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Roko

10 (17.9%)

Hannelore

5 (8.9%)

Marten

6 (10.7%)

Yay New Friend/Spookybot

14 (25%)

Dora and Tai's wedding

13 (23.2%)

Other

8 (14.3%)

Total Members Voted: 30

[shanejayell]

May may have enough for a new body! Now what?

[BenRG]

My bet is that next week will be mostly May searching for a new chassis (with the still rumbling-on emotional implications which she is still struggling to handle). I'm guessing that we'll meet May v.3 (v.1 being the AR avatar) before the end of August.

[Mr_Rose]

I’ve been wondering if Mays status is going to affect things at all. Like is she permitted to receive the benefit of online anything as part of the terms of her parole? Yeah technically she didn’t set up the website or solicit donations, nor did she get involved at all, but the law can be an ass like that.
Or if the AI’s at the body shop will make trouble for her, pretending not to have the correct transfer cable or claiming that, again, parole terms prevent it because it’s technically online activity somehow?

[Gyrre]

I’ve been wondering if Mays status is going to affect things at all. Like is she permitted to receive the benefit of online anything as part of the terms of her parole? Yeah technically she didn’t set up the website or solicit donations, nor did she get involved at all, but the law can be an ass like that.
Or if the AI’s at the body shop will make trouble for her, pretending not to have the correct transfer cable or claiming that, again, parole terms prevent it because it’s technically online activity somehow?

Crap. Hadn't thought of those issues.

I was mostly wondering if the terms of her parole allowed her to transfer to a new chassis.
Though, May is allowed to use that messenger program. Is that online or more akin to texting?

[Is it cold in here?]

Or if the AI’s at the body shop will make trouble for her, pretending not to have the correct transfer cable or claiming that, again, parole terms prevent it because it’s technically online activity somehow?

That one would be easy to work around. Union Robotics could order a complete chassis as easily as they order parts.

I'm more worried about the parole terms. For humans, a housing plan has to be approved, and changes of address must at least be reported. For a synthetic, there's the issue that changing their appearance could be used to avoid detection after a crime.

[Mr_Rose]

Or if the AI’s at the body shop will make trouble for her, pretending not to have the correct transfer cable or claiming that, again, parole terms prevent it because it’s technically online activity somehow?

That one would be easy to work around. Union Robotics could order a complete chassis as easily as they order parts.

Well yeah, but it’d be embarrassing, humiliating, and depressing all at once and May doesn’t need that shit. Also it adds more delay that her current chassis is clearly not ready to support.

[Mr Intrepid]

So my guess is that we see Roko soon, to consult as to any legal questions.  But would any restrictions be on her chassis, or embedded in her substrate?  In her interview with who I presume is her parole officer, they said they didn't have a chassis to give her.   Nothing was said as to whether or not there was a legal impediment.  If May were to get a job as say a welder,  wouldnt she just transfer over to the welder?

[shanejayell]

New strip up!

Oh god they're WATCHING the horrid porn. 

[Farideh]

At least it's keeping May entertained

[Farideh]

I love Dale's posture in this comic. He looks like he's analyzing every frame in that movie.

[badbum61]

But...but...they've OPENED it! It won't be worth sh*t now!

[cesium133]

Marigold said that it was available online, so she probably got a data dump from a file sharing website.

[Gnabberwocky]

There are so many things wrong with that movie, but "Bloosh?" I...I don't even want to know...

[Farideh]

But...but...they've OPENED it! It won't be worth sh*t now!

Pun intended? 


My guess is that they just downloaded it from the Internet.

[badbum61]

But...but...they've OPENED it! It won't be worth sh*t now!

Pun intended? 

Entirely. Glad someone caught it!

And yes, I hope they're watching one of the online rips, but that look between Mar and Dale suggested otherwise...

[Farideh]

I thought that was the "are you thinking what I'm thinking" look, since they both know what May tends to watch to keep herself entertained.

[Tyr]

So my guess is that we see Roko soon, to consult as to any legal questions.  But would any restrictions be on her chassis, or embedded in her substrate?  In her interview with who I presume is her parole officer, they said they didn't have a chassis to give her.   Nothing was said as to whether or not there was a legal impediment.  If May were to get a job as say a welder,  wouldn't she just transfer over to the welder?

As far as we know, May isn't being directly tracked or anything, so it shouldn't be an issue to get a new chassis, and if is IS, they should be able and willing to just slap whatever lo-jacking was on the old chassis onto the new one, as there MUST be AI offenders who have aa body before going into the clink, which, as far as I know, means there are AI offenders who would have a not-parole-level chassis as an option.

There are so many things wrong with that movie, but "Bloosh?" I...I don't even want to know...

