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The secret to the unique taste of CoD's coffee is very possibly spider droppings and dead bugs

Momo actually considers May her friend

Faye likes to imagine Bubbles in different get-ups

No-one knows what Marten, Hannelore and Faye's landlord looks like; it could be JUICY!

Steve may be the most normal character in the strip

Marigold discusses her sex life with Hannelore in quite disturbing detail

Claire has the sort of mind that Pintsize fears

Sven and Hannelore may be the most healthy and normal friendships that the other has ever had

[BenRG]

It's interesting that Corpse Witch said 'Hmmm...' too, isn't it? I suspect that this whole situation is requiring a lot of people to rethink what they assumed was always true about what makes people tick and what they are thinking.

FWIW, I'm expecting Bubbles to demand that Faye leave her alone. When that doesn't work, she'll scream at her, threaten her and maybe even start smashing things. When that doesn't work, Bubbles start spilling out her metaphorical heart to her. I expect her to say something like: "You can't be my friend! I'm too dangerous and different!"

[Is it cold in here?]

I suspect it will be more surprising than that somehow.

If Bubbles hurts Faye she may, like Alice, hate herself for it for five thousand years.

[Kugai]

Either way, Friday's comic is gonna be a real cliffhanger


If Jeph doesn't Troll us and stick a filler in

[Skewbrow]

If Bubbles hurts Faye she may, like Alice, hate herself for it for five thousand years.

Which brings us to something I have been wondering...

Are the AIs of QCverse immortal? And to what extent (if any) that explains the attitudes of meatbag teens and others?

I think The Bicentennial Man is close to the mark  (I caught something in my eye at the end). Not entirely relevant here, because you don't need to treat robots as humans to grant them equal rights, but not irrelevant at an emotional level either.

Apologies if this has been discussed to death elsewhere in the forum.

[anahata]

If Bubbles hurts Faye

I guess Bubbles won't hurt Faye.
She's needed a friend for long enough, and she's smart enough to recognize the value of Faye's friendship, even when she's angry.

And my take on CW is that she's getting paranoid about others talking behind her back. I'm sure "divide and rule" is part of her manipulative policy, but she's losing her power over those two.

[QuestionableIntentions]

If Bubbles hurts Faye she may, like Alice, hate herself for it for five thousand years.

Which brings us to something I have been wondering...

Are the AIs of QCverse immortal? And to what extent (if any) that explains the attitudes of meatbag teens and others?

I think The Bicentennial Man is close to the mark  (I caught something in my eye at the end). Not entirely relevant here, because you don't need to treat robots as humans to grant them equal rights, but not irrelevant at an emotional level either.

Apologies if this has been discussed to death elsewhere in the forum.

They are software. As long as there is hardware that can run them, they are immortal.

We don't know how human immortality comes along in the QC verse, but I doubt it's much of a problem considering the tech and minds they already have available.

[Pilchard123]

Are they solely software, or is there some hardware part of them? If there isn't a hardware restriction, then what's to stop a single AI being copied/copying itself everywhere?

[pwhodges]

They are software. As long as there is hardware that can run them, they are immortal.

I'm not sure that follows; it is possible that learning software becomes more and more messed up with time (even simple software like Windows does, after all), and this deterioration may not be reversible without losing the personality.

[Storel]

I believe there was a fairly early strip where Marten explicitly says that Pintsize could effectively live forever by uploading himself into new hardware periodically. Can't find it, though, sorry. My archive-fu is weak tonight.

[JimC]

Who says there'd be riots?

Historically enough inequality has always led to riots/revolution.  I suppose if one is feeling sufficiently dystopic then a proposition could be made for industrial genocide of the mass population by slave AIs (jAInisarries?), leaving only the executive class alive. Not sure I'd want to read that web comic though.

[Akima]

This is the very history of both the American and Russki space programs.

It is difficult to argue that manned space missions have done more exploration, or produced more scientific knowledge, that unmanned ones, considering that none have gone farther than the Moon, and most have been confined to Earth orbit. Most of the motive for manned spaceflight during its heyday was not exploration, but simply cold-war dick-waving. That, I think, is the explanation of the sad decline of crewed space-flight; the political motivation simply drained away with the decline of the Soviet Union. Perhaps China's desire for prestige will reinvigorate the space race, but I have noticed that Western space-cadets always prefer to ignore their space programme, as in the quote above.

Punchbot's head must be made of remarkably thin material. Either that, or he seriously needs to learn how to fall.

