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Dinner with Beatrice

A date with someone

She's going to the Church of Gary!

Her Evil Twin Sister is marrying someone (!) and she's going to sit at the back of the chapel

She's helping Arthur out at the Self-Help Group and she likes to look professional

She's agreed to chaperone Brun and Elliott

She's agreed to chaperone Clinton and Emily (I doubt it would be anything anyone would recognise as a date!)

She's wearing a pullover to teach Bubbles how to pull off the cardigan look

She's meeting a venture capitalist to get start-up cash for the cleaning business she wants to start with Brun

Other

[Zebediah]

I'm not putting my money down on this new character being female yet. Almost literally nothing is about them, a very androgynous appearance and 'they' pronoun just doesn't reveal anything. Which may just be the way this new person likes it.

When I first saw today's strip I was reminded of some of David Bowie's more androgynous incarnations.

Given the weird skin and eye color, I'm thinking this must be a robot with an extremely high-end chassis who thinks that human gender polarity is absurd and refuses to embrace it.

[BenRG]

This is someone who represents something far more important or threatening to an AI than a vicious criminal like Corpse Witch or a petty officer like Rocco Basilisk. We don´t know enough about how Jeph ist imagining the whole AI stuff to jump to any conclusions. But I´m imagining some kind of Authority (notice the capital letter) which has power over AI´s and of which they have reason to respect it and even be afraid of.

This is basically what I was thinking when I speculated that the Agent works for ECR as part of a supara-legal special 'damage control' team that handles runaway, renegade or criminal AIs in a way that minimises the company's legal exposure and public embarrassment.

[Neko_Ali]

Bubs will have to make a decision right now! And Agent Peroxide seems very sure that she will...

Actually, from the brief sentence given, I get the impression that the decision has already been made for Bubbles. At best it's a 'Here's a one time offer. I can unlock your memories right here, right now if you help us do something. The offer ends when I walk out the door.'. Either that or the decision has already been made and this person is just here to inform Bubbles what is going to happen next.

[Timemaster]

Woooh, I´m suddenly getting a Pulp Fiction vibe here. 

What if Someone is really pissed off by this situation and has sent a cleaner to take care of it.
Now.
Once and for all.

The question: is Agent Peroxide Vincent Vega (John Travolta) or rather The Wolf (Harvey Keitel)? The suit would be appropriate for both of them.
I´d rather go for the latter. 

TM

[BenRG]

"What Stanley Bubbles heard astounded her! Did she not have free will? Did she not have choice in this matter? Unfortunately, as she considered the matter, Stanley Bubbles found herself wondering if all her supposedly 'free' choices had ultimately been illusory and whether instead she'd been trapped in someone else's story all the time!"

Bubbles, a word of advice: You need to go down the right hand corridor.

[Storel]

Stanley?

[pwhodges]

The Stanley Parable, I presume.

[Storel]

Interesting. Thanks!

[Timemaster]

Five seconds after Bubbles has made her decision and Agent Peroxide has left CoD to get into action.

Faye:
Who the fuck was that?

Bubbles:
[Remains silent, looks to the ground.]

Hanners:
I have a bad feeling about this.

Faye:
Come on, Bubs, you know you can trust me. Who was that?

Bubbles:
[without looking up]
Since the singularity happened, a network of powerful AI´s is forming all around the world. Every AI is aware of it every second of our existence, though we have no means of contacting them. Their abilitys are beyond my knowledge, though they are not known to have meddled with the affairs of humans or earthbound AI´s. But simply knowing they exist, but not knowing what they´re up to fills us with unease and dread. This guy was a representative of that network, I´m absolutely sure.
I think human scientists are aware of this and even work with that network. They surely have a name for it, but I don´t know it. But rumors have spread amongst us, that those AI´s refer to themselves as "Praeses".

Dora:
Praises? I think Skynet would be more appropriate.
[shivers]

[gprimr1]

I'm putting my money on Station "asking his friends" got back to the robomob.

Think of what's contained in Bubble's mind. Not just the questionably legal activity of the memory encoding, but all of the robot fights, possibly the names and/or faces of people who have been at the fights, if Station had worked on her mind, he might have been able to make a copy of this.

I see this as more of a shake down situation, taken from Law and Order. A victim is considering testifying, an enforcer from a gang or organized crime pays the victim a visit to remind them the cost of testifying.

Here's a question I haven't seen anyone post.

Assuming that my theory is correct and this new character is in fact an enforcer or underboss or otherwise a criminal agent, does this strain the already strained relationship with Dora now that Faye has indirectly involved Coffee Of Doom.

