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A blank white room with no other data input and no companions.

A room that's 10% grey with only a T.V. with a picture of a beach and place the same slow muzzak on loop.

The above option except it loops every episode of Barney and Friends.

An endless stream of legal code in the driest, dullest possible wording.

An empty black room.

Three A.I. together in an empty featureless room 'Hell is other people' style.

None of the above (describe your answer if you want to)

[hedgie]

One wonders if Corpse Witch herself will ever turn up again. Jail isn't FOREVER, one assumes.

It can seem like it if one goes by webcomic time.

[Is it cold in here?]

Will Eminence Grise be satisfied with a Robot Jail sentence as vindictive enough for them?

Or will they want to make life miserable for Corpse Witch after her release?

Corpse Witch might be better off never getting out.

[OldGoat]

If Corpse Witch ever returns, it'll be as a nun or something like that.  Whatever she had is gone, if she ever had anything at all.  She has no money, her hold on Bubbles has been revealed to be a bluff, and odds are overwhelming that the influence she claimed to have with the authorities was a bluff as well.  If it had been real, Roko would have been alert for disturbances higher up her chain of command and would have noticed any, but there's been nothing to indicate that this is the case.  The most she's likely ever to have had was someone with a gambling habit.  Even if that person was a government peon, a bunko artist (and CW was an adept) would hype them into a Senior Big Shot.

Virtually NOTHING Corpse Witch said was true, not even her claims of friends in high places., but the fact that some readers buy into that one element does demonstrate how well Jeph wrote the character.

Not that I'd ever trust Sister Corpse Witch with anything (unless I'd been provided with a Spookybot version of Jimmy Olson's Superman summoning wrist watch).

[Inconsequential]

Weird - May once referred to Corpse Witch as "that sleazy pink f**k", but Roko (who is definitely on the purple spectrum) just referred to her as purple.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3368

Looking back, CW's dress is pink, but her dermal covering is... ambiguously purpinkle. So I guess it's a toss-up what someone would perceive.

This means absolutely nothing, I guess.


I do like how robot skin (dermal covering) colors in the QC-verse don't really have any baggage. It's perfectly OK to use as a way to help identify someone. For example, May once said "I like being a blue robot chick", and I'm sure there are other examples.

Momo's human-like skin texture and color is sort of unusual, and she's thus been mistaken for a human more than once.


It's neat to see May's growth -- she's openly appreciative of kindness, and able to show kindness when it's needed. Sort of. In her own, uh, unique way.

[brasca]

Will Eminence Grise be satisfied with a Robot Jail sentence as vindictive enough for them?

Or will they want to make life miserable for Corpse Witch after her release?

Corpse Witch might be better off never getting out.

Ironically her order to cooperate with the authorities might bring attention to some secret government agency interested in subduing or destroying Spookybot as a threat to national security. 

[TheEvilDog]

Weird - May once referred to Corpse Witch as "that sleazy pink f**k", but Roko (who is definitely on the purple spectrum) just referred to her as purple.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3368

Looking back, CW's dress is pink, but her dermal covering is... ambiguously purpinkle. So I guess it's a toss-up what someone would perceive.

"Is the dress blue or is it gold?"

[OldGoat]

"Is the dress blue or is it gold?"

And what happens when you tilt your monitor forward or back?

[SpanielBear]

Weird - May once referred to Corpse Witch as "that sleazy pink f**k", but Roko (who is definitely on the purple spectrum) just referred to her as purple.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3368

Looking back, CW's dress is pink, but her dermal covering is... ambiguously purpinkle. So I guess it's a toss-up what someone would perceive.

"Is the dress blue or is it gold?"

As a colour-blind person, that damn dress was intensely cathartic.

"Yeah, what colour is it? What colour is that to you? Don't like it, huh? Finding chromatic uncertainty a little awkward to process? Perceptions you thought were shared turning out to be disconnected and solipsistic? How about everyone around you demanding an answer you can't possibly give, that fun!?!? YOUR SUFFERING IS BUT A MOMENT OF MY ETERNITY, WRETCH!!!!!!"

[Tova]

Will Eminence Grise be satisfied with a Robot Jail sentence as vindictive enough for them?

Or will they want to make life miserable for Corpse Witch after her release?

Corpse Witch might be better off never getting out.

Given the long discussion we've been having about the way people like May are treated, this is a really interesting question. How does the way you think May should be treated compare with the way you think CW should be treated after release?

[Is it cold in here?]

Roko thought there were bigger fish behind (above?) Corpse Witch. We never heard about them. CW may have had to turn them in as part of her cooperation deal. In that case she might need to be released into the Witness Protection Program.

[Is it cold in here?]

Given the long discussion we've been having about the way people like May are treated, this is a really interesting question. How does the way you think May should be treated compare with the way you think CW should be treated after release?

"By their fruits ye shall know them". I would treat post-release Corpse Witch with whatever treatment her actions earn.

[OldGoat]

Given the long discussion we've been having about the way people like May are treated, this is a really interesting question. How does the way you think May should be treated compare with the way you think CW should be treated after release?

Oooff, you got me.

Those who work in the RL criminal justice system will identify two major groups of criminal offenders - the immature and/or ignorant and the genuinely evil (let us consider the mentally ill separately for now, and note that we're only so-so at drawing the lines between the three).  Most offenders fall into the first category while a smaller number fall into the second.

May is in the immature/ignorant category and, from what we have seen of her, is worth giving another chance.  Corpse Witch is clearly in the second - giving her another chance is too likely to be giving her an opportunity to offend again.

Roko thought there were bigger fish behind (above?) Corpse Witch. We never heard about them.

Good point, but unless Jeph wants to make the strip into a crime drama we probably won't to any great extent.  Even then, CW is an unreliable source.  Roko won't completely disregard any of her claims, but she will take any of them with a grain or ten of salt. 

[Tova]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

[OldGoat]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

I do not doubt that there are a few.  Theodore Bundy, Charles Rodman Campbell, and Jeffrey Dahmer, for example.

[Gyrre]

It's what they would use for "bonus parole points" there, if I got the joke.

Is Roko being fair to herself? Would Corpse Witch have ever been taken down if Roko hadn't applied pressure and started events in motion, not that she was in charge of them but still? I called her "Clouseau" at the time, but fact is you can't blame yourself if witnesses are mind-controlled and superiors are bribed.

She's the one who took the first step that made that change possible.

For change to happen, someone has to take that first step.

[Gyrre]

Weird - May once referred to Corpse Witch as "that sleazy pink f**k", but Roko (who is definitely on the purple spectrum) just referred to her as purple.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3368

Looking back, CW's dress is pink, but her dermal covering is... ambiguously purpinkle. So I guess it's a toss-up what someone would perceive.

"Is the dress blue or is it gold?"

No, that was more based on a portion of the population with a genetic abnormality.

EDIT: Herp-derp. I was thinking of one of the hypotheses put forward in the first vid they did on the dress photo. This one brings forward the suggestion that the debate was caused by ambiguous lighting and whether someone is a morning person or a nightowl.

[SpanielBear]

Before I was born, my parents bought a sugar bowl. For my entire life, 30+ years, it has been a feature of their kitchen. It has survived small children, parties, builders, pets climbing on the table- it has been a constant feature. It was there when I was a kid, it was there when I came home from uni, it is still there when I visit them now.


Last weekend I found out that it is blue.


This genetic abnormality is decidedly fucking tedious.

[comicalArchitect]

We have comic!

I'm very happy with this turn of events, assuming Roko goes through with it. I like her a lot and it would be really nice to not have to qualify my like of her with "but I don't like cops in real life."

[War Sparrow]

May's true calling? Motivational speaking.

"Sell shitting crumpetdicks, it'll be hilarious."

Heartwarming, in a May way.

[comicalArchitect]

May's true calling? Motivational speaking.

"Sell shitting crumpetdicks, it'll be hilarious."

