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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

[Morituri]

Making the world a better place in the most sinister possible way....

[A small perverse otter]

There's a big difference between flirting with absurdity, becoming more fantastical, and jumping the shark.  The first two affect the tone and content of the document organically to drive the plot forward.  The last one typically refers to a single absurdity which is inconsistent with the rest of the document.

QC has frequently flirted with absurdity; in fact, Pint-Size is a absurd element in himself. It goes back and forth between the fantastic -- the trip to the Station -- and the mundane -- the whole story-line culminating in MartenAndClaire -- and does that frequently.  In this case, we started with a mundane storyline -- Faye finding a new job at a robot MMA gym and growing through it -- to a mundane conflict -- CorpseWitch's abusive and controlling behavior toward Bubbles -- to Bubbles' attempt to break free of her abuser.

Now, here's the important point about escaping victims -- they frequently try to get out through their social circle, but often can't.  Frequently, the only way out is for having someone outside to intervene. Those someone's may have their own motives -- the YWCA is a Christian organization, for instance -- but that doesn't mean they aren't helpful, and don't appear out of nowhere.

Imagine you're in the hospital after being beaten, and suddenly the doctors are thrown out and a woman in business casual comes in and says "Hi. I'm from Family and Health Services. Would you like help getting out? We can get the kids out safely -- will you accept our help?" What would that look like in an AI world?

ETA (and really important IRL): You know about those "If you or someone you know is being abused or controlled, call" signs. If you find yourself in Station's position in real life, and someone you know is being controlled or abused, call that number. Those visits from that young social worker save lives.

[de_la_Nae]

I still don't get why you're over-analysing it.

I just want to chime in and say:

YOU. Have *no* room in your glass house to throw stones about over-analysing.

I mean Jesus.

I'm not saying don't have your little back and forth, but really now, be a little genre savvy about yourself.

[de_la_Nae]

Ever since Hannelore took Marten and Marigold to outer space to celebrate her father's birthday on his very own space station, the notion that QC could ever really "jump the shark" has been meaningless.  Despite being set in a post-singularity present world similar to ours But With Robots, Jeph has always managed to keep the comic grounded despite all the weirdness.  QC can't jump the shark.  It's impossible...

...except, well, everything since Faye met Bubbles at the underground robot fighting ring has just felt like a rejected prequel storyline from Alice Grove, which is why I stopped following daily updates several months ago.  It might not jump the shark, but it's not really the QC I used to know.

While I came to slightly different conclusions, that's fair and understandable to me.

[de_la_Nae]

As someone who's written and been too many shadowy people for too many years, I can safely say that, even if They are ostensibly on the side of the angels, it doesn't make Them or what They're doing right.

[Tova]

They may not require a direct 'price' but I'd be more concerned about the 'favour' they ask for some time later in exchange for not betraying Emily to the NSA for unauthorised access of all the classified defence data in Bubbles's head.

You've kind of backtracked on this, just admit it and we can all move on.

No, they're the same thing just expressed differently. Never ask but manipulate into offering voluntarily, possibly with airily implied menaces. Oh, and act reluctant but admit that you need the favour and, if not doing the bad thing is the price then you can possibly see your way to agreeing.

If they are the same thing, only expressed differently, then the "no strings attached" promise is in fact a lie.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Jeph skips over some exposition where GreyCreep introduces Emily to the adventure she is about to embark upon. It wouldn't have told us anything new, and -of course- Emily agrees.

And thinking over GreyCreep's aversion to being in Bubbles' head, I now understand why Emily is needed here. Her mind resides in a blob of flesh, not a set of silicon chips. Her perception of Bubbles' mental landscape will be entirely different from an AI's. Traps that would cripple an AI will be no more than cobwebs for her. And the encryption? Will be like figuring out an interesting knitting pattern.

I wonder if Jeph will try to show us what Emily perceives. I think it's best if he gives us just enough suggestions to engage our own imaginations.

[Morituri]

Emily:  Oh my goodness I've never seen so many noodles!  Well, except for... no, stay on task.  Is that a porcupine?  Huh.  Four dimensional frog.  Sam ought to see that.  Oh, wait.  I have to make it jump down...  which way is down again?  Oh, that *is* helpful.  Um.  Needs some bleach.  Stupid frog.  Ummm, topographical map of the noodles?  I guess I can do that...  wait, what's that?  Um.  Deplorable Word.  S'okay, I just won't say it.  Vorstellungspoleizi?  What the heck?  Oh, here.  "Don't touch, Eschatogenic."  Huh, that's a funny word.  But it's not the Deplorable one.  Now how can I squish the frog with it without touching it?  Oh, that must be what the porcupine's for! 

If you get all the references, you win the Internet.

[Case]

What is "Voorstellungpoleizi?" supposed to mean?

At a guess, it looks like a ... somewhat strangled attempt at a literal translation of "Imagination Police" into German, with a detour into Dutch ("Voor" would be the Dutch translation of "before", the respective German translation, however, is "vor") and very shaky spelling.

German: Vorstellung - Engl.: Fantasy, Imagination - Dutch: Verbeelding

German: Polizei - Engl.: Police - Dutch: Politie

So if I permutate "Voorstellungpoleizi?" into "Vorstellungspolizei" -> That would be a neologism, meaning "Imagination-Police", or "Fantasy-Police". But the word doesn't exist in any German dictionary (which strictly speaking isn't that unusual: "German" is more of a specification than a language. We don't bat an eye at weird concatenations just because nobody has ever seen them before)

[Morituri]

Oops, yeah, sorry, that was in fact supposed to be with a single 'o' in the first syllable.  Fixed.

But "Eschatogenic" didn't make you bat an eye?

[Tova]

"Eschatogenic," if it were a real word, would be an elusive one-word googlewhack.

[Case]

Oops, yeah, sorry, that was in fact supposed to be with a single 'o' in the first syllable.  Fixed.

But "Eschatogenic" didn't make you bat an eye?

UhmmmNo? If "Eschatogenic" is supