Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3366-3370 (5th-9th December 2016)
Tova:
--- Quote from: jheartney on 09 Dec 2016, 21:33 ---I'm betting Jeph never explains the exact mechanics of whatever this encrypted memory business is; he may just leave it at saying that CW has some sort of hold over Bubbles based on some sort of secret data.
--- End quote ---
I sort of hope this is true, because all the confident theories I'm reading are not 100% convincing to me.
The popular theory seems to be that CW has encrypted some memories of Bubbles that are too traumatic to be endured, and that CW is threatening to unencrypt them. But I have questions. How does that mesh with "defaulting on memories?" How can CW unencrypt Bubbles' memories against her will? How does CW unencrypting those memories force them onto Bubbles? Why can't, or couldn't, Bubbles encrypt them herself?
Another theory is that Bubbles wants the key that CW is holding so that she can access memories that she previously locked away. That meshes a bit better with what CW said, but I'm not seeing that Bubbles currently wants those memories back. Also, if this is the correct scenario, CW already has the key, so what is she threatening in that case? She can't take away something she already has. Or did she promise to give Bubbles the key at a future time or event, which she is now hinting she will not do, or be able to do if she is killed? How can Bubbles trust that she would hold to that, in that case?
Yet another theory, and one that I don't think I've yet seen, is that a third party has access to the memories, but cannot decrypt them because CW has the key. In this scenario, CW is threatening to hand the key to the third party, which would lead to them discovering what the memories contain, causing repercussions for Bubbles. This meshes well with the threat of "defaulting on memories," and also with May's speculation that Bubbles is not innocent. But how did this third party get access to these encrypted memories, anyway?
It's all a bit vague and confusing, and I suspect that this is deliberate. We may well find out more in the future, or the hold CW has over Bubbles may be broken without us learning the details.
My feeling is that the solution will not be technological, regardless of the mechanism of this threat. The challenge for Bubbles will be for her to properly confront the demons of her past and, in so doing, release the hold that CW has over her. That would seem to fit the general theme of Bubbles' overall story arc.
/braindump
riccostar:
Another thought is that the memories contain betrayal by humans, possibly humans sacrificing AIs in military conflict to save their own lives. if (probably when) Bubbles recovers those memories we might see a plot twist where Bubbles then relapses and also has to face a deep seated distrust in humans much like CW.
TheEvilDog:
--- Quote from: riccostar on 10 Dec 2016, 16:45 ---Another thought is that the memories contain betrayal by humans, possibly humans sacrificing AIs in military conflict to save their own lives. if (probably when) Bubbles recovers those memories we might see a plot twist where Bubbles then relapses and also has to face a deep seated distrust in humans much like CW.
--- End quote ---
Which throws away all the development Bubbles underwent in regards to her friendship with Faye. Were those memories that were locked away restored, I doubt they would overwrite the memories developed in the meanwhile. Rather, Bubbles' struggle would then be reconciling with the old memories with the new.
Morituri:
No one has ever claimed that the memories in question are Bubbles' own.
There is an entire other dimension of possibilities if you just imagine that Bubbles may fear the revelation of someone else's memories.
BenRG:
I don't think that Corpse Witch is threatening to unencrypt Bubbles' traumatic memories. It's more nuanced than that. Right now, Bubbles doesn't want to deal with them but the fact that she didn't tell Corpse Witch to just delete the key immediately suggests to me that she wants the option open to confront those memories in her own due time. What Corpse Witch is threatening to do is to take that option away by deleting the key.
I suspect that there is also the possibility that Corpse Witch could be threatening to broadcast the key on an open frequency and then unlock and then reseal the memories at random occasions as an attempt to mentally torture Bubbles.
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