I'll spoil it, just in case.

(click to show/hide)

I suspect The Bloosh is from shit hitting the toilet water.

[Wagimawr]

maybe I'm just sleep deprived but is it me or is the art REALLY GOOD in that last panel? Momo in particular is a big mood.

[DaiJB]

As far as we know, May isn't being directly tracked or anything, so it shouldn't be an issue to get a new chassis, and if it IS, they should be able and willing to just slap whatever lo-jacking was on the old chassis onto the new one, as there MUST be AI offenders who have a body before going into the clink, which, as far as I know, means there are AI offenders who would have a not-parole-level chassis as an option.

Now there's a possible twist - May gets a new chassis, unaware that there was tracking hardware in the old one, resulting in sh** from the parole board (for "removing" her tracking device) and more stress and turmoil for May - and more reasons for Roko to go ballistic when she hears about it...

I (predictably) said "other" again - I think it's time to check in with Clinton again, and maybe get a bit of progress with regard to whether he's interested in Brun or Elliot or both...

[BenRG]

It probably says a lot about May's life that her defining thought right now is: "This can't be happening to me as good things don't happen to me! What is going to go wrong now?" This isn't just about her time inside. I think that there is a lot more bad luck to her backstory.

At least it's keeping May entertained

Yeah, it makes sense that this is something that would fit in with May's favourite source of humour: The utterly bizarre things that humans do because they get a brief endorphin spike out of it!

I love Dale's posture in this comic. He looks like he's analyzing every frame in that movie.

Dale is an animé nerd. He'll probably write a 10,000+ word essay on his blog about the myriad artistic and technical flaws in the production. Maybe: "Have I At Last Seen a Worse Film Than Shalamayan's Avatar?"

[Gyrre]

Waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop is always stressful. Here's hoping this distraction helps.

[pwhodges]

By chance I changed my avatar on another site this morning.  Reading today's strip, I thought it would be appropriate here for a while.  You may not be able to read the subtitle - so here's the original image:

(click to show/hide)

Ranchiki, from Maze Megaburst Space :

[shanejayell]

Hey, someone else who's actually heard of it! Cool.

[Rincewind]

Quote from: Farideh on Yesterday at 18:19
I love Dale's posture in this comic. He looks like he's analyzing every frame in that movie.

He looks like Gendo Ikari from Evangelion in that pose. Intentional or subconscious? The world may never know.

[cybersmurf]

Well, if humans have to give notice about Adress changes, May may have to stay corporeal, or at least in the same piece of hardware, and give authorities the model and serial number. Maybe even tell the authorities about the chassis change beforehand, to formally get authorised to do so.

I wouldn't be surprised if They tried to screw over May, because she has to return her current chassis, and given its general shape...

[Farideh]

New comic!

Melon is so close to winning that Connect 4 game I wonder if she has the beetle around somewhere?

[shanejayell]

If there was a legal complication, wouldn't Spooky know about it? If she's not concerned.... ?

[Zebediah]

Of course Melon is almost winning. Spooky’s strategic algorithms are designed to prevail against an opponent who is using actual strategy, not somebody who plays entirely randomly. It confuses the hell out of the pattern recognition routines.

[comicalArchitect]

Prediction: this is gonna lead to some introspection on Roko’s part about why, exactly, she sees this as a smaller win than what she was hoping for. Because May is getting her new body, and institutional reform is moving forward, but I think Roko pinned a lot emotionally on her fantasy of being the brave activist who stood before the powerful and fought for change. I definitely buy her as someone enamored with getting to be the hero, even when it’s not the best way to get results.

[Farideh]

If there was a legal complication, wouldn't Spooky know about it? If she's not concerned.... ?

Spooky tends to mind their own business, unless they're specifically asked to do something (like donate money for May's new chassis). If Roko were to ask them: "Do you anticipate any trouble with this endeavor?", then they would answer her fairly.

[Mad Cat]

Well, yes, melons do spend a lot of their time near the dirt.

[shanejayell]

Spooky tends to mind their own business, unless they're specifically asked to do something (like donate money for May's new chassis). If Roko were to ask them: "Do you anticipate any trouble with this endeavor?", then they would answer her fairly.

Ugh.

But would Spooky even donate if there was a issue tho? Wouldn't that make donating pointless?

"Oh, I didn't donate as due to her parole terms May can't just buy a replacement body." I would expect her to say, instead....

[Tova]

I don't know if Yay would volunteer, "You've had a very successful day," if they knew of an insurmountable obstacle.

[Farideh]

Hmmm, true.

[TRenn]

At least it's keeping May entertained

Yeah, it makes sense that this is something that would fit in with May's favourite source of humour: The utterly bizarre things that humans do because they get a brief endorphin spike out of it!