[danuis]

This is the very history of both the American and Russki space programs.

It is difficult to argue that manned space missions have done more exploration, or produced more scientific knowledge, that unmanned ones, considering that none have gone farther than the Moon, and most have been confined to Earth orbit. Most of the motive for manned spaceflight during its heyday was not exploration, but simply cold-war dick-waving. That, I think, is the explanation of the sad decline of crewed space-flight; the political motivation simply drained away with the decline of the Soviet Union. Perhaps China's desire for prestige will reinvigorate the space race, but I have noticed that Western space-cadets always prefer to ignore their space programme, as in the quote above.

Punchbot's head must be made of remarkably thin material. Either that, or he seriously needs to learn how to fall.

It is for that very reason the manned space programs of now are absolutely dead. It was not helped that too much politics in the Soviet program ended up with the N1 going nowhere due to over-rush and too much micromanagement from their higher ups and conflicting agencies. There's no politics in it; though a manned mission to Mars can be used for national prestige, for now, the US doesn't need it, Russia can't afford it, but China creeps towards it. But I'm just glad anyone is doing something, and it's why I don't mind companies also taking a crack at space travel.

[swapna]

To be honest,  CWs warning seems genuine, here. Bubbles does have a terrible temper, and she is pretty violent. I don't think she'd fire Faye  or something (it was framed as a warning, not as an order).

Keeping Bubbles from interacting too much with the human world may be manipulative and motivated by selfishness. However, she doesn't even blink at the tantrum - this isn't the first time. Bubbles shows no regard for her fellow AIs  (Punchbot may like it, but what the hell,Bubbles) or the equipment at her place of work, and all it took were some whispered comments (cruel comments, but hurting your friends/coworkers because of it?).

CW may also be protecting her place of business and Bubbles - somebody with such a violent temper is a danger to herself and others, and she needs her repairing chassis, not rotting in robo-jail.

[Skewbrow]

Somehow I think that CW would really love to have Bubbles in the arena rather than fixing other bots. She would kick ass, don't you think. But, she has been asked in the past, and has said "No" for many a good reason. Such as 1) Bubbles knows (instinctively?) that if she begins to robofight, then her PTSD will take over. 2) She would just make the sport less entertaining, with all bouts over in a matter of seconds (Remember Mike Tyson in his prime). 3) May be ex-military participation would also force the hand of the law enforcement in that they could no longer look the other way? And that would be the end.

[BenRG]

I think that some people are overestimating the violence of Bubbles' temper and underestimating her self control. Look at Strip 3193 again. What does she do?

• She kicks the door open (after evidently unlocking it so the lock mechanism is undamaged - Note the lack of debris);
• She disrespects Jeremy the Armbot (although I suddenly find myself wondering if he is the Coat Check Guy);
• She inflicts physical violence upon Punchbot in a way that she, firstly, knows he will enjoy and, secondly she knows as his mechanic will not cause him any lasting harm;
• She is not violent towards anyone else;
• She proceeds to lock herself in her room to sulk.

I'm not saying that she has no anger issues - the fate of her punching bag is proof enough that she has those. What I'm saying is that she has enough self-control to avoid causing damage to anyone and anything that can't shrug it off. Even when she threw an angry punch at Faye, you can see from Faye's posture that there was never even a slight possibility of it hitting her.

Somehow I think that CW would really love to have Bubbles in the arena rather than fixing other bots.

Basically, yes. However, I also think that she prefers a mechanic she can keep for free (except room and the minimal board a Synthetic requires) rather than having to pay for one. Simple math, really. Not exactly ethical but you don't look for ethics from someone whose business is to cater to certain vices.

[Lioness]

I hate how smug and happy CW looks in #3193 about having been "proven right." Ugh.

[Lubricus]

I just noticed that the tanks in the back in strip 3194 has "04" written on them. As tetraoxygen, as far as I know, is unstable, does chemistry work differently in the QCverse, or am I missing something?

[TinPenguin]

Well, they do seem to say "04" and not "O₄". That may or may not be relevant. I don't know why they'd need tetraoxygen, anyway.

[cesium133]

They're left over from 2004.

Unless it's still 2004 in-comic...

As for the comic, I suspect this is leading to Faye being fired again (albeit under different circumstances). In today's comic, Faye's boss just told her to get to work, and Faye's response was "screw that." Even with a reasonable boss, that's a bad response.

