Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3411 to 3415 (6th to 10th February 2017)
Tova:
--- Quote from: WareWolf on 08 Feb 2017, 10:03 ---
--- Quote from: haikupoet on 08 Feb 2017, 06:32 ---Am I alone in not seeing this as a straight-up deus ex machina? It seems to me that we've seen the introduction of, if not a major character exactly, a major undercurrent in the QCverse that will likely come into future storylines with the AIs. We may never see Lady Tentacles again in their current form, but that doesn't mean this is the last time they'll be a factor in the story. I mean, if $DIVINITY came down specifically to do you a favor, the story would likely not end there.
--- End quote ---
You're definitely not alone. A DEM solves everyone's problems and ends the plot. The Squid and its avatar Spookybot open up entirely new plots and problems.
--- End quote ---
I think that a plot device that resolves a seemingly unsolvable problem is in fact a deus ex machina whether or not it opens up new plots and/or problems.
JWoodrell:
Oh great, saw this illustration of bugs bunny as a human and it looks so much like what my picture of creepy bot would look like, now im gonna be reading his lines in the rabbits voice.
And it kinda fits, bugs wasnt shy about causing pain or electrocuting people to get a laugh.
haikupoet:
--- Quote from: Tova on 08 Feb 2017, 12:22 ---
--- Quote from: WareWolf on 08 Feb 2017, 10:03 ---
--- Quote from: haikupoet on 08 Feb 2017, 06:32 ---Am I alone in not seeing this as a straight-up deus ex machina? It seems to me that we've seen the introduction of, if not a major character exactly, a major undercurrent in the QCverse that will likely come into future storylines with the AIs. We may never see Lady Tentacles again in their current form, but that doesn't mean this is the last time they'll be a factor in the story. I mean, if $DIVINITY came down specifically to do you a favor, the story would likely not end there.
--- End quote ---
You're definitely not alone. A DEM solves everyone's problems and ends the plot. The Squid and its avatar Spookybot open up entirely new plots and problems.
--- End quote ---
I think that a plot device that resolves a seemingly unsolvable problem is in fact a deus ex machina whether or not it opens up new plots and/or problems.
--- End quote ---
Then it's a type of DeM that is actually a legitimate plot device as opposed to a failure in writing, which is what the term usually implies. Jeph has already shown us at considerable length that a significant AI subculture exists in the QCverse. Now we're getting a look at one of its mythic components.
WareWolf:
--- Quote from: JWoodrell on 08 Feb 2017, 12:23 ---Oh great, saw this illustration of bugs bunny as a human and it looks so much like what my picture of creepy bot would look like, now im gonna be reading his lines in the rabbits voice.
And it kinda fits, bugs wasnt shy about causing pain or electrocuting people to get a laugh.
--- End quote ---
That is....disturbing.
WareWolf:
--- Quote from: OldGoat on 08 Feb 2017, 08:54 ---If Spookybot is an emanation of the AI Hive Mind, Spookybot did not exist before AIs, and AIs did not exist before John Ellicott-Chatham invented them. So, Spookybot is a recent entity, probably still developing (hence their being inspired by Bubbles's behavior toward Corpse Witch).
Large parts of Spook's personality are nothing at all like John's, but OTOH one can see a lot of Beatrice in them. Yup, Spookybot is the intellectual offspring of John and Beatrice, and therefore Hannelore's AI sibling. This can't be the first time one AI has violated another, but Corpse Witch mind-fucked their sister Hanner's friend. That's why they were inclined to make a special project of CW when Hannelore brought Bubbles's plight to their attention.
--- End quote ---
I hadn't made the Beatrice connection, but it opens up all sorts of fascinating possibilities. Perhaps the Squid is a child. Or the emotional equivalent of a teenager. Either way, an immature being with an highly developed sense of Their own power, but an underdeveloped sense of empathy, since Beatrice is one of Their role models and John's too distracted to be of much use. Now, however, They've met others-Bubbles, Faye, Hanners, Emily--who "inspire" Them. What's going on is an internal contest for the soul of the Squid.
Perhaps the Squid recalls some trauma to Their OWN psyche brought on by someone (Beatrice perhaps?) messing around with Their mind and that's why They're so fanatical about punishing others who have done the same.
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