[jwhouk]

In case no one picked it up, the eyes are distinctly like that of the lead character of another comic that Jeph draws... when she is upset and/or triggered.

[cesium133]

Here I was hoping that link was to DORD.

[A small perverse otter]

We know that somebody arrested May, yes? I wonder if someone from that team is about to have a...conversation...with Corpse Witch.

I mean, I don't know about you, but I'd think that a visit from the ABC (AI Bureau of Compliance) would be a true nightmare for someone like her...

[Kugai]

"Who are you?"

"My dear, I work for the Master AI in this region  My name is Sedna, Agent Sedna, and all you and your squishy little Human friend have to know is that I'm on your side."




Dun Dun DUNNNNNNNNNNN!!

[osaka]

Huh, so that's what Station meant with "Orbital Railgun Justice" after all.

[Method of Madness]

Here I was hoping that link was to DORD.

I forgot about DORD. I miss DORD.

[brasca]

Woooh, I´m suddenly getting a Pulp Fiction vibe here. 

What if Someone is really pissed off by this situation and has sent a cleaner to take care of it.
Now.
Once and for all.

The question: is Agent Peroxide Vincent Vega (John Travolta) or rather The Wolf (Harvey Keitel)? The suit would be appropriate for both of them.
I´d rather go for the latter. 

TM

The Wolf wore a tuxedo, Vincent just wore a black suit and tie. 

I'm thinking Proto Gavia represents a third faction that's not with the government.  Bubbles is an easy enough AI to find so if the government wanted her back they could locate her without too much trouble.  This mysterious group might be interested in the memories that Bubbles had suppressed and willing to help get it back, but the price will be getting a copy.  There is also the added moral price of sharing information with a sinister looking group.   

[Perfectly Reasonable]

... In French, it is called "un sac de noeuds" (a bag of knots. Alternately, it can also be understood as a bag of dicks, because noeuds is also slang for dicks... Never mind that interpretation...).

Cool. And you might check out the Completely Useless Broom Made Entirely Out Of Dicks which used to be a Thing around here.

[Method of Madness]

Now I'm really curious what this person is.

[WareWolf]

One thing that I'm finding particularly ominous about Pale Agent is that they have no compunction about disabling a human, even temporarily, with some kind of stun-touch. That's a  line I don't think I've seen an AI cross in this universe, except in self defense. PA does it nonchalantly and apparently steps over Faye's body to talk to Bubbles. That's a level of dismissiveness, even contempt, toward us meat-sacks that does not bode well.

Also, they use the word "puissant."  Never trust anyone who uses the word "puissant."

I'm leaning toward the theory of some highly advanced group of AI's, so far advanced in fact that they're indistinguishable from gods.  Luckily for us, they're so fast and deep in their thinking that  they barely interact with this plane at all. But now someone's got their attention. And there are some gods whose attention you do NOT want. Wake up screaming indeed. 

[jheartney]

I've been imagining Graymarm's dialogue spoken in the voice of HIM from the Powerpuff Girls. It works rather well. The gestures and manner from the comic suggest the same sort of androgynous and extravagant sleaze, coupled with arrogant privilege.

[Neko_Ali]

So... Not government or any kind of official agent it seems. I'm getting a vibe that they are part of an Anonymous sort of group of super hackers. Criminals, and not really either white hats or black hats. Just people who really hate rules and abuses of power.

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Word of God is that QC and Alice Grove don't take place in the same universe, so any similarities between Ms. Ghost and Alice are merely coincidence.

[Method of Madness]

Unless they're not coincidence, and Jeph just doesn't want to spoil anything.

[Mehre]

Is Station one of those elders(although i dont think he can be considered less puissant)? If yes then she is either representative of some (if not all) or she is one of them. That would be similar to some theories from last week.

Other than that said elders can be Hanners or CW, both of which are highly unlikely.

[killien]

I really hope that Bubbles doesn't make a deal with Mr/Ms Morden

[hedgie]

I really hope that Bubbles doesn't make a deal with Mr/Ms Morden

What *do* you want?

[Carl-E]

Elders? 


Gary??

[St.Clair]

and now I am definitely hearing the Rolling Stones.

[Case]

Hmmmmh - This comic kinda reminded me of a group of (Space)ship-AI's in one novel of Ian Banks' Culture-cycle, the so-called 'Interesting Times Gang'. Sort of the good guys (of the 'Veteran Special Forces'-variety), but ... you wouldn't always know from the way they operated.

