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Brun and the Mystery of Elliott (Why Does He React That Way Around Her?)

The Bubbles and Pintsize Show (Is Pintsize dumb or just suicidal?)

Who are that dark-haired guy and his redheaded girlfriend who live with Faye?

Marigold has come to consider Sam her Sensei in the ways of "Let's Play" shows

Hannelore has a personal life too!

The Return of the Bianchis, the worst parents in Northampton!

The Gods Meet to Discuss Creepybot (Station and Dr E-C dialogues)

Bubbles thinks that there is something odd about Emily and wishes to investigate

Time for the adults (specifically, Veronica and Jim) to have a week in the sun

Other

[Kugai]

This Arc actually reminds me of Sinclairs Arc in Babylon 5

:There is a hole in your mind."

[Stoutfellow]

Of course, that would mean that Bubbles would mysteriously vanish (except for one cameo) at the end of the season....

[Somebody]

Here's the thing - before Faye was fired, there was never any indication that Bubbles had a hole in her memory, no? We knew she was PTSD, etc, but this whole arc has in a sense been running in circles.

Especially if Faye & Bubbles get rehired by the new, "legit" owners.

Running in circles? I really don't think so. We've seen a *lot* of character development in those two.

At the beginning of the arc, Bubbles was functionally agoraphobic...

I'm not talking about "going back to Bubbles' first appearance", but "going back to Faye punching CW in the face and getting fired for it".

[Storel]

Even if they go back to repair at the P&P Robot Martial Arts Gym, they're very different.

I love that name for the new & improved fighting ring. Jeph, please make it so!

[Nepiophage]

So what's the thing on officer Basilisk's table? It looks like a packet of cigarettes, but AIs can't smoke, not having lungs?

[Zebediah]

That's her badge.

[Y]

So how did Spookybot enter without a detective such as officer Basilisk noticing? Silent lock picking or just very fast?

[TinPenguin]

They have a tele-plot-ation device.

[oddtail]

So how did Spookybot enter without a detective such as officer Basilisk noticing? Silent lock picking or just very fast?

I'm gonna say "plot powers"...

[Morituri]

If you found a used plot device at a second-hand store, would you buy it? 

I mean, seriously, you might get to teleport through walls and you might get stuck in jail for something you didn't do.  Or both.

Most Plot Devices are very convenient to have though....  given the risk they're probably pretty cheap.

[jheartney]

Hypotheses for How Creepybot Appears So Damn Fast

1. Very quick, quiet duck walk.
2. Creepybot is actually made of origami; they can fold into place without anyone seeing them.
3. Has a timeshare with the Enterprise transporter.
4. Is actually a Tardis with a working Chameleon Circuit.
5. Lives in the 5th dimension. Thus can enter any space regardless of walls.
6. Is a composite of nanobots, which can swarm in an invisible cloud and reassemble, seemingly from nowhere.
7. Isn't an AI at all; is actually a retired Death Eater.

[Mattexian]

 . At least I'm not the only B5 fan reading this.  (Yes, a B5 quote finally got me off my tail to register and comment.)

This Arc actually reminds me of Sinclairs Arc in Babylon 5

:There is a hole in your mind."

The discussion from a couple days ago of morality of an amoral being using torture and it's relation (or not) to justice, reminded me of a line from Marcus (also from B5):

You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.

[brasca]

This Arc actually reminds me of Sinclairs Arc in Babylon 5

:There is a hole in your mind."

I'm wondering if Creepybot will suffer the same fate as Kosh.  If they just interfered in the affairs of another First One that's a cross between the Shadows and the Kingpin there could be a heavy price to pay.  I'm actually hoping that will happen since a seemingly omnipotent character needs to be kept in check or the story will get boring.

[OldGoat]

So how did Spookybot enter without a detective such as officer Basilisk noticing? Silent lock picking or just very fast?

Same way they suddenly appeared a Coffee of Doom without any of the staff noticing.  No whoosh, no twinkling sounds and glitter, no "Pop!", no nuthin' - they just all of a sudden there.

[OldGoat]

Is that AI demigod thigh gap in panel 3?

[A small perverse otter]

If you found a used plot device at a second-hand store, would you buy it? 

You only find them at the little shop that wasn't there yesterday.

Which begs the question "Would you buy a sketchy plot device from a sketchy plot device?"

[brasca]

Can't blame Bubbles for the loss of the badge.  The raccoon acted on it's own.