I love Dale's posture in this comic. He looks like he's analyzing every frame in that movie.

Dale is an animé nerd. He'll probably write a 10,000+ word essay on his blog about the myriad artistic and technical flaws in the production. Maybe: "Have I At Last Seen a Worse Film Than Shalamayan's Avatar?"

Part of Dale's intense concentration could also be because he wants to get everything possible from this viewing.... so he never has to watch the horrible movie ever again. 

[Gnabberwocky]

It's the natural human attraction to spectacle. For example, people are drawn to the sight of an ongoing fight or natural disaster, not because they want to see violence and/or suffering but because they're compelled to.

I think we can all agree that this movie qualifies as a disaster.

[St.Clair]

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

[hedgie]

I did not notice that.  It's kinda like how in the Lucifer comic,[1] the protagonist's hair often did that.

[1] The television series doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.

[Farideh]

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

It's not the first time

[immortalfrieza]

Is brain uploading still impossible in the QC universe? Because I'm all but certain Emily uploaded a copy of her brain into a robot and named it Melon at this point.

[BenRG]

Oddly enough, one of the most important influences Roko seems to have had on Yay is to get them to experiment with cloating other than their 2-piece suit. They also seem to have become a bit more comfortable with their androgyny, not feeling the need to imply gender characteristics that they don't have.

Meanwhile, we are reminded again just how sweet and unworldly Melon is. She gave May 'a bunch of money I wasn't using', huh? That sounds so much like her. I bet that Yay has a note to ensure that she never gets exploited because it would be so easy to do so!

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

What's interesting is that they're not 'devil horns'. If anything, I find myself thinking of traditional depictions of the Hellenic god, Pan. Although mischievous and of strongly ambiguous morality, Pan is rarely portrayed as 'evil' rather as simply not appreciating the fragility of mortal lives (Chaotic-Neutral is the impression I get). That matches up well with how Jeph characterises Yay.


EDIT:
Corrected typo

[the silent firefly]

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

it does that sometimes, depending on the angle

what is new, however, is that shirt. they've never worn that one before

[N.N. Marf]

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

Double ahoge! All the waaaaaaaay!

[Baz_Yat]

I get the feeling, after watching it, Dale will unfold from his position and say something along the likes of "That was incredibly unpleasant"

[Gyrre]

Is brain uploading still impossible in the QC universe? Because I'm all but certain Emily uploaded a copy of her brain into a robot and named it Melon at this point.

Hanners has stated that her father is working on it, but we haven't gotten an update on his progress.

I can't help but notice that Yay's current hairstyle includes a set of horns.

It's not the first time

Three horns, in fact.
I've always been partial to designing my tiefling characters with two pairs of small to medium horns as opposed to the giant ones they're given in some editions.

EDIT: completing the thought and also swapping 'additions' for 'editions'.

[Case]

I'm more worried about the parole terms. For humans, a housing plan has to be approved, and changes of address must at least be reported. For a synthetic, there's the issue that changing their appearance could be used to avoid detection after a crime.

I'd imagine that AIs would be required to broadcast some form of digital signature - perhaps tied to the specific substrate they're running on? If AIs could evade identification with something akin to MAC spoofing, QCverse law enforcement would have some serious trouble, I suppose?

[Wingy]

Why would such a code be in the chassis when the substrate of their mind units has got to be unique?  Police looking for an AI are looking for the mind unit, not whatever form it is in now.  My conception of robot jail is a huge server farm where the AIs have no choice but to calculate [big problem intermediate results]...

[Case]

Why would such a code be in the chassis when the substrate of their mind units has got to be unique? 

I'd imagine that AIs would be required to broadcast some form of digital signature - perhaps tied to the specific substrate they're running on?

?

[Theta9]

Quote from: Farideh on Yesterday at 18:19
I love Dale's posture in this comic. He looks like he's analyzing every frame in that movie.

He looks like Gendo Ikari from Evangelion in that pose. Intentional or subconscious? The world may never know.

Wouldn't be the first time Dale has mimicked Gendo.
(Somebody else can dig up the relevant strip from back in the Marigold/Dale rivalry days.)

[Thrudd]

Why would such a code be in the chassis when the substrate of their mind units has got to be unique?  Police looking for an AI are looking for the mind unit, not whatever form it is in now.  My conception of robot jail is a huge server farm where the AIs have no choice but to calculate [big problem intermediate results]...

Mining Bitcoins or analyzing deep packet searches?

I still think being isolated in a cramped white-space with a psychologist algorithm [ not an actual AI ] that is incessantly asking questions and playing psychology games in the mistaken belief that it will help the incarcerated reform themselves while keeping costs down.