[swapna]

I think that some people are overestimating the violence of Bubbles' temper and underestimating her self control. Look at Strip 3193 again. What does she do?

• She kicks the door open (after evidently unlocking it so the lock mechanism is undamaged - Note the lack of debris);
• She disrespects Jeremy the Armbot (although I suddenly find myself wondering if he is the Coat Check Guy);
• She inflicts physical violence upon Punchbot in a way that she, firstly, knows he will enjoy and, secondly she knows as his mechanic will not cause him any lasting harm;
• She is not violent towards anyone else;
• She proceeds to lock herself in her room to sulk.

I'm not saying that she has no anger issues - the fate of her punching bag is proof enough that she has those. What I'm saying is that she has enough self-control to avoid causing damage to anyone and anything that can't shrug it off. Even when she threw an angry punch at Faye, you can see from Faye's posture that there was never even a slight possibility of it hitting her.

I disagree - I think you underestimate her level of violence because she's such a sympathetic character.

The first time she meets Marten, he didn't provoke her - he just didn't know who she was. And what she did caused him pain - he doesn't scream or anything, and it's Marten so he isn't angry, but still - being lifted by the scruff of your neck is painful and dangerous.

Bubbles hitting the wall, next to Faye: Faye moved out of the way (as her posture indicates) and while Bubbles didn't aim for her head, she aimed right next to it. Because the party didn't go well? Because Faye tried to talk to her? In context, that would be only threatening her with death instead of killing her because of a disagreement. Wow, that's basically a pacifist right there.

Kicking doors open and shut: I think the doors were already open, Corpse Witch usually filters the visitors. And note the dent the doorknob makes - she doesn't care how destructive she is, she just doesn't go out of her way to be. As for the level of violence she displays: This is a workshop, with expensive supplies and dangerous tools (cylinders with gas are usually not the harmless kind) and the only ones she hurts (physically or by disrespecting them) are her coworkers - she just ignores her boss, because she can't afford to lose her job.

The reason? Somebody made mean comments about her and people looked at her.

That is a moody teenager's level of self-control in a killbot.

[J]

has it been pointed out yet that in many ways bubs is basically an amplified version of faye?

both are physically tough people who have been left emotionally weakened by loss-related trauma. both react to this by pushing others away, & enforce those boundaries with physical violence or the threat thereof. both are prone to extreme overreactions to stress, and tend to fall into a spiral of self-hatred and depression as a result of said overreactions.

[sitnspin]

I wonder, swapna, if you know what it's like to live as someone who is part of a marginalized group. Your comments display a degree of privilege that suggests otherwise. As a human who has spent my entire life experiencing racism and homophobia, it's far more than just "mean comments", it is outright bigotry. And even with what I've experienced, I was still (mostly) considered human by those bigots. With Bubbles, the bigots are denying her existence as a sapient being. A lifetime of having your personhood attacked and questioned, of being denied basic civil rights can understandably foster an intense amount of anger. Couple that with untreated PTSD and her reactions are quite understandable. She's not a moody teenager, she is an adult who has suffered wartime trauma and a lifetime of bigotry.

[Is it cold in here?]

A key point and well taken, but it doesn't explain assaulting Marten at the door or blasting a hole in the wall next to Faye's head.

[BenRG]

A key point and well taken, but it doesn't explain assaulting Marten at the door or blasting a hole in the wall next to Faye's head.

The first one is mostly social nervousness. She didn't 'assault' Marten, she grabbed him by the shirt because she was that frightened of being in a social situation made her behave aggressively to cover her fear (a typical post-trauma reaction, IMO). Notice that he suffered no harm whatsoever except being shaken up.

The second one was a defensive move. She was trying to make Faye back off and not want to associate with because it is so much easier to live in total isolation. She was emphasising that she is mad, bad and dangerous to know. Notice she did that by very carefully missing Faye when it would have been actually much easier to grab her and snap one of her long bones like it was a twig. People with anger management issues of the sort that are being attributed to Bubbles by some posters simply don't hesitate to do that.

This is not someone who uses violence without control. What Swapna seems to be seeing, which I can't see, is someone who is a real threat to people because she lashes out violently against random people when she loses her temper. That is actually the last thing she does. Yes, she has a serious problem controlling her anger but she seems to have enough control over her actions that, no matter how aggressively she acts out, she causes no long-term harm.

