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A bet with Emily ('I bet I can drink more than you before doing dumb stuff!')

1 (2.5%)

Frightened by Eels (They WERE under the counter after all!)

2 (5%)

Traumatic Experience (Pintsize and May are an item now?)

3 (7.5%)

It turns out that Dora makes hooch on the side; so putting it in her is 'putting it where you found it'

1 (2.5%)

It was a boring day; time to mix things up!

10 (25%)

Dora needed to talk to the Tequila Monster of Hangovers for some reason

4 (10%)

Dora tried to understand Emily's thought processes; bad mistake

13 (32.5%)

Faye dropped by, saw the bottle and said: "It's a waste to throw it away; drink it for me!"

1 (2.5%)

Dora said: "Let's freak out Hanners by getting drunk on the job!"

0 (0%)

Other (Specify in comment - the more surreal the better)

1 (2.5%)

Sexy Distilleries aka Method cheating and adding an option after the fact

2 (5%)

Felix is upset with all of the poll options and adds another after Method.

2 (5%)

Total Members Voted: 39

[Tova]

You all realise that the arms dealers Pintsize is referring to there are dealers in robot parts, right? Right? 

He's been acting as the middleman for robot friends wanting elbows for a long time now.

They collected a stash of $2 bills when they were first issued and have been trading them among themselves ever since. That's why they're so rare, you see.

[thedevilissix]

Ah, new day, new Thanksgiving comic.
I'm pleased to witness in the bottom panel plenty of fanservice

[BenRG]

I have a nervous sense that Jeph is mocking us in this strip. Indeed, the whole feel of it is... odd. It almost seems like an 'author's notes' right up until the last two panels when he suddenly remembered that this was meant to be a Silly.

[Is it cold in here?]

I vaguely remember that pattern in other turkey strips.

[Tova]

I have a nervous sense that Jeph is mocking us in this strip.

In the spirit of one of the topics that has dominated this week's discussion, I would like to mention that we here in Straya prefer the expression taking the piss.

Yes, I do believe that Jeph is taking the piss*. 

* For clarity, this does not mean that he has been drinking, nor does it mean he is angry.

[BenRG]

Will Intelligent Robots Write the Next Great Novel?

Jeph so needs to run with this idea. Maybe Pintsize will try to jump from consumer to producer (with May on a pay-per-play contract)? Or maybe Bubbles will reveal her AI equivalent of Heart of Darkness to Faye and her human friend will seek ways to have the literature community take the offering of an AI more seriously?

[Kugai]

Not if they hear from the infinite number of Monkeys Lawyer

[TheEvilDog]

Comic's up.

And wow May, that's some jinxing you're doing to yourself right now.

[Tova]

dun dun dunnnnnnnn

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

And next strip will prove Pintsize's comment that two dollar bills are the currency of the international arms trade.

[Nycticoraci]

And next strip will prove Pintsize's comment that two dollar bills are the currency of the international arms trade.

But what's the currency of the international legs trade?

[Is it cold in here?]

The new situation is that Detective Lilac can prove May is associating with known criminals and can send her back to Robot Jail in a heartbeat for parole violation.

The "Help me and I can help you" talk comes next.

May doesn't strike me as the sort to betray a friend deliberately or all at once. It would take a lot of street smarts, though, to resist the trap of "just one more little favor".

[TheEvilDog]

And next strip will prove Pintsize's comment that two dollar bills are the currency of the international arms trade.

But what's the currency of the international legs trade?

Kneecaps.

[BenRG]

Oops! May's got herself in trouble! It could be back to jail for her!

Then again, what exactly has May done wrong except purchase goods and services that are not illegal in of themselves? Things could get... difficult if Lilac tries to put leverage on poor May, May digs in her heels and Lilac is in the position where she has to prove to her superiors that 'guerilla chassis mods' is somehow a crime that they should care about, let alone one that they can get the judge to stop laughing about long enough to sentence someone for it.

May is helped by the very clear fact that she has obviously no idea that she should be concerned at anyone being aware of what she's doing. Proving 'criminal intent' would be nearly impossible if the cop has to admit that they first realised someone's intentions when they heard them singing about it as they marched down the middle of the sidewalk.

[Is it cold in here?]

Irrelevant. A standard condition of probation is not to associate with known criminals. The fight club hasn't been run in yet because nobody really cares but they are known criminals. A probation officer can lock someone up for a single violation. "Criminal intent" doesn't come into it: a dirty urine test (OK, not a problem for May) or even a single missed meeting can do it.

May is vulnerable as hell.

[Akima]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

[BenRG]

I'm pretty sure that this is a feeder to an arc where Lilac tries to put pressure on May to act as her CI inside the Fight Club. May is fairly easy to intimidate; she hated Robot Jail and really doesn't have the emotional strength to stand up to the pressure. The problem is that May is such a fanbot that Llilac ends up with piles of day-to-day trivia about the fighters (whom May worships like the sporting gods they are) and nothing about any of the real illegal activity she's trying to uncover.

[Storel]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

Do we know that Corpse Witch has never been convicted of anything?

For that matter, do we know that Bubbles has never been convicted of anything?? She doesn't seem the type, I know, but a trumped-up conviction could help explain the shadow that seems to hang over her.

[brasca]

Given what happened with Corpse Witch the last time she repaired May and the current police scrutiny I'm surprised Faye let her enter. 

While May is vulnerable since she's on parole she'll be fine if she can keep her cool.  As far as the general public knows it's an indoor skate park so she can keep up the pretense and claim her friend that works there also repairs AI chassis on the side so she was just paying her a visit.  There's nothing illegal about that unless there is evidence of her participating in illegal robot fighting or gambling.

We may also be overestimating Detective Lilac's abilities.  Bubbles neutralized her by trapping her in a trash can and then a raccoon stole her badge.  I wouldn't be surprised if her peers call her Inspector Gadget.

[TinPenguin]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

Do we know that Corpse Witch has never been convicted of anything?

More to the point, does May know? There are a lot of convicted criminals in the world. Can the cops say "woah there, missy, we saw you go into that grocery store whose owner was once convicted for drunk driving, it's the slammer for you."

[heyjames4]

Oh no! May!

[Neko_Ali]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

Do we know that Corpse Witch has never been convicted of anything?

More to the point, does May know? There are a lot of convicted criminals in the world. Can the cops say "woah there, missy, we saw you go into that grocery store whose owner was once convicted for drunk driving, it's the slammer for you."

May does know. She knows what goes on at the skate rink, and she knows she's not supposed to be there, or even really talk about it. Remember a while back when she was concerned just talking about the fighting arena because her chassis might be bugged? She's well aware that being there is a parole violation. Heck she's afraid just talking about it could get her in trouble. And remember that the reason she went to jail was 'poor impulse control', as she put it. If Lilac puts any kind of pressure on her she'll snap in seconds... probably leading to an avalanche of comedic Too Much Information.

[hedgie]

Maybe Faye and Bubbles were added to "NiceList.txt", and will be safe.

[Kugai]

I'm now intrigued to see which way this story arc is going to run.

[Tova]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

If you are known be police to be involved in criminal activity, then yes, I believe so.

The media has to use the expression "colourful racing identity," though.

And yes, May can hardly plead ignorance. Well, she can try. I doubt it will wash, though.

[HiFranc]

[...]

For that matter, do we know that Bubbles has never been convicted of anything?? She doesn't seem the type, I know, but a trumped-up conviction could help explain the shadow that seems to hang over her.

Don't need something trumped up -- she's already guilty of two crimes.  2nd one being that she works at the fight club.  The first one being that she didn't hand in her chasis.  She has a military grade body and civilians are not allowed to use such equipment.  CW already has used that to pressure her.

[brasca]

[...]

For that matter, do we know that Bubbles has never been convicted of anything?? She doesn't seem the type, I know, but a trumped-up conviction could help explain the shadow that seems to hang over her.

Don't need something trumped up -- she's already guilty of two crimes.  2nd one being that she works at the fight club.  The first one being that she didn't hand in her chasis.  She has a military grade body and civilians are not allowed to use such equipment.  CW already has used that to pressure her.

CW's implied threat was that she'd lose her military chassis much like anyone else loses their property if it's impounded and auctioned off because it was used for criminal purposes.  Moreover, if possessing that chassis was an offense the federal government would be paying her a visit not a state police AI.  As for the first offense the inspector has to provide indisputable proof that an illegal fight club is being operated there.  If not a halfway decent defense attorney will get the case thrown out. 

And remember the billboard, Better Call HAL!

[TheEvilDog]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

And yes, May can hardly plead ignorance. Well, she can try. I doubt it will wash, though.

Especially when its quite blatantly written across her face.

May can't prove she got the repairs done at a legitimate establishment and I think some of the industrial gear at the club requires certain licenses to own, so she can't claim a couple of friends helped her out for free.

May is stuck between a rock and a hard place and lets not forget that she is still technically a parolee.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

And changing her face from blue to khaki to white is suspicious, amirite?

[NyxDarkness]

With the possibility that CW and Bubbles may have criminal history, what about Faye, even. Knowing her history of having a temper, as well as being a recovering alcoholic, who can say that she doesn't have some old, long-forgotten assault charge? May was seen speaking with Faye by the agent herself.

Also, if THEY wanted that badly to take the shop down, it would only take a small reason to investigate and 'accidentally' stumble upon the fights.
This is strictly speculation, of course. We shall see where this goes from here. There's too much setup for Jeph not to follow through, I think.

[TheEvilDog]

And changing her face from blue to khaki to white is suspicious, amirite?

Given the problem she had with the parole officer about the repair in the first place, the fact that she got a repair down at an unlicensed operation that is also host to a criminal venture, her face is literally evidence.

[Is it cold in here?]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

Do we know that Corpse Witch has never been convicted of anything?

More to the point, does May know? There are a lot of convicted criminals in the world. Can the cops say "woah there, missy, we saw you go into that grocery store whose owner was once convicted for drunk driving, it's the slammer for you."

Yes, if they want to.

One of the horror stories I read about was a guy on parole or probation who reasoned that if he went into a bar when it was otherwise empty, then he'd be safe since the bartender had to have a clean record to get a license.

The bartender had lied on the job application and did have a record. The customer went back to prison.

Another decided there was no way to check everyone he associated with for a criminal record so he'd simply never associate with anyone.

In the archives of Grits For Breakfast is a quote from a Texas probation administrator to the effect that if he ever has a choice between dealing with his own department or going behind bars and razor wire and eating expired food, he'll choose prison.

For certain there must be probation departments that strive for rehabilitation and re-entry.  Many are part of the prison-industrial complex though.

[WareWolf]

Can you be a "known criminal" if you've never been convicted of anything?

Do we know that Corpse Witch has never been convicted of anything?

More to the point, does May know? There are a lot of convicted criminals in the world. Can the cops say "woah there, missy, we saw you go into that grocery store whose owner was once convicted for drunk driving, it's the slammer for you."

Yes, if they want to.

One of the horror stories I read about was a guy on parole or probation who reasoned that if he went into a bar when it was otherwise empty, then he'd be safe since the bartender had to have a clean record to get a license.

The bartender had lied on the job application and did have a record. The customer went back to prison.

Another decided there was no way to check everyone he associated with for a criminal record so he'd simply never associate with anyone.

In the archives of Grits For Breakfast is a quote from a Texas probation administrator to the effect that if he ever has a choice between dealing with his own department or going behind bars and razor wire and eating expired food, he'll choose prison.

For certain there must be probation departments that strive for rehabilitation and re-entry.  Many are part of the prison-industrial complex though.

Sad but true. As someone on the defense side who regularly deals with alleged probation violations, I can also attest that a major factor for the PO is "if I get this lunk sent to prison, I can get them off my caseload." There are also judges that are  stewing over sentencing guidelines that require them to put certain offenders on probation. They cannot WAIT to see the people they wanted to send off in the first place come back before them. And as for "I didn't know" (aka "lack of intent"): cue judicial eye-rolling.

Cynical? Moi?

[Method of Madness]

Why would people like that become probation officers? Do they want to ruin lives?

