Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
Sullivan:
--- Quote from: BenRG on 18 Jan 2019, 03:31 ---I also think that a lot of people are angry that Jeph used them to resolve the "Bubbles' Memories" arc.
--- End quote ---
Not so much angry. Just disappointed.
And I wasn't disappointed at the initial resolution, when SpookyBot helped Emily through the effort. That wasn't so bad. It was the subsequent mop-up. CorpseWitch, conveniently gone. Roko's investigation? Conveniently closed. Bubbles and Faye have a nice inventory of tools and materials to start their shop. Jeremy has a new body. Everything wrapped up with a neat bow. Victories are nice to read about, but they need to be earned, not granted like wishes.
And now it's looking as if SpookyBot is going to be back to interfere in Roko's life yet again. Yes, I'm disappointed.
(Edit - added: Jeremy also now owns the former robot fighting ring, presumably even-more-former skate rink building, which looked like no small thing.)
TheEvilDog:
That's the thing. Spookybot is too powerful a character to be continually used to resolve conflicts. They are a literal deus ex machina and using one gets old very quickly.
Bubbles memories? Yeah, it works because what Corpsewitch did was so horrendous, so monstrous and disgusting, that it warranted such a drastic response. But it also did something else, revealing that there was an immensely powerful AI and they were watching the world.
Such a revelation is best utilised by keeping it there. You have revealed one of the great secrets of the setting and oh, they're talking to Roko and acting as a punchline... Which undercuts the massive implications of Spookybot's reveal.
jwhouk:
--- Quote from: Roborat on 18 Jan 2019, 12:30 ---I knew Spooky was going to show up. So, is this just a social call, a sympathy visit due to her accident; or is it business?
--- End quote ---
The answer, of course, is Yes.
OldGoat:
--- Quote from: BenRG on 18 Jan 2019, 03:31 ---It's 'they'; SpookyBot is androgynous and doesn't use gendered pronouns to describe themselves.
--- End quote ---
Are we sure of that? SpookyBot is a plural entity, so the use of we/they may simply refer to number and not gender. And that fits right in with being deliberately, even vexatiously, ambiguous. (It's clear SpookyBot really does enjoy vexing - it seems to be their favorite form of recreation.)
--- Quote from: Inconsequential on 18 Jan 2019, 14:53 ---Really going out on a limb here, but what might SB be planning with an altruistic and idealistic ex-cop and a very talented, intelligent, and powerful ex- military AI?
--- End quote ---
You've got something there, even if Jeph doesn't decide to follow it. If this was TV it'd be spin-off material for certain.
Drunken Old Man:
--- Quote from: rtmq0227 on 18 Jan 2019, 14:15 ---Q is a great archetype to annoy people who stick to the rule of "Omnipotent characters kill plot, because if they can fix everything in a snap of their fingers, why wouldn't they?"
Enter the character who could, but just doesn't WANT to. They're more interested in their little games and people. You could always ask them to help, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't instead just turn your arms into foam noodles and lock you in a simulation of the French Revolution just to see what would happen.
But then again, I enjoy Q-type characters, so I'm a bit biased.
--- End quote ---
Spookybot is no Q.
First off, Q had some interest in humanity. Spooky shows us nothing but contempt. It delighted in tormenting Faye with her helplessness and casually rendered the other humans in the room unconscious rather than deal with them.
Even more importantly, humans could and usually did get the better of Q, proving that we were worthy of respect and reaffirming our value in the face of a more powerful adversary. Has anyone ever gotten the better of Spooky? Given the manner in which it has been presented, does it seem likely that anyone ever will?
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