This must be taken into consideration when evaluating her actions. She's not trying to harm anyone; indeed, she's trying to protect them from harm (albeit in due to a slightly delusional view of her own nature). Corpse Witch's implications notwithstanding, I've seen no evidence to suggest that Bubbles, even in a full-on rage, would allow herself to cause serious injury to someone. Indeed, her behaviour with Emily and her view of the Robot Fights suggests that this is something that she would work hard to avoid.

[Endellion]

The comics of this week make me think back to something I saw last year:

Our relationship with humanity is constantly evolving. There is always the possibility of conflict.

But the humans in my life are kind and accepting, despite their flaws. I believe that these are traits shared by the majority of their species. And that gives me hope.

Good night.

Momo

I think this is the first time I've seen the slight possibility of an AI getting into a serious conflict with humans.

[JimC]

This is not someone who uses violence without control. What Swapna seems to be seeing, which I can't see, is someone who is a real threat to people because she lashes out violently against random people when she loses her temper. That is actually the last thing she does. Yes, she has a serious problem controlling her anger but she seems to have enough control over her actions that, no matter how aggressively she acts out, she causes no long-term harm.

And we shouldn't forget she walked away from the kid who made the comment in the first place without so much as a single remark.  There's control there, even if it had boiled up by the time she got back to base.

[Zebediah]

So, out of curiosity, if you think Bubbles is a potential danger to others, what precisely do you suggest be done about it?

[Morituri]

Hmmm.  Weekly meeting with therapists down at the VA - and a lot of hanging out and talking with guys who had similar issues for similar reasons - did a world of good for one of my friends who went off to Iraq and came back with some trouble.

[swapna]

I wonder, swapna, if you know what it's like to live as someone who is part of a marginalized group. Your comments display a degree of privilege that suggests otherwise. As a human who has spent my entire life experiencing racism and homophobia, it's far more than just "mean comments", it is outright bigotry. And even with what I've experienced, I was still (mostly) considered human by those bigots. With Bubbles, the bigots are denying her existence as a sapient being. A lifetime of having your personhood attacked and questioned, of being denied basic civil rights can understandably foster an intense amount of anger. Couple that with untreated PTSD and her reactions are quite understandable. She's not a moody teenager, she is an adult who has suffered wartime trauma and a lifetime of bigotry.

First of all, I don't appreciate your assumptions about me; please stick to attacking my arguments.

To your argument: I don't say I don't understand Bubbles' reaction, I do. "Mean" was probably the wrong word choice, but I wanted to underline that (I think) responding to verbal attacks with physical violence is never warranted (especially since she gets physical with people who, sometimes, don't even know what happened).

A key point and well taken, but it doesn't explain assaulting Marten at the door or blasting a hole in the wall next to Faye's head.

[some very well-made points]

This must be taken into consideration when evaluating her actions. She's not trying to harm anyone; indeed, she's trying to protect them from harm (albeit in due to a slightly delusional view of her own nature). Corpse Witch's implications notwithstanding, I've seen no evidence to suggest that Bubbles, even in a full-on rage, would allow herself to cause serious injury to someone. Indeed, her behaviour with Emily and her view of the Robot Fights suggests that this is something that she would work hard to avoid.

I agree in that Bubbles doesn't want to cause harm; her personality suggests that she tries everything to avoid it. Still - imagine Faye picking up Claire and scaring her to the point where the only thing Claire can say is 'help'?
And in this case, Claire would still be in a better position than Marten was, because she would actually have a chance of getting out of Faye's grip.

Just because she doesn't want to cause harm doesn't mean she doesn't do it.  Yes, she could have broken Faye's bones, she could have murdered the jerks and Punchbot. That she didn't do it isn't an indication for what a great person she is it's the basic requirement for 'Person we don't consider too dangerous not to lock up'.

If her anger issues were so bad that she broke people's bones, she'd be in robo-jail already; she skirts the edge, though. She has understandable reasons for what she does, but so did Faye when she was hitting Marten. It still didn't make it okay.

(Wanted to write something for Zebediah, but Morituri said it better)

[Is it cold in here?]

Someone in Iraq almost drew a court martial for enhancing a prisoner interrogation by firing his sidearm into a clearing barrel. Conviction could have been an 11 year sentence.

If that's an assault charge under UCMJ, then Bubbles should have had inhibitions about demonstrating deadly capabilities to intimidate a civilian.

A full-strength punch from Bubbles is more likely to kill than a handgun round. Deliberately missing doesn't save it from being assault.