[jheartney]

If CW wanted to fight the charges, she could easily have whatever evidence Creepybot handed to Basilisk excluded as it was illegally obtained. Or at the very least, it was obtained under legally ambiguous circumstances. A decent defense attorney could get it thrown out easily.

Basilisk is just being a good cop in wanting to know the bigger picture. And frankly, given that CW's confession came under duress, any conviction obtained with it is probably invalid. (Not that that ever stopped the conviction of small fry like CW.)

Faye and Bubbles ought to have brought an attorney with them. As it is they are taking a big chance that Basilisk doesn't try to collar them as well for conspiracy. If any of you ever decides to go in and spill the beans to police, bring an attorney.

[Method of Madness]

A decent defense attorney could get it thrown out easily.

Yes, but Corpsie knows what will happen to her if she allows that to happen.

[Tova]

CW will plead guilty regardless, so it's moot.

But where did that evidence come from? Eyewitness statements legally obtained? Conjured out of thin air? Magic?

It's tangential, so it hardly matters I suppose, but... eh. The whole resolution is a hand wave anyway.

Sorry, don't mean to sound whiny. I'm still enjoying the comic, honestly!

[OldGoat]

If CW wanted to fight the charges, she could easily have whatever evidence Creepybot handed to Basilisk excluded as it was illegally obtained. Or at the very least, it was obtained under legally ambiguous circumstances. A decent defense attorney could get it thrown out easily.

But Corpse Witch knows that if she lawyers up Spook will make good on their promise of eternal torment.  That must be some rough poop.

We already know there's a separate corrections infrastructure ("robot jail") for AIs.  I wonder, does the QC Universe State of Massachusetts have a parallel criminal justice system for AIs, or are they tried in the same courts as humans?  Jeph only knows.

[Mad Cat]

Basilisk is the only person who could call Bubbles a "fucker" to her face in an angry tone of voice, and not only not get crushed down and tossed into a garbage can (again), but actually get an apology from Bubs.

[Method of Madness]

Except Bubbles never tossed her in a garbage can! She just moved the can Basilisk was already in!

[solemnwar]

Officer Basilisk looks really good in her uniform... hnnn...

[Neko_Ali]

Can't blame Bubbles for the loss of the badge.  The raccoon acted on it's own.

The raccoon was an inside (the trash  can) job!

[blt]

On one hand I wish this plot had gone on for much longer to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.

But every day this week I find myself thinking Jeph should have ended this trainwreck the strip prior.  Which is really disappointing because I love stuff about Bubbles.

[BenRG]

Well, my respect for Roko, already high for being able to retain a serious demeanour around the 24/7 Vaudeville act that is the QC gang, gets higher. She's going to look a gift horse in the mouth if that horse doesn't make any kind of logical sense and behaves in a way that makes her feel a tool in another being's hand. She'll take the confession because it means a villain off of the streets but it leaves open the possibility that there is an even worse Black Hat is on the streets; after all, what else could have intimidated Corpse Witch into effectively asking for shelter in Robot Jail?

I'm not sure how she'll react to Bubbles and Faye's explanation of what they thinks Spookybot is. I've got the feeling that she's going to end up becoming a robotic Fox Mulder, ruining her career by trying to prove the existence of an AI bogeyman that very few beings seriously believes exists and those that know better are generally too terrified to admit that it exists.

Officer Basilisk looks really good in her uniform... hnnn...

It is fundamentally impossible for someone not to look better in uniform. It's a function of 'neat and well-maintained'.

Except Bubbles never tossed her in a garbage can! She just moved the can Basilisk was already in!

This is an interpretation of that strip that seems now to have been debunked by in-strip canon.

[Gyrre]

On one hand I wish this plot had gone on for much longer to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.

But every day this week I find myself thinking Jeph should have ended this trainwreck the strip prior.  Which is really disappointing because I love stuff about Bubbles.

So, when you saw that today's strip was continuing this arc, was your face like Skullkid's at minute 03:20?

[TinPenguin]

Except Bubbles never tossed her in a garbage can! She just moved the can Basilisk was already in!

This is an interpretation of that strip that seems now to have been debunked by in-strip canon.

"Trapped", Basilisk said. And it's pretty straightforward to trap someone in a place they were already in.

[Akima]

Basilisk is just being a good cop in wanting to know the bigger picture. And frankly, given that CW's confession came under duress, any conviction obtained with it is probably invalid. (Not that that ever stopped the conviction of small fry like CW.)

As others have pointed out, a confession illegally obtained under duress will stand if the defendant is too scared to challenge it, so it's academic.

