Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT Strips 4026-4030 (17th to 21st June 2019)

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Tova:

--- Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 21 Jun 2019, 15:38 ---Companion AIs seem to have their chassis paid for by their companion human. I don't remember seeing any explanation of how someone straight out of the creche gets their first body. Maybe they save up from jobs they can do from inside a server rack.

--- End quote ---

I'd like to know who, or what organisation, is running/maintaining the creche in the first place. Knowing that would shed a lot of light on this question. Comic #1996 appears to imply that newly bootstrapped AIs have the option of simply being given a chassis. This, to me, seems less mysterious than the fact that some kind of facility is run to bring the AIs into existence in the first place. How is that funded?

jwhouk:
Ask Hannelore's parents.

TV4Fun:

--- Quote from: JimC on 21 Jun 2019, 13:38 ---Has the methods by which AIs pay for chassis been explored? Early characters had low functional chassis that seemed to be sort of consumer electronics pricing, and full body upgrades (Momo, Winslow) very expensive. I'm reminded of Anne McCaffrey's ship who sang series,  where the major characters are human brains encapsulated in spaceships which come with a debt that seems normally to take decades to pay off and is described in story as almost indented servitude.
May doesn't seem to have had a humanoid body pre gaol and apparently gets a minimally functional one on release. Roko and Bubbles may have got one as part of their job, in which case perhaps there was a minimum contract period or something, but what about others?

--- End quote ---
Economics don't exist in the QC-verse. See also, Union Robotics, or how Marigold was even supposed to pay for Momo's new chassis in the first place.

TheEvilDog:
Marigold basically does webwork for her dad's company. It just means that she can work from home.

OldGoat:

--- Quote from: Castlerook on 22 Jun 2019, 12:03 ---Marigold basically does webwork for her dad's company. It just means that she can work from home.

--- End quote ---
^^This^^

You wouldn't know it to look at her ("Self-esteem undetectable with current technology"), but she's actually damned good at it and actually earns a decent wage.  Also, Marigold's naturally frugal and lives well within her means, so, at least in my head canon, she actually has a fairly comfortable bank account.

As for other characters:

Marten - Was living month to month but has since come under the influence of a floofy-haired ginger hottie who has, as part of a kinky sex regimen, forced fiscal responsibility upon him.

Pintsize - Loaded from selling Internet porn to both humans and 'bots, probably has other less savory income streams but we don't really want to know about them.

Dora - Worth plenty on paper but few liquid assets - it's all tied up in her business and can be cash strapped sometimes.

Tai - Has some very successful investments in other states, notably Washington, Oregon, and Colorado.  She does okay.

May - Barely getting by on the support of friends, would have either starved or turned to crime and gone back to prison if she were a meat person.  Has turned to prostitution with Pintsize as her John for extra cash.

Faye & Bubbles - Struggling small business owner/operators.  The nature of their business demands substantial capital investment in equipment and parts-&-materials inventory, so getting ahead may take a while.  OTOH, their work is getting compliments from people who are qualified to spot a good job (see #4030).  This may be the beginning of a professional reputation that will serve them well.

Jim - Pretty successful small business person.

Veronica - Probably has herself comfortably set for the rest of her days.  If she were to turn to blackmail, she'd be almost as loaded as Pintsize.  We shouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be publishing kinky one-handers under one or more pen names.

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