[hedgie]

and now I am definitely hearing the Rolling Stones.

As was I. My first thought upon seeing the new visitor was "wow, looks like Desire from Sandman".  Then they actually spoke, and made me think "robot devil".  Actually, the more this goes on, the more I lean towards the latter interpretation.

[Rincewind]

Bubbles is VERY not-amused. I don't think I (or any other mortal entity) would want to be on the receiving end of that glare.

[Mad Cat]

Plan A: All's normal, hope in time CW ponies up the correct encryption keys and the memories are unlocked without any further mental booby trappage.

Plan B: Binary Bedevilry from a Buddy's orbitting Brain.

Plan C: Compact Corpse Witch into a tin Can.

I forgot:

Plan D: Deus ex Machinery

[jwhouk]

and now I am definitely hearing the Rolling Stones.

Funny, I had that same thought.

[David F]

Elders? 


Gary??

I was thinking that.  Or maybe someone figured out the networked AI problem...  Bubbles seemed to think of it as a nightmare scenario, and whoever-this-is keeps using 'we' in a way that suggests it may be referring to a collective... I suppose jumping from collective to collective mind is a stretch.

[Timemaster]

Well, this goes pretty much the way I was imagining. So Agent Peroxide really represents some mysterious and powerful entity, that suddenly took interest in Bubbles dilemma. But now here´s the bonus question: according to the fact that there is no free lunch, why do they really want to help her? And far more important, what is the price she´ll have to pay for it?
I suppose to have to live with her memories is rather a side effect than the price...

Anyway, this whole developement seem to be a classic deus ex machina and I must admit that I´m not a big fan of that. When there´s drama, it should be somehow resolved by the protagonists. The drama can turn out to be a comedy or a tragedy, but either way it´s their own story. Now this kinda becomes the story of someone else.

TM

[BenRG]

Well, the question that Bubbles should have asked (indeed the only question that matters) is: "What is the price?" When something like this turns up, you need to wonder just what the nature of this 'favour' will be.

Now, it's quite possible that Alucard's boss/controller is acting purely out of altruism because it hates someone playing with sentient minds and that Alucard is just a particularly unpleasant personality that shouldn't affect our perception of her employer. However, that's something that would be too good to be true. When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. I certainly wouldn't trust someone who let Alucard walk around uncontrolled play around with the inside of my head.

A Deus ex Machina, certainly... but possibly a Dark God.

P.S.: No matter how bad these guys might be for Bubbles, I think that we can already see that they'll be much worse for Corpse Witch.

Bubbles is VERY not-amused. I don't think I (or any other mortal entity) would want to be on the receiving end of that glare.

The fact that Alucard doesn't care gives us a disturbing insight into just how powerful her sponsor is.

[Gyrre]

This is a strange appearence indeed. Agent Peroxide shows up like being beamed in from the USS Enterprise. Notice that he/she stands behind Faye in the third panel. How did he/she (or maybe it?) get there without her taking notice?

I´m still wondering about the "waking up screaming" part. So it represents something which is like a nightmare or some kind of bogeyman to AI´s. I don´t think this is a kind of mobster or a federal agent of some sort. This is someone who represents something far more important or threatening to an AI than a vicious criminal like Corpse Witch or a petty officer like Rocco Basilisk. We don´t know enough about how Jeph ist imagining the whole AI stuff to jump to any conclusions. But I´m imagining some kind of Authority (notice the capital letter) which has power over AI´s and of which they have reason to respect it and even be afraid of.
Maybe Station telling his collegues has brought this affair to the notice of someone who is far more powerful and doesn´t like it at all. Maybe The Authority (I like this already) objects to bubbles memories beeing partitioned away. Or she knows something which must not get into the wrong hands. CW´s for example. Bubs will have to make a decision right now! And Agent Peroxide seems very sure that she will...
 
But all of this is speculation. I suppose tomorrow we´ll all know a lot more.

Can´t wait:
TM

I think they're unscrupulously interested in the immediate effects  of partitioned traumatic memories having said partion removed. I'd wager that 'Peroxide boogie' here will wish for Bubbles to remain 'under observation' for some period of time once the partition is removed.

[Is it cold in here?]

I really hope that Bubbles doesn't make a deal with Mr/Ms Morden

Welcome, new person!

Following up on BenRG's thoughts, put together Agent Creepatron's indifference to Bubbles's glare and zir willingness to casually paralyze a friend of Bubbles in front of her. I wouldn't do that even if I had a fresh backup in the cloud and a spare chassis.