"Trapped", Basilisk said. And it's pretty straightforward to trap someone in a place they were already in.

Bubbles presumably crushed the edges of the can and its lid together, locking the lid in place. I'm still surprised that Basilisk would fit in a standard-sized dustbin in the first place. She must be very flexible. I'm pretty small, and I'm not sure that I could scrunch up enough.

[brasca]

CW will plead guilty regardless, so it's moot.

But where did that evidence come from? Eyewitness statements legally obtained? Conjured out of thin air? Magic?

It's tangential, so it hardly matters I suppose, but... eh. The whole resolution is a hand wave anyway.

Sorry, don't mean to sound whiny. I'm still enjoying the comic, honestly!

True, but it may not end just like that.  We've seen before that the government took custody of the Vespa Avenger and have also intervened to suppress Emily's technological discovery so I wouldn't be surprised if soon after the conviction Corpse Witch's module is "lost" from robot prison so a government agent can interrogate her.  She still might be too scared to talk, but I imagine they can be persuasive too or will just access her memories to find out what she knows.  I doubt the powers that be rest easily knowing there is a near omnipotent AI roaming freely and want to find someway to either capture or neutralize them. 

[ZoeB]

But Corpse Witch knows that if she lawyers up Spook will make good on their promise of eternal torment.

Minor but important correction: she *knows* no such thing. She certainly believes it though, and the Eminence Gris went to a great deal of trouble to reinforce that belief.

Personally, I'm sceptical. It wouldn't fit with the way the QCverse works. Even terrorising a thoroughly nasty miscreant with a hollow but deliberately plausible threat like that strains the boundaries.

[Tawdry Quirks]

If you want to knit, don't hold your needles how Officer Basilisk is holding hers...that's not a valid knitting position at all.  Notice how the piece isn't even on the knitting needles.   And although there is a valid knitting style that does involve needles pointing down like that, which is called 'Parlour Style', it is freaky rare.  I've only seen one photo of actual Parlour style knitting, and I have never found video of the technique.

The reason I'm disappointed by the depiction of knitting in today's strip is because the depiction of knitting hands in strip #2904 is absolutely fucking perfect.

She's a cop and an unknown humanoid has just appeared out of nowhere in her living room.  She's re-positioned her needles so she can go for the eyes if the intruder gets too close and buy herself time to lunge for her pistol.  (Yeah, yeah, yeah, stabbing Spook in the eyes wouldn't do any good even if she could manage it, but she doesn't know how close to omnipotent they is, and none of her programming, training or speculation has prepared her for an encounter with androgynous demigod.  It's a reasonable punt.)

I like this theory.  I'll expand it a bit and suggest that perhaps Spookybot might be helping out Basilisk by making the piece of knitting that's been 'liberated' from its needles levitate in the air.  Although it might not be the correct interpretation of that scene, it's at least the one that requires the least amount of suspension of disbelief on my part.

[JRDelirio]

CW will plead guilty regardless, so it's moot.

But where did that evidence come from? Eyewitness statements legally obtained? Conjured out of thin air? Magic?

It's tangential, so it hardly matters I suppose, but... eh. The whole resolution is a hand wave anyway.

Sorry, don't mean to sound whiny. I'm still enjoying the comic, honestly!

True, but it may not end just like that.  We've seen before that the government took custody of the Vespa Avenger and have also intervened to suppress Emily's technological discovery so I wouldn't be surprised if soon after the conviction Corpse Witch's module is "lost" from robot prison so a government agent can interrogate her.  She still might be too scared to talk, but I imagine they can be persuasive too or will just access her memories to find out what she knows.  I doubt the powers that be rest easily knowing there is a near omnipotent AI roaming freely and want to find someway to either capture or neutralize them.

  Well but do we think Collosal Squid would not put a much, much better lockdown on that kind of info than Coprse Witch could (and not fuck it up)?  Or that they haven't already put the Dark Ops side of the earthly government on notice that they will not countenance someone forcibly extracting memories from an AI?

And BTW about confessions and evidence:  Creepybot is being an anonymous informant.  If someone else with access to evidence, who is not the police, brings in enough of it to warrant a proper investigation, and police then uncover that indeed there is proof of the crime, then that proof is not tainted.  If someone confesses eagerly and you have no evidence of coercion, you have to take the confession.  And yes, if you are a good LEO you will be, must be, suspicious of anything that works out too good to be true because it often means you are being a piece in the game.

[brasca]

CW will plead guilty regardless, so it's moot.

