Station, who's been and continues to be a vital part of ECC, just as are a lot of the people IRL in the tech and financial sectors.  And it would be reasonable that Station's stock is worth hundreds of millions.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, new person! That's a good post.

We can speculate that the picture was only supposed to be visible to friends, and that either Lt. Potter got caught by one of Facebook's changes to privacy settings, or that Facebook's servers are run by an AI which is willing to extend professional courtesy to Station.

AnthroPCs have humiliated their owners before: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=639 .

[Milesb]

Perhaps the Lt. merely made the mistake of accepting Station's friend request...

[RyanW1019]

Maybe the head of security is just a major anime nerd and wants another fan to talk to?

"Colonel Sosuke wants to have a word with you about this... 'Magical Love Gentleman'."

Bookmark this quote.

[jwhouk]

I'll bet it's an updated TOS issue. 

Let's see - what could Marigold have inadvertently brought aboard SS EC-Tech that would be "against the rules"?

• Sharp Objects - Box cutters? Scissors? I don't see her carrying anything like this on her person or in her luggage. However, Hanners did say she thought Marigold had a katana...
• Sporting Goods - I doubt she has a cricket bat like Hannelore does.
• Guns & Firearms - Uh, no.
• Tools - This area I could see an issue. She is a computer techie, and she might have her emergency computer repair kit on hand at all times - like her screwdriver set or six-in-one tool. Such an item would probably not be larger than seven inches in length (which is the TSA requirement), so that might not be an issue. Maybe it's something else in her repair kit?
• Martial Arts & Self-Defense Items - Would she actually carry a can of mace, or a taser with her? or Nunchakus, Throwing Stars? Or could she have something on her that could be mistaken for such?
• Explosive & Flammable Materials - Practically anything in this category would be "very bad" to bring onto a space station, as the atmosphere inside is probably a lot closer to pure oxygen than the mixture we have on Earth. Maybe a can of Cheez-Whiz that she forgot was in her luggage? Maybe some sort of soldering gun or other type of torch/lighter?
• Chemicals and Other Dangerous Items - Some sort of heavy-duty tear gas, but then her luggage would have been a LOT larger than it appears.
• Other Items - The only thing I could think of would be her Netbook - with the attached webcam. Maybe Hannelore forgot to tell her that she couldn't bring that with to the station?