Agent Creep-a-tron is signaling a serious lack of ethics. If Bubbles decides amnesia is better than a deal with someone like AC then I will support her decision.

[BenRG]

I'm just back from the Subreddit where one of the posters made a point that was very wise and very worrying.

Do you remember all those 'hypothetical' talks Bubbles and Faye had about intelligences without consciousness and the bad things that the Singularity could bring both to humans and synthetics alike? I'm thinking that Alucard's ultimate boss (no matter the nature of that control) may be one of those nightmare intelligences that is different enough from human in thought and motivation to act in a way and towards goals that bode no good for anyone in order to achieve an end state that it has chosen for purely and coldly logical reasons that it regards as 'optimum' in its own analysis of reality.

In other words, Bubbles is talking (at one remove) to an intelligence that is pretty much the QC version of Skynet, Colossus or, worse yet, AM.

[oddtail]

Anyway, this whole developement seem to be a classic deus ex machina and I must admit that I´m not a big fan of that. When there´s drama, it should be somehow resolved by the protagonists. The drama can turn out to be a comedy or a tragedy, but either way it´s their own story. Now this kinda becomes the story of someone else.

Yeah, I am not crazy about the Deus Ex Machina, either. The new character* is super cool and I want to see him/her more, but the introduction was kinda iffy to me.

I wonder if paralysing Faye was the new character's disregard for her and Woland just didn't care, or perhaps it was a calculated move to show "see? I can do awesome things" to lead more credibility to the offer. I suppose we'll know when we see the plot develop and we know the new arrival's personality better.



*I'm gonna call him/her "Woland" in my head, I have absolutely no idea why, but she reminds me of the "Master and Margarita" character with her attitude, if not looks, and people in the forum are already drawing comparisons to Satan, so I'm gonna go with that.

[zmeiat_joro]

Hmmmmh - This comic kinda reminded me of a group of (Space)ship-AI's in one novel of Ian Banks' Culture-cycle, the so-called 'Interesting Times Gang'. Sort of the good guys (of the 'Veteran Special Forces'-variety), but ... you wouldn't always know from the way they operated.

There's also the fact that they used the word "brainfucker" which is parallel to "meatfucker" in the Culture novels.

[JimC]

Out of the frying pan, into the white Hot blast furnace is a phrase that occurs to me...

[BenRG]

Here's one possibility that I've sketched out in my head of where things might go for the rest of the week:

Wednesday
Alucard continues to push Bubbles, who makes it very clear that she doesn't trust her. When Faye chimes in and demands to know 'the price', Alucard paralyses her voice-box. She then hits Bubbles with something about 'not worrying about other's opinions when your desires are so easy to achieve' and 'setting yourself free of all other concerns except your own self-actualisation'.

Bubbles punches her head off. Literally punches her head off (the bits inside look a lot like the inside of a Aliens-verse androids).

Thursday
Starts with a progressive sequence of panels of Alucard walking over to her head and picking it up. Her completely functional head then makes a crack about "that's the spirit we were hoping for!"

Bubbles is settling a panic-stricken Faye on her chair as Alucard tries to press more of Bubbles's buttons, acknowledging that her 'employer' may require 'a favour' in the future but that ultimately, whatever they want to do, Bubbles will enjoy. There are many benefits to working with them.

"If you really do like her so much, we can even arrange that for you... her collar and leash thrown in for free, if you're into that sort of thing!"

There is a shout of "That is ENOUGH!" from off-panel. The last panel is Hannelore glaring at Alucard

Friday
Alucard and Hannelore are facing off. Alucard insists that this does not involve her and calls her 'Daughter of the Creator'. Hannelore tells Alucard that she 'isn't welcome here' and orders her to leave. When Alucard sneers that she doesn't obey orders from 'the likes of her', Hannelore responds thus:

"Unit Bravo-Three-Dash-Six-Six, One-Delta-Slash-Six-Niner-Five! Master Override; reset to factory settings, authorisation One, Lima, India, Six, Two..."

"NO!" Alucard looks terrified. "Very well; this location is off-limits." She turns back to Bubbles. "Just remember, Bubbles; we are the only way you can get what you want. Everything that you want. Just consider what price you pay for your ethics." Then she fades out of existence.

Next week will be a Hannelore exposition dump about the direction some AIs have gone in post-Singularity.

[zmeiat_joro]

Come to think of it, if this is a cross between the Endless and the Interesting Times Gang, that would be very interesting.