Heartwarming, in a May way.

Now I'm thinking about the SBemail where Homestar asks Strong Bad's disembodied head for career advice.

"Maybe the running business isn't for you. Have you considered the making and distribution of tiny breads?"

"Homestar Bunmaker! Me likey, me likey!"

[Zebediah]

I did not see that coming.

It’s probably a good thing that the Secret Bakery isn’t hiring right now.

[mcguganator]

Roko thought there were bigger fish behind (above?) Corpse Witch. We never heard about them. CW may have had to turn them in as part of her cooperation deal. In that case she might need to be released into the Witness Protection Program.

This just gave me a thought for an arc where we learn that a Witness Protection Program for AIs involves transferring to a different chassis.
Jeff could totally spin this into:
-Introduce a new AI character, who makes their way into the main social circle
-Nobody really knows it's CW
-Big evil CW reprise reveal!!!
-???

Maybe I'm just crazy but that would be a very dramatic twist 

[comicalArchitect]

Roko thought there were bigger fish behind (above?) Corpse Witch. We never heard about them. CW may have had to turn them in as part of her cooperation deal. In that case she might need to be released into the Witness Protection Program.

This just gave me a thought for an arc where we learn that a Witness Protection Program for AIs involves transferring to a different chassis.
Jeff could totally spin this into:
-Introduce a new AI character, who makes their way into the main social circle
-Nobody really knows it's CW
-Big evil CW reprise reveal!!!
-???

Maybe I'm just crazy but that would be a very dramatic twist 

I can't see any universe where Corpse Witch would set foot near Bubbles or her friends ever again.

[brasca]

Given the long discussion we've been having about the way people like May are treated, this is a really interesting question. How does the way you think May should be treated compare with the way you think CW should be treated after release?

"By their fruits ye shall know them". I would treat post-release Corpse Witch with whatever treatment her actions earn.

The problem with that is Corpse Witch only went to prison for the offenses the criminal justice system could prosecute her under and we're not entirely sure what those were.  She ran an illegal gambling establishment and had connections so there's some corruption offenses, but unless she had her servos in a lot of pies that's not terribly evil on paper.  If anyone took a look at her rap sheet they might think she was just another Molly Bloom which she might claim since I think she's better at being charming than May.  Of course we know better.  We know that she lied to Bubbles about removing her memories and used that as leverage to keep her working for her as well as planting a fail safe virus in her brain that could terminate her if she ever tried to kill her, but could she or was she prosecuted for those offenses?  I think Roko's feeling of defeat is that Corpse Witch went to jail for what amounts to violations of vice laws and not the truly evil things she did.  Since most people don't know the whole story they'd be more likely to sympathize with Corpse Witch who was involved in a victimless crime as opposed to May who embezzled money that might've been yours.  Personally I'd be more likely to hire Corpse Witch than May because the worst I'd have to worry about is her setting up craps games in the basement.

Hopefully, Roko knows what she's doing.  I think she'd be wise to avoid social work since that can be just as demoralizing.  I don't know if she should get into baking since I think she'd be too distracted. 

[Is it cold in here?]

Corpse Witch tried to trigger the malware when Bubbles confronted her.

That's attempted murder, carefully premeditated.

Eminence Grise would not have been satisfied with anything short of a full confession.

If Corpse Witch were a human in our MA, she'd be facing up to 10 years just for that.

[jwhouk]

It's also possible that CW was charged with AI indentured servitude. What we'd call human trafficking.

[Is it cold in here?]

RICO predicate offenses
Under the law, the meaning of racketeering activity is set out at 18 U.S.C. § 1961. As currently amended it includes:

Any violation of state statutes against gambling, murder, kidnapping, extortion, arson, robbery, bribery, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act);
Any act of bribery, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, dealing in obscene matter, obstruction of justice, slavery, racketeering, gambling, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire, and many other offenses covered under the Federal criminal code (Title 18);

Corpse Witch could be dealing with a long Federal sentence. 20 years on each count.

[Mad Cat]

I've never felt more like May in the last panel than I do right now.

[Gyrre]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

Some people have a VERY long road to redemption. And some of them actively refuse to walk in the right direction until they have a near miss. And some still keep walking in the wrong direction after that.
Basically, some people are probably only getting into Heaven by repenting on their deathbed.

EDIT: My new phone's default keyboard app is garbage and I forgot a sentence.

[Is it cold in here?]

Corpse Witch might be able to change paths if a good change agent (therapist, mentor, whatnot) could lead her to give up her sense of isolation. It's not the way I would bet, having seen how calculated her evil has been.

[brasca]

Corpse Witch tried to trigger the malware when Bubbles confronted her.

That's attempted murder, carefully premeditated.

Eminence Grise would not have been satisfied with anything short of a full confession.

If Corpse Witch were a human in our MA, she'd be facing up to 10 years just for that.

Yes, but the legal system may not have any laws on the books yet to punish such offenses no matter if they got a confession.  Corpse Witch might be doing life or out in a year because it’s a fictional legal code Jeph Jacques created.

[Cornelius]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

Without a doubt. For example, a man with a record full of violent crime, who's admitted to beating random passers-by to death because it's fun. Who acts all contrite in prison, only to do it again when released. Who, after a lengthy sentence, has his mother move in behind his last victim's parents, to bypass the restraining order, and threaten them from their back yard. All while he has his lawyer and his minister send them letters of how sorry he is, and won't they forgive him. This is no fiction.

[Sorflakne]

This May/Roko conversation...I've been having similar conversations internally about getting off my ass and actually doing something about finding a job I actually want and have passion for, but there's still an invisible barrier to me doing it.  Wish someone could verbalize it in a way that finally pushes me over the edge to do it.  Then again there's the money aspect of quitting your job to find your dream job.  For me personally I wouldn't be able to realistically do this until next year at soonest once some bills are paid off.

Wow, this is the first time in a long while the comic has made me pause and think.

[MrNumbers]

May showing some bomb-ass P R A X I S

[BenRG]

I think that May is more like Pintsize than she realises, given her talent to find just the right phrase to needle someone into action. The strange thing with her is that it appears to be entirely unconscious and maybe even unwelcome (to the point where, in today's panel 6, she could be saying: "No! It's happening again! Again!").

On Roko's side, I think that she was 95% the way to deciding to quit anyway because she thinks she's bad at the job. Then, in panel 2, May made her think of the look on her watch captain's face when she tossed her badge at him and tells him that she's going to follow her first true love and open a handicrafts shop. At that point, I think that her decision was made, much to May's dismay and disbelief!

Suddenly, I can see a fuming Dora reminding May that one of the services Coffee of Doom provides is advice (no quality guarantee) at $1 a pop. Just as she doesn't let people bring their own food and drink into the shop, she also doesn't let non-staff dispense advice (no quality guarantee) on the premises!

[JoeCovenant]

I hope that's not the last we see of Roko...
(I'm 'hoping' it means an extended Arc! I like Roko!!)

[Meander]

I love how May is constantly helping the other characters in spite of herself, and without trying.

[Pennepasta]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

Does that matter? You punish people for what they have done, not what they will do, with planning and intent obviously covered. You punish for the crime, give leniency if warranted, and then the crime is paid for. Prior convictions et al should be factored in in sentencing, but other than that, they should be wiped clean. That is how I view the criminal justice system, and, AFAIK, how it works here in the UK, with the exception of sex offenders register, and roles with vulnerable adults or children, where the company has to apply for a dbs check. Though some don't bother. Sure, some people abuse the system, but that'll always happen, unfortunately.

I grew up with a neighbour that embezzled from a charity. She later got a job in finance, after taking the slap on the wrist as they couldn't prove most of it. Sure, I sometimes work with minor criminals (in a charity shop, so we get some community service people), and we'll change what we get them doing if it's relevant to the crime, like not having thieves on the till. But they're still taking their punishment at that point, so not wiped clean.