But where did that evidence come from? Eyewitness statements legally obtained? Conjured out of thin air? Magic?

It's tangential, so it hardly matters I suppose, but... eh. The whole resolution is a hand wave anyway.

Sorry, don't mean to sound whiny. I'm still enjoying the comic, honestly!

True, but it may not end just like that.  We've seen before that the government took custody of the Vespa Avenger and have also intervened to suppress Emily's technological discovery so I wouldn't be surprised if soon after the conviction Corpse Witch's module is "lost" from robot prison so a government agent can interrogate her.  She still might be too scared to talk, but I imagine they can be persuasive too or will just access her memories to find out what she knows.  I doubt the powers that be rest easily knowing there is a near omnipotent AI roaming freely and want to find someway to either capture or neutralize them.

  Well but do we think Collosal Squid would not put a much, much better lockdown on that kind of info than Coprse Witch could (and not fuck it up)?  Or that they haven't already put the Dark Ops side of the earthly government on notice that they will not countenance someone forcibly extracting memories from an AI?

And BTW about confessions and evidence:  Creepybot is being an anonymous informant.  If someone else with access to evidence, who is not the police, brings in enough of it to warrant a proper investigation, and police then uncover that indeed there is proof of the crime, then that proof is not tainted.  If someone confesses eagerly and you have no evidence of coercion, you have to take the confession.  And yes, if you are a good LEO you will be, must be, suspicious of anything that works out too good to be true because it often means you are being a piece in the game.

Creepybot is quite arrogant so I woudn't put it past them to be careless, but even if such information was safeguarded why would that stop a super secret black ops organization from trying?  Moreover, Creepybot seemed interested in the memories Bubbles had possibly for an ulterior reason.  Maybe they are hunting this organization and vice versa. 

[BenRG]

I'm expecting next week to include Bubbles telling Officer Basilisk that "Some mysteries are not meant to be solved" and advising her to just accept her good fortune and move on.

Art note: Roko's badge is silver rather than gold. By convention in the US, that means she is not a fully-qualified plain-clothes detective. She may have been seconded to AI Misuse but I think that she's normally just a patrol officer. I'm not sure why this makes me think: "Hmmm". I'm just wondering if her completely unexpected (and unasked for) new AI demigod sponsor may find her a useful agent. I'm thinking that she may get that gold badge and possibly later a Sergeant's stripes all based on Creepybot dropping pacified irritants in her lap to throw in Robot Jail.

[shanejayell]

On one hand I kinda expect Bubbles to go back to the old repair shop now that CW is gone.

On the other.... set up a NEW repair shop in the basement of Coffee of Doom? Gets the cast back all in one place, pretty much....  they couldf even hire Brun! 

[TheEvilDog]

On one hand I kinda expect Bubbles to go back to the old repair shop now that CW is gone.

On the other.... set up a NEW repair shop in the basement of Coffee of Doom? Gets the cast back all in one place, pretty much....  they couldf even hire Brun! 

Yeah, but where is Dora going to roast her beans, you know, for Coffee of Doom?

[Morituri]

Art note: Roko's badge is silver rather than gold. By convention in the US, that means she is not a fully-qualified plain-clothes detective. She may have been seconded to AI Misuse but I think that she's normally just a patrol officer.

Doesn't quite mean 'patrol officer' but it does mean she can't be in charge of an investigation on her own.  She's got to have a senior partner.

[OldGoat]

Art note: Roko's badge is silver rather than gold. By convention in the US, that means she is not a fully-qualified plain-clothes detective. She may have been seconded to AI Misuse but I think that she's normally just a patrol officer.

Doesn't quite mean 'patrol officer' but it does mean she can't be in charge of an investigation on her own.  She's got to have a senior partner.

It varies from agency to agency.  Basilisk identified herself as working for the State Police AI crime unit.  If the QC universe is parallel to ours, Roko is probably either a Trooper or Trooper First Class.  She's supervised by a Sergeant who works for a Detective Lieutenant who's under a Detective Captain.  We don't know where the AI crime unit is headquartered, but she probably has office space available at Troop B Barracks 6 in Northhampton.   We haven't really been given any indication of how closely she's managed by her boss.

[Kugai]

The obligatory Police Station Denouement Scene -Jeph getting a bit cliched here, but I like it.   I wonder how long it took Officer Basilisk  to get her Badge back from the Racoon.


And at least Bubbles apologized for the Garbage Can Incident.