She's right on the bottom edge of being sufficiently self-controlled to walk around safely, and even at that Faye might have made a charge of reckless endangerment stick.

Concretely, to answer the question of what society should do, it would make sense to have her swap to a human-equivalent chassis and get the armor back after passing anger management therapy.

[FunkyTuba]

If Jeph doesn't Troll us and stick a filler in

Could go either way:
[tweet]717739780218490880[/tweet]

[JimC]

Concretely, to answer the question of what society should do, it would make sense to have her swap to a human-equivalent chassis and get the armor back after passing anger management therapy.

Assuming AI rights are equal to human rights wouldn't that be rather dubious ethically? *At best* I suggest it could be considered equivalent to forced chemical castration, and I don't believe there are many, if any places where its legal to impose that on someone who hasn't been convicted of a relevant crime.

[Mr. Doctor]

I would not compare it to forced chemical castration due to the big difference being that she can get her armor back after therapy.
Also, last time I checked, she's wearing an armor so we haven't really seen what her chassis looks like.

I believe this is the correct way to go if she at any point actually harms an innocent human in a critical way.

[TheCollector]

Hmm. . Am I the only one who imagines Punchbot as having like a squeaky, kinda child like voice? I don't know why, but I do.

[Mr. Doctor]

Count me in for that squeaky voice.

[swapna]

Concretely, to answer the question of what society should do, it would make sense to have her swap to a human-equivalent chassis and get the armor back after passing anger management therapy.

Assuming AI rights are equal to human rights wouldn't that be rather dubious ethically? *At best* I suggest it could be considered equivalent to forced chemical castration, and I don't believe there are many, if any places where its legal to impose that on someone who hasn't been convicted of a relevant crime.

It would probably more equivalent to taking away her gun/baton/body armour, since AI can change chassis whenever they want. It's a bigger part of their identity than clothes, but it doesn't change who they are. Taking away Pintsize's laser also wasn't 'chemical castration', it was more like taking away a weapon from somebody who shouldn't have one.

[comicalArchitect]

Concretely, to answer the question of what society should do, it would make sense to have her swap to a human-equivalent chassis and get the armor back after passing anger management therapy.

Assuming AI rights are equal to human rights wouldn't that be rather dubious ethically? *At best* I suggest it could be considered equivalent to forced chemical castration, and I don't believe there are many, if any places where its legal to impose that on someone who hasn't been convicted of a relevant crime.

It would probably more equivalent to taking away her gun/baton/body armour, since AI can change chassis whenever they want. It's a bigger part of their identity than clothes, but it doesn't change who they are. Taking away Pintsize's laser also wasn't 'chemical castration', it was more like taking away a weapon from somebody who shouldn't have one.

Then again, Pintsize's laser was from before the comic really treated AIs as people.

[Mr. Doctor]

The time that arc was made doesn't really change anything.
The same way humans must (or at least should) pass a psychological test before purchasing a fire-arm... Same should be done with AIs having weapons in their chassis or chassis that are made for combat.
If a person can get rejected, an IA could be rejected as well.

[mr.jacob]

Anybody notice that CW is holding a stack of matzos? Apparently she's Jewish??

[mustang6172]

You'd think an underground robot fight club would be paperless.

[hedgie]

Those documents are not incriminating… to Corpse Witch.

[Carl-E]

Probably betting forms for the evening's entertainment. 

[Penquin47]

Faye is a good friend.  I'm proud of her here.

[Is it cold in here?]

I wonder if a rear hug from Faye has the same effect on Bubbles that it does on Hannelore.

"If you really want me to leave I will. But I'm here for you." Well done, Faye.

[K1dmor]

 

[TheCollector]

Say it with me.

Awwwwwwww

[chaospersonified]

I will say it after you, but I have too much manly pride to be part of a group-aww.

Dis cute.

[Dagoonite]

Okay, I can go into the weekend peacefully now.

[oeoek]

Go Faye!
And as far as I remember, the first time we see Bubbles resistance to friendship fade into acceptance. Yes!

[BenRG]

Synthetics can't cry but this is one of the occasions when, if they could, then they would.

Both Faye's and Bubbles' body language is brilliantly realised here. Faye's hesitancy (knowing how Bubbles hates appearing vulnerable) and Bubbles's self loathing are wonderfully clear.

P.S.:
Am I the only one who thinks that Bubbles's room could pass for a developing world jail cell? Bubbles is already doing her very best to punish herself for coming back from the war alive.