[Tova]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

Does that matter? You punish people for what they have done, not what they will do, with planning and intent obviously covered. You punish for the crime, give leniency if warranted, and then the crime is paid for. Prior convictions et al should be factored in in sentencing, but other than that, they should be wiped clean.

I'm afraid that I must beg to differ. Risk of recidivism is very much, AFAIK, a part of the sentencing decision.

[BenRG]

I love how May is constantly helping the other characters in spite of herself, and without trying.

Or, indeed, wanting to!

[cybersmurf]

I love how May is constantly helping the other characters in spite of herself, and without trying.

Or, indeed, wanting to!

Every now and then sje actually wants to. Probably Dale only, since they live together, or at least to pay back giving her a chance.

I think that May is more like Pintsize than she realises, given her talent to find just the right phrase to needle someone into action. The strange thing with her is that it appears to be entirely unconscious and maybe even unwelcome (to the point where, in today's panel 6, she could be saying: "No! It's happening again! Again!").

I was thinking something something similar. Quite often she wants to be as crude as Pintsize but can't pull it off the same way due to her humanoid chassis (kind of moral-bound by Form?).

Sometimes her way of interacting stings more than the message she delivers, which probably makes people accept hard truths from her easier than from other people (since they've been stung by May as a person, the sting of the message loses its power).

[pallanox]

I see a lot of parallels with may and Pintsize in terms of personality.  They are rough around the edges but mean well. I think Pintsize will help may get over her issues with the law.



Or I could be wrong, and may steals a jetplane. Anything is possible

[Pennepasta]

Do you believe that some are truly irredeemable?

Does that matter? You punish people for what they have done, not what they will do, with planning and intent obviously covered. You punish for the crime, give leniency if warranted, and then the crime is paid for. Prior convictions et al should be factored in in sentencing, but other than that, they should be wiped clean.

I'm afraid that I must beg to differ. Risk of recidivism is very much, AFAIK, a part of the sentencing decision.

Hmm, maybe I wasn't clear, though I did ramble off into other directions than you were based in. I did kind of ramble there. I do think that prior crimes, attitude towards what they've done etc. (so, basically, what they've done previously to indicate risk of recidivism) should be taken into account when sentencing - hence the "Prior convictions et al should be factored in at sentencing" part of my post. Basically, I do agree with the concept of "spent" convictions that the UK uses, though I don't really agree with the time limits on it (it's basically an extra, post-jail length of time in which you can still be turned down for non-DBS requiring jobs because of it, and doesn't apply to sentences over 4Y, or jobs requiring a background check from government). If someone's done a crime and served their punishment, then society - outside of law enforcement - should view them as clean, IMO. If they reoffend, then there's grounds to look at spent convictions.

Irredeemable or not, punish people for what they have done, including their attitudes towards that, and keep punishments for the court to mete out fairly, not society at large, who will all have differing viewpoints. Is this best? I don't know. Probably depends on how much people trust the system against how much people trust society at large, and what people view the point of the punishment is. How much is it punitive? How much is it to reduce recidivism and to rehabilitate? And, of course, how fair is the sentencing? All three are questions that different people will put different answers to.

[shanejayell]

On one hand, yay Roko.

On the other, I expect May to run out after her going, "WTF! Don't listen to ME!" or something...

[oddtail]

ARGH.

OK, your opinion on the police may vary, but I think we all can agree that there aren't nearly enough good cops working, and there needs to be as many of them as possible to counterbalance the bad ones. And I doubt it's THAT different in QC-verse, technological semi-utopia or not.

If you're worried if you're doing your job right, whether you're making a positive difference, ESPECIALLY if your job is to serve and protect or whatever, that doesn't mean YOU should quit your job, it means that everyone who does NOT ask those questions needs to quit immediately.

What I'm saying is, Roko has more of a business being a cop now that we know that she DOES have a conscience that's biting her and making her worry.

