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Momo uses Pokemon! It's super effective!

9 (19.1%)

Faye uses welding and sobriety! It's super effective!

9 (19.1%)

Marten uses big-brother advice! It...kinda works!

7 (14.9%)

Emily uses frogs! It's super effective!

7 (14.9%)

Claire uses books! It's super ineffective!

7 (14.9%)

Veronica uses stern parental discipline and threats of withheld flower-girl status at potential upcoming wedding! But, it failed!

4 (8.5%)

Delilah uses one-with-nature Mother Earth hippie powers! It's super effective and totally unwelcome!

4 (8.5%)

Total Members Voted: 43

Voting closed: 08 May 2015, 01:05

[NilsO]

Hi, Gordon! We have not seen you since #2334!

2430*

Sorry about that. Your archive-fu is better than mine. But why would a robot order coffee?

[BenRG]

Hi, Gordon! We have not seen you since #2334!

2430*

Sorry about that. Your archive-fu is better than mine. But why would a robot order coffee?

For his human colleagues, of course!

Interestingly coffee spider is listed as 'Gary' by Jeph, not as 'Gordon'. So, unless Jeph just forgot the character's name, they are probably two different spiders. Yes, ladies, that means there are two giant robot spiders that like physical contact in Northampton!

[NilsO]

Interestingly coffee spider is listed as 'Gary' by Jeph, not as 'Gordon'. So, unless Jeph just forgot the character's name, they are probably two different spiders. Yes, ladies, that means there are two giant robot spiders that like physical contact in Northampton!

Probably Jeph had a moment of confusion, due to the Gary Phenomenon. But you may be right, Gordon and Gary might be identical twins. If so, is it Gordon or Gary we see in today's strip?

[Zebediah]

They are two different AIs that have a time-share on the same chassis.

[NilsO]

They are two different AIs that have a time-share on the same chassis.

Or some AI version of Dissociative identity disorder. If GaryGordon's hardware has multiple processors, I guess each processor can be assigned to a separate AI entity? Shared memory and files, as well as shared sensors and actuators, may of course create conflicts.

[CM_albion]

I have heard Gordon as a surname, maybe they're very formal at work.

Gary Gordon, arthropodic biometric technician, at your service.

why is he a spider? because in the same way may wanted to be a fighter jet, Gary thought spiders were adorable, and has no concept of human phobias and fears.

[osaka]

Sad Gordon is sad I just want to hug him and tell him everything will be alright

[Zebediah]

Count me as one of the people who would totally have an ArachnoPC for a companion. Spiders are cool.

I'm surprised there aren't more non-humanoid robots in the QCverse, actually. Robot dogs and cats would sell like gangbusters.

[cesium133]

Robot attack dogs would be pretty terrifying.

[Neko_Ali]

Who is to say there aren't? If an AI can embody anything from a space station to a toaster, they can be anything they want. Even a transforming Vespa or a fighter jet. Cats and dogs would be simplistic. You'll notice that most seem to take at least a close approximation to human form. For a simple reason, most everything we build is built with our body shape in mind. A quadraped with no opposible thumbs or manipulative devices is going to have a hard time getting around the world. Unless the AI is willing to be a 'kept' being like Pintsize or Winslow then being built to about human size and shape is the best way to get around and be taken seriously by humans. Instead of being treated like a toy. A lot of this is probably Jeph's evolution of what AIs and AnthroPCs role in the comic and society over the years.

That said, a robot body would not be constrained in the same way as a flesh and blood one. A companion AI could use a body that's normally shaped like a dog, but with the ability to stand on their hind legs and reconfigure their paws to a manipulation capable hands, or even extend sub arms from their back or chest. That sort of thing could freak people out though.. See The Thing anyone? An AI like that could make an excellent replacement for a service animal though. Able to provide the emotional support and assistance a trained dog could, and able to provide additional aid as needed. Sort of a doggy Baymax.

[Rghfrgl]

AI Dogs and Spiders are cool and all.

But do they have cows?

[Method of Madness]

Sort of a doggy Baymax.

OH MY GOD I WANT ONE OF THESE.

[tywren]

Someone needs to introduce the purple spideroid to Sam. She'd be quite happy, as i'm sure, that falls in 3ed place behind robosnake, and frogbot.

[Kugai]

AI Dogs and Spiders are cool and all.

But do they have cows?

But with lasers instead of guns.

[Wildroses]

Possibly there aren't pet chassis because AI don't want to be in them. It's pretty clear they would rather be seen as equal to humans, and cats and dogs are not considered equal to human. It's already been established that referring to the human who has purchased a companion AI as his or her 'owner' is the height of political incorrectness, so I think they'd be wary of agreeing to go into a pet shaped chassis in case it sends a message they'd rather not give. Even if it starts out with the best of intentions from both human and AI, and the relationship between the two is an equal one, it could go somewhere dangerous and give the wrong impression to outsiders.

[Neko_Ali]

But Gordon has an animal chassis. And Toaster-chan is an appliance.

[ZoeB]

I can see a market for a Teddy-Bear chassis, especially when working with children.

The Reality is that there *are* monsters out there, only a very few, but some.



Except the monsters belong to pedophile rings, and a teddy bear AI has rather more than a sword....

[SubaruStephen]

Robot attack dogs would be pretty terrifying.

THAT'S the understatement of the week.

[hedgie]

Much like Lister, I'm not a big fan of talking toasters

Yet, ultimately, whose fault was it? Humanity created a fully-sentient being whose raison d'ętre was to make toast! To quote Talkie himself: "I toast, therefore I am"! Can we blame him for becoming fixated on his prime function?

Hmm.  Trashbot liked his job too much as well.  Perhaps it's the "too much" that is the problem here.

But Gordon has an animal chassis. And Toaster-chan is an appliance.

I wouldn't argue with a spider that big, personally.

[jheartney]

While we wait for Friday's comic, I wanted to comment on how nicely Jeph did May's body language these past two strips. In the first, she's aggressively all over Momo, violating her physically and verbally. In the panel outside the school, May is swinging her arms wide, taking up a large body space. Then, once they enter, May shuts down, holding her arms close and giving everybody the side-eye. Beautiful portrait of a personality without using dialogue, even though May's language is one of her most memorable traits.

[Stryc9Fuego]

Guys.

Guys.

I thought of the perfect chassis for Gordon, considering his job and what he needs to do.

The Sorting Hat.

 

[chaospersonified]

Guys.

Guys.

I thought of the perfect chassis for Gordon, considering his job and what he needs to do.

The Sorting Hat.

 

My dear sweet god no. I would straight refuse to be a wizard, that is how deep my fear of spiders goes. Forget supreme power, if a giant eight egged mechanical demon has to sit on my face and read my brain, I AM OUTTA THERE

[chaospersonified]

... I see my mistake already. Stand by what I said, but I recognize it wasn't what you suggested

[PopuluxeCowboy]

I would love to see the yellow robot become a regular character in QC. That's some awesome retro-futuristic design there.

[CaptainFish]

If fucked up browser histories are May's thing, she should really meet Pintsize.

Yellow-bot looks pretty cool. Reminds me of the Human Bullet. "FIRE ME, BOY!"

[SubaruStephen]

Yellow-bot looks pretty cool. Reminds me of the Human Bullet. "FIRE ME, BOY!"

His paint job reminds me of S.C.U.D. The Disposable Assassin...

[Energia]

Possibly there aren't pet chassis because AI don't want to be in them. It's pretty clear they would rather be seen as equal to humans, and cats and dogs are not considered equal to human. It's already been established that referring to the human who has purchased a companion AI as his or her 'owner' is the height of political incorrectness, so I think they'd be wary of agreeing to go into a pet shaped chassis in case it sends a message they'd rather not give. Even if it starts out with the best of intentions from both human and AI, and the relationship between the two is an equal one, it could go somewhere dangerous and give the wrong impression to outsiders.

This is good thinking.  So given that Marigold eventually gifted Momo her chassis, Are May's relationship with Dale, Momo's with Marigold, and Marten's with Faye all equivalent now?

[Energia]

Yellow-bot looks pretty cool. Reminds me of the Human Bullet. "FIRE ME, BOY!"

His paint job reminds me of S.C.U.D. The Disposable Assassin...

His arms are way cooler than the Brainpop robot's!

[Penquin47]

So given that Marigold eventually gifted Momo her chassis, Are May's relationship with Dale, Momo's with Marigold, and Marten's with Faye all equivalent now?

May and Dale are equivalent to Marten and Faye, but I believe Momo and Marigold are still under their companionship contract.  In practical terms I don't see that there's much actual difference, but that contract's still there.

[cesium133]

In panel 2, is May talking on a cell phone, or does she have a built-in communication device in her ear that she's talking to? She has her hand up to her ear, but it doesn't look like there's anything in it.

If it's a cell phone, it seems weird that a machine is talking to another machine to talk to a human. 

[Timemaster]

Good morning,

I see no cellphone or anything else in Mays hand in panel two. So I suppose it´s some kind of build-in device she activates by raising her Hand to her ear. Nice idea by Jeph.
On the oher hand the humanoid AIs use verbally communication not only with humans, but between each other too. My guess is that they want to appear as human as possible not to freak people out or to raise prejudices against AIs. And verbal communication is a center trait of human existance and behaviour. The support group could be easily held online without the AIs having to leave their houses.But they meet personally in the convention center. And I see only one explanation: to act and behave as humans do, to embrace humanity as far as possible.
A built-in communicator would not really fit into this philosophy.


I like jheartney´s analysis of May´s body language in yesterdays strip. Jeph is really good at giving his characters the right gestures and body-stances to express their feeling. (He´s really good at hands too. Hands are difficult. He´s less good on feet and shoes though. )


Arachnoid porn. Eeek! 

"Come over here, you dirty little spider-stud. I´ll bite your head off!"
"Yeah baby. Give it to me!"

No, I´d rather not take this thought any further...

TM

[DonInKansas]

I love how yellow bot has an ulna and a radius.

[hedgie]

In panel 2, is May talking on a cell phone, or does she have a built-in communication device in her ear that she's talking to? She has her hand up to her ear, but it doesn't look like there's anything in it.

If it's a cell phone, it seems weird that a machine is talking to another machine to talk to a human. 

Even without a phone, it does make sense with her holding her hand up there.  This way she will look to the casual observer as someone talking with someone else, rather than to herself.

Edit: 
I really like how upbeat Momo is, even when dealing with May, or crap from work.  She knows how to be tough when needed, but has a pleasant nature over all.

[Energia]

So given that Marigold eventually gifted Momo her chassis, Are May's relationship with Dale, Momo's with Marigold, and Marten's with Faye all equivalent now?

May and Dale are equivalent to Marten and Faye, but I believe Momo and Marigold are still under their companionship contract.  In practical terms I don't see that there's much actual difference, but that contract's still there.

So is the companionship contract equivalent to a same-sex marriage?

[Kugai]

I think that the Yellow Robot belongs to a fan of the Golden Age of Sci-fi


May is either growing on me or I'm going to want to drop a Acme 4000lb Anvil on her.

[BenRG]

I think that, if she were human, May could be described as being a misanthrope. She clearly has a cynical nature and almost always assumes the worst motivations in people. Personally, I think that she has a crush on Dale, the first being to show her kindness and fair treatment (in her view). This means that she resents Marigold, even though she is clear-minded enough to know that Dale wants her and thus is trying to facilitate the relationship for his sake. As Momo says, she'd totally deny it, though! 

Interesting implications of panel 4: May is saying that Gordon chose to be an ArachnoPC. Does this mean that all AIs cchoose their starting chassis? That would certainly fit in with the established high level of AI civil rights. I would imagine that chosen career affects their choice too. May and Momo have both shown that later upgrades and changes need to be purchased commercially, just like us.

It is interesting to consider the amount of thought that Jeph has put into his world of his imagination.

Dale and Marigold have been at it for the whole day - upwards of eight hours? Is that possible?

[hedgie]

They probably take breaks betwixt sessions.  Making up for lost time and all.

[ZoeB]

Dale and Marigold have been at it for the whole day - upwards of eight hours? Is that possible?

With breaks for meals and other reasons, easily. For some. YMMV.

On another topic - Momo very much resembles the kind of person I try to be. I also think associating with May would be good for them both.

[snubnose]

Dale and Marigold have been at it for the whole day - upwards of eight hours? Is that possible?

Um, yes, of course ? Easy to do for teenagers, not unheard of for twentysomethings and thirtysomethings either.

[katsmeat]

Interesting implications of panel 4: May is saying that Gordon chose to be an ArachnoPC.

It could be something to do with his job. His chassis would be well adapted to doing maintenance in small, confined areas with difficult access. You know... like working in crawl-spaces.

[BenRG]

Interesting implications of panel 4: May is saying that Gordon chose to be an ArachnoPC.

It could be something to do with his job. His chassis would be well adapted to doing maintenance in small, confined areas with difficult access. You know... like working in crawl-spaces.

No, Gordon is a headcrab... er... head-spider. His chassis has been equipped with biometric sensors so he can perch on people's heads and record their reactions to questioning. It's how Elicott-Chatham Cybernetics assesses a human's suitability for certain AI companions. If one is an arachnophobe (like Marten) it also gives wildly inaccurate readings, which led to Marten being paired with Pintsize instead of Whalebot.

[Penquin47]

So given that Marigold eventually gifted Momo her chassis, Are May's relationship with Dale, Momo's with Marigold, and Marten's with Faye all equivalent now?

May and Dale are equivalent to Marten and Faye, but I believe Momo and Marigold are still under their companionship contract.  In practical terms I don't see that there's much actual difference, but that contract's still there.

So is the companionship contract equivalent to a same-sex marriage?

No?  A same-sex marriage is a marriage, while a companionship contract is a formal way of saying "it's my job to hang out with you and be your friend".

[tangerinewarrior]

So given that Marigold eventually gifted Momo her chassis, Are May's relationship with Dale, Momo's with Marigold, and Marten's with Faye all equivalent now?

May and Dale are equivalent to Marten and Faye, but I believe Momo and Marigold are still under their companionship contract.  In practical terms I don't see that there's much actual difference, but that contract's still there.

So is the companionship contract equivalent to a same-sex marriage?

No?  A same-sex marriage is a marriage, while a companionship contract is a formal way of saying "it's my job to hang out with you and be your friend".

Also, Momo explains earlier in comic that the companionship contract is non-binding. She or Marigold can end it whenever they want. Here is the comic in question:
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2284

[bhtooefr]

On the oher hand the humanoid AIs use verbally communication not only with humans, but between each other too. My guess is that they want to appear as human as possible not to freak people out or to raise prejudices against AIs. And verbal communication is a center trait of human existance and behaviour. The support group could be easily held online without the AIs having to leave their houses.But they meet personally in the convention center. And I see only one explanation: to act and behave as humans do, to embrace humanity as far as possible.
A built-in communicator would not really fit into this philosophy.

One interesting point with all of this: May doesn't appear to want to be humanoid, she wants to be a fighter jet - she's not in the chassis that she wants to be in at all. (Although, it seems that she'll grudgingly take humanoid over other non-fighter jet forms.)

There are quite a lot of implications that can be read into that, especially given how Jeph has used AI storylines in the past to approach human issues.

[BenRG]

One interesting point with all of this: May doesn't appear to want to be humanoid, she wants to be a fighter jet - she's not in the chassis that she wants to be in at all. (Although, it seems that she'll grudgingly take humanoid over other non-fighter jet forms.)

The general assumption is that May is borderline-psychotic and, if installed in a combat chassis of any kind would go around killing people. However, fighters tend to be the very highest-performance aircraft. I'm wondering if, in fact, her ambition and her desire is to fly. Nothing else, just to fly - To feel the supersonic air currents over her skin and look down from a sky so dark it is nearly black at the sphere of the world beneath her.

I'd just love for a strip where she tries to articulate this to someone - maybe Momo. An android can't cry but maybe May will come close as she pours out her heartbreak of being thought a criminal for pursuing her dreams.

I wonder if Elicott-Chatham are recruiting AIs to pilot their space shuttles?

[CM_albion]

I like the idea of being in a world where you can choose what your body is, while being a functional sentient mind...

[CaptainFish]

On the oher hand the humanoid AIs use verbally communication not only with humans, but between each other too. My guess is that they want to appear as human as possible not to freak people out or to raise prejudices against AIs. And verbal communication is a center trait of human existance and behaviour. The support group could be easily held online without the AIs having to leave their houses.But they meet personally in the convention center. And I see only one explanation: to act and behave as humans do, to embrace humanity as far as possible.
A built-in communicator would not really fit into this philosophy.

One interesting point with all of this: May doesn't appear to want to be humanoid, she wants to be a fighter jet - she's not in the chassis that she wants to be in at all. (Although, it seems that she'll grudgingly take humanoid over other non-fighter jet forms.)

There are quite a lot of implications that can be read into that, especially given how Jeph has used AI storylines in the past to approach human issues.

I did always May's situation was a bit incongruous with the idea that AIs can be whatever they choose to be along with the idea that you have to spend thousands of dollars on a more humanoid chassis. I thought it was a more ideal existence, but as things go on it seems just as bound to capitalism as regular human lives. An AI that wants to just be a toaster can do that because there's toasters everywhere, but if one wants to be a space station* or a fighter jet, what barriers do they face? The idea that one would have to steal because they're not the machine they want to be is a bummer.

And I don't really think the jet thing was entirely a throwaway joke, based on how that first arc ended with May wanting to look at the sky. It does seem like she enjoys just having nice people to hang around with, though, so maybe her lack of fulfillment was unrelated. I read her origin as being one without physical manifestation, so perhaps her crime stemmed more from a desire to take on a physical body and she chose a poor way to do it, avoiding more traditional means.

*I assume Station was created or worked along with Dr ... Hanners' Dad and was just the most convenient and capable choice along with having desire to be that station.

[BenRG]

*I assume Station was created or worked along with Dr ... Hanners' Dad and was just the most convenient and capable choice along with having desire to be that station.

Personally, I suspect that Station predates AI civil rights and was built into the space station from the start. He stays, even though  he could go elsewhere if he wanted to (legally at least - in practice, there can be few other large processor complexes likely able to handle his algorithm) because he happens to enjoy working with Dr Elicott-Chatham and the others.

It reminds me of the paradox in Anne McCaffery's 'Brainship' stories. The Shell People, after a moderate term of employment, can 'buy out' their contract and work for anyone they want to. A significant minority don't want to do this because they happen to have come to like the work they do (usually the organic central processor of a starship or something fantastically complex like a space colony).

[Zebediah]

My headcanon for May is that she was originally created to work for NASA on something space-related, but due to her sociopathic tendencies she was rejected. (The process of AI creation is not foolproof.) She then was placed in a menial job with an unglamorous chassis. So she tried to embezzle her way out of it and into something more glamorous and didn't really think it through. Now she's in an even more menial job than she was before. Of course she hates it.

[CM_albion]

My headcanon for May is that she was originally created to work for NASA on something space-related, but due to her sociopathic tendencies she was rejected. (The process of AI creation is not foolproof.) She then was placed in a menial job with an unglamorous chassis. So she tried to embezzle her way out of it and into something more glamorous and didn't really think it through. Now she's in an even more menial job than she was before. Of course she hates it.

she's like a uni grad flipping burgers in a shitty mcdonalds, X1000