[Neko_Ali]

Like many things, there are a lot of reasons why people do what they do. Some of them yes, are just mean and nasty. Most of them are just trying to do their jobs though. And any job in the prison industry you are going to become jaded and cynical at. Consider the fact that a fair bit of the people they have to deal with are not the 'I did my time and learned my lesson. Now I want to live a good life.' A best their clients (is that right term here?) are just as jaded and cynical as they are, and they know the system is stacked against them. They resent that they have to keep reporting in, justify any and every action they take while hopefully trying to keep a job, if they can find one in the first place. Most people in the parole office and their clients look at each other as adversaries. That never makes for a good relationship. Especially when one side has the ability to strip away the other side's freedom with a phone call and a signature. And a lot of times it won't be questioned. And that's not counting the fact that the system is set up so basically, you can be sent back to prison at any time. It's almost impossible not to break parole in some way, even if you are trying very hard not to.

In the best cases, the parole officer knows their clients are lying to them repeatedly. It's up to them to figure out when and how they are lying, and if it's something worth sending them back to jail over. In the worst cases, the parole officer if a corrupt scumbag who enjoys feeling power over their client's lives, possibly even extorting them to do things or threaten to send them back to jail. Since most of the time a judge is going to believe someone involved in law enforcement over a criminal, it's hard to stop them. Just all part of why the prison system is horrible.

[jwhouk]

What you're seeing is the Catch-22 of being incarcerated. You work hard to get out of prison, but aren't handed any means of staying out of prison. May was given a crummy chassis, without any warranty that would allow her to get repairs. Because her ability to have a chassis would affect her ability to pay for repairs, she had to seek out less-than-legitimate means of getting her chassis repaired.

And that's when our AI Cop comes in...

[Method of Madness]

Wouldn't her receipt from Robots and Things prove she got the materials legitimately?

[TheEvilDog]

Materials is one thing, but she would still be going to an unlicensed location to get the services done. Not to mention that its a location where illegal AI fights take place.

[Method of Madness]

Technically she's in a friend's private apartment. The licensing may be an issue, though.

[Neko_Ali]

She went to the fight arena, not Faye's apartment. It was an exterior door, and Officer Lilac was spying on it. You can't say it's Bubble's apartment, because officially speaking it is skate rink, not a residence. While robots may not need the same things humans do in terms of survival and comfort, it is still not a residence and any robots living there are technically squatting. Albeit with the presumption of the owners approval of it.

[Method of Madness]

I was thinking it was Bubbles's apartment. But fair point.

[TheEvilDog]

Plus even if it were Bubbles' apartment why would Faye be opening the door?

[Method of Madness]

Because they were hanging out and Faye was closer to the door when she heard May loudly approaching.

[Is it cold in here?]

Wouldn't her receipt from Robots and Things prove she got the materials legitimately?

Well, yes, but so what?

You don't have to break the law to be transferred back from outdoor prison to indoor prison. "Outdoor prison" is a fair description. A probation officer can walk into your home at any time and search it as just like a prison guard can, for example. May might be breathing free air right now (don't take that literally) but she still has an inmate number and her sentence is not over.

What do you think the probation officer is going to do when he gets a call from another law enforcement officer saying May is mixed up with organized crime and asking him to apply pressure?

[Method of Madness]

I fucking hate how my country works sometimes.

[hedgie]

May might be breathing free air right now (don't take that literally) but she still has an inmate number and her sentence is not over.

She'll still need air intake to deal with the cooling issues that she'll have.

I fucking hate how my country works sometimes.

I doubt that May will end up back in gaol.  Even though their world has fuckedupnesss, it is a better world than our own.

[Zebediah]

Look, all matters of realism aside, it boils down to one thing: does Jeph want to get rid of May as a character? All signs point to no. So the odds of her going back to prison are pretty much zero. Something else will happen. I don't know how yet, but this will work out with May, Faye and Bubbles all free and clear.

[HiFranc]

If it's anything like real life, it would be "become an informant or go to jail". I hope that it doesn't go as far as it often does in the US - where informants are given quotas to fill so they end up framing / using entrapment on people they know.

[Is it cold in here?]

That's where I see this going. Detective Lilac doesn't give a single kilobyte what happens to May but does care about finding leverage to turn people into informants. May is now an easier target than Faye.

Anyone who thinks "quotas" is an exaggeration, read this: http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2015/12/press-release-60-minutes-reports-on-use.html

[Stoutfellow]

On a totally different topic: I keep trying to sing May's lines to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lookin' Out My Back Door". It works for the first couple of lines, but she goes back to "Doot doot doot" too soon.