[Dagoonite]

How did Spookybot enter the nice officer's home?  I'm guessing limited sense hacking, expert lock picking with a side of stealth, and/or simply walking in while she was absorbed in her needlework and the Netflix binge Basky's watching.  Because, seriously, my roomie will do that, get so absorbed in her knitting and the show that she's watching that I'll let the dog out, cook dinner, let the dog in, offer her some (and get a grunt in return), eat, do dishes, and if I time it right, I can let her know that her food's in the fridge right as I go to bed a couple hours later.  It's tricky, though.  I gotta time it right between episodes, but she'll have the same reaction as Basilisto.

[TheEvilDog]

How did Spookybot enter the nice officer's home?  I'm guessing limited sense hacking, expert lock picking with a side of stealth, and/or simply walking in while she was absorbed in her needlework and the Netflix binge Basky's watching.  Because, seriously, my roomie will do that, get so absorbed in her knitting and the show that she's watching that I'll let the dog out, cook dinner, let the dog in, offer her some (and get a grunt in return), eat, do dishes, and if I time it right, I can let her know that her food's in the fridge right as I go to bed a couple hours later.  It's tricky, though.  I gotta time it right between episodes, but she'll have the same reaction as Basilisto.

Space Magic, that's how.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, new people!

Maybe Officer Basilisk knits Worry Hats.

Knitting is soothing and therapeutic to people with carbon-based neurophysiology. Maybe it works the same for people with silicon brains. Police work is notoriously stressful.

[HiFranc]

Now that is a Deus Ex Machina.

Hi Ho Silver etc.

Officer Basilisk knitting? Darn. [...]

But neither I nor the other gal on that team can knit. The ability to take two sticks and some string and make fabric by tying knots will forever be as much of a mystery to me as Special Relativity theory is to many.

The basics of knitting aren't hard to learn. I was inspired by a webcomic about a knitting obsessed woman to try knitting myself (when I was unemployed). There are instructional videos on YouTube if you're interested. I gave it up because I realised that I needed real world teaching - I couldn't keep the tension constant (hence the pieces I made were uneven).

[ZoeB]

The basics of knitting aren't hard to learn..... There are instructional videos on YouTube if you're interested..

Thanks, but I've tried. It's not as if I have only got an eye-hand co-ordination problem either, I can do fine brushwork for example.









I think maybe this is the reason. Some are dyslexic. Some aspergic. Some have perfect pitch.

[BenRG]

Official Poll Results Post

So Where Next For Our Heroes?
Just a reminder: Everyone had two votes but there is no way in the poll system to rank them so all we can say is that every option has been either someone's first or second choice.

1. Hannelore has a personal life too! - 19 (15.7%)
=2. Who are that dark-haired guy and his redheaded girlfriend who live with Faye? - 18 (14.9%)
=2. The Gods Meet to Discuss Creepybot (Station and Dr E-C dialogues) - 18 (14.9%)
4. Brun and the Mystery of Elliott (Why Does He React That Way Around Her?) - 17 (14%)
5. Bubbles thinks that there is something odd about Emily and wishes to investigate - 15 (12.4%)
=6. The Bubbles and Pintsize Show (Is Pintsize dumb or just suicidal?) - 9 (7.4%)
=6. Marigold has come to consider Sam her Sensei in the ways of "Let's Play" shows - 9 (7.4%)
=6. Time for the adults (specifically, Veronica and Jim) to have a week in the sun - 9 (7.4%)
9. Other - 7 (5.8%)
X. The Return of the Bianchis, the worst parents in Northampton! - 0 (0%)

A very narrow margin of victory this week! Still, by a single vote, the forum wants there to be a focus on the everyday life of one Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham! I think that I could enjoy that. Hannelore is sweet but has a cranky and quirky edge that could lead to lots of humour but also lots of insights about how she survives in a world that often terrifies her.

It's also pretty clear that the Bianchi parents are not on anyone's favourites list! I wonder if Jeph intentionally wrote them to be despised or if that's just the way people have reacted to the effects of their parenting skills on Dora and Sven?

[Method of Madness]

I don't despise them, I'm just not particularly interested in them.

[Tova]

It's also pretty clear that the Bianchi parents are not on anyone's favourites list! I wonder if Jeph intentionally wrote them to be despised or if that's just the way people have reacted to the effects of their parenting skills on Dora and Sven?

That's quite a leap you've made there from the first bolded phrase to the second.

[Mr_Rose]

I would be quite interested to hear more about their interesting family history and how Sven and Dora are only half-siblings but they're waaaaaaaaaaaaay down near the bottom of my list of priorities and the poll only allowed two choices.