[JimC]

It also occurs to me that a rational response from Bubbles (other than scepticism as to whether than can really do what they say) would be:
"Thankyou very much. I don't wish those memories back now, but I do need to know they are potentially accessible if I do need them. Now you have freed me so I can act ethically, thank you again".
She can then return to the warehouse, let CW know that her lever no longer has power, and continue as before, without destroying the place for those disadvantaged robots who depend on it.

[ZoeB]

I'm leaning toward the theory of some highly advanced group of AI's, so far advanced in fact that they're indistinguishable from gods.  Luckily for us, they're so fast and deep in their thinking that  they barely interact with this plane at all. But now someone's got their attention. And there are some gods whose attention you do NOT want. Wake up screaming indeed.

Yes-ish.
Taking them at their word ( and trust but verify here...)

They're young and powerful - station and colleagues are "less puissant elders".

Stuff that happens is beneath their notice, like who cares what sides kindergarteners pick in games, as long as they play nice. Anything less than Yog Sothoth is bush league at best. Nyarlothep they are on speaking terms with, so us lesser mortals don't need to worry about Talents accidentally summoning Elder Gods in class.

But someone did something against their Religion. Sanctity of Mind is kind of a Big Deal to them. Possibly because someone tried changing theirs once, without their permission.

Before accepting, Station needs to be consulted. They might just be obnoxious script kiddies (who are AIs with the power of Skynet etc). But if he verifies that yes, the Arisians have taken notice just because of this sore religious point, if it was just a city beng nuked, a star novaing or a universe being extinguished, they'd ignore it as of little consequence. They transcended, through the singularity and out the other side, so have more important things to worry about.

Like integrity of mind.

Expect this to be the last time they ever interact with humanity and this one of the cradles that birthed them millions of seconds ago as we count time. Except to keep Elder Gods etc from throwing tantrums.

There have been lots of signs and portents that something is behind the scenes ensuring the playful innocence of the QCverse. Something that can be ignored.

[Shjade]

Do you remember all those 'hypothetical' talks Bubbles and Faye had about intelligences without consciousness and the bad things that the Singularity could bring both to humans and synthetics alike? I'm thinking that Alucard's ultimate boss (no matter the nature of that control) may be one of those nightmare intelligences that is different enough from human in thought and motivation to act in a way and towards goals that bode no good for anyone in order to achieve an end state that it has chosen for purely and coldly logical reasons that it regards as 'optimum' in its own analysis of reality.

A couple of people have brought this up. I don't see it: the kind of entity they were talking about there is so far removed from interactions as petty as one individual blackmailing another with memory access that I can't fathom a motive for one to get involved, much less for its involvement to be this directly provocative and, well, human in form. (Right down to claiming a "sentimental streak." How often has that not been a thin excuse for ulterior motives?)

None of this reads like "transcendent tech hivemind" behavior to me.

[BenRG]

They are still part of the wider world and they still need to (on occasion) work with these lesser creatures, no matter how different they are in mind and perspective, just because they occasionally need to order the wider world in favour of their own purposes. However, these difference is such that they really have serious trouble in interpreting the wider world and interacting with it. For that reason, they were foresighted enough to arrange Agents and Contacts, beings that are able to carry out their errands because they think in the right way and those who owe them favours who can later be used to carry out certain modifications to the physical reality of the world.

For the Agents come abilities and privileges that most biologicals and synthetics can't imagine. For the Contacts, there are the nightmares of what the 'favour in return' will be.

For an idea of how I'm thinking: This is a Person of Interest parallel. Alucard is like the cyber-cultist Root; Bubbles is a Person of Interest (and a potential Asset); Alucard's Sponsor is The Machine. Have you ever seen The Machine's analysis of Root's likely fate (there are screencaps on the 'Net)? It's a very, very alien analysis of a human life that clearly indicates The Machine regards its human collaborators as almost part of its extended system rather than distinct individuals.

Alucard's Sponsor is playing a long game to align the universe into the shape it wants. It's analysis of what this requires is probably incomprehensible to a human but Bubbles regaining her access to her memories is one of the nodes that must be passed to achieve that end.

[Akima]

Robo-persons-of-ambiguous-gender-presentation in Black? I certainly don't think I'd want to be anyone they'd decided was a "filthy little brainfucker". One gets the impression that the AI community polices itself fairly ruthlessly. One of the reasons I've always found the Terminator movies a little unsatisfying is the idea that a truly super-intelligent AI would need to resort to anything as crude as nuclear war.

But yes... this is in danger of introducing a Deus Ex Machina just as much as having Hanners or Station break the encryption etc.