[Cornelius]

Well, there's that. But on the other hand, if she is asking that question, and she keeps asking that question, without ever getting a satisfactory answer, she'll be heading for a burn out, which is of no use to anybody, really.

[TheEvilDog]

ARGH.

OK, your opinion on the police may vary, but I think we all can agree that there aren't nearly enough good cops working, and there needs to be as many of them as possible to counterbalance the bad ones. And I doubt it's THAT different in QC-verse, technological semi-utopia or not.

If you're worried if you're doing your job right, whether you're making a positive difference, ESPECIALLY if your job is to serve and protect or whatever, that doesn't mean YOU should quit your job, it means that everyone who does NOT ask those questions needs to quit immediately.

What I'm saying is, Roko has more of a business being a cop now that we know that she DOES have a conscience that's biting her and making her worry.

I'd agree to the general sentiment, but on the other hand, Roko seemed dissatisfied with her job as a police officer. And dissatisfaction leads to apathy, which in my opinion is far worse than "bad" cops. Bad cops will keep up the pretence of doing their job to keep themselves safe, but an apathetic cop? They just don't care anymore.

[OldGoat]

ARGH.

OK, your opinion on the police may vary, but I think we all can agree that there aren't nearly enough good cops working, and there needs to be as many of them as possible to counterbalance the bad ones. And I doubt it's THAT different in QC-verse, technological semi-utopia or not.

If you're worried if you're doing your job right, whether you're making a positive difference, ESPECIALLY if your job is to serve and protect or whatever, that doesn't mean YOU should quit your job, it means that everyone who does NOT ask those questions needs to quit immediately.

What I'm saying is, Roko has more of a business being a cop now that we know that she DOES have a conscience that's biting her and making her worry.

Spot on, Oddtail.  She's the kind of cop US society desperately needs, yet people are celebrating her announcement that's she's going to leave law enforcement because they'll be relieved of their own cognitive dissonance. 

"I [dislike|hate|loathe] cops but I like Roko who is a cop.  Aiiiieeeee!!"

[Cornelius]

Not I.

Of course, I'm not from the US, so I don't share that common fear of the police. Sure, I dislike some cops, but not the class as a whole. Would make my work pretty difficult if I did, by the way.

But I do understand where Roko is coming from. I'm not law enforcement, but where I work, broadly speaking, you have two kinds of people joining: the ones that buy into every negative stereotype of the civil service, and think they'll make good money for little work, on one hand; idealists who hope to make a difference on the other.
Over time, you realise that a lot of the stereotype does have at least a base in reality. You can react to that in either of two ways: you become cynical, and join the other group, or you keep trying, and trying even harder, and burn yourself out.

So, while I recognise that Roko is what you need, I still respect her decision. It's not an easy one to take, even if it looks like the easy way out.

[OldGoat]

Not I.

Of course, I'm not from the US, so I don't share that common fear of the police. Sure, I dislike some cops, but not the class as a whole. Would make my work pretty difficult if I did, by the way.

But I do understand where Roko is coming from. I'm not law enforcement, but where I work, broadly speaking, you have two kinds of people joining: the ones that buy into every negative stereotype of the civil service, and think they'll make good money for little work, on one hand; idealists who hope to make a difference on the other.
Over time, you realise that a lot of the stereotype does have at least a base in reality. You can react to that in either of two ways: you become cynical, and join the other group, or you keep trying, and trying even harder, and burn yourself out.

So, while I recognise that Roko is what you need, I still respect her decision. It's not an easy one to take, even if it looks like the easy way out.

This is very true, and true of all civil servants here, but it manifests most visibly with law enforcement.  Certain people have issues with any authority figure and a cop is the ultimate authority figure in their minds (it should actually be a judge, but they don't follow their own train of thought that far).  And that's not to say that there aren't people whose issues with law enforcement are justified. 

As for Roko's decision, the story arc isn't over and I won't be surprised if there's a heart to heart CPU to CPU conversation with Bubbles in the near future.  Roko's conflicted, and conflict makes for good story material.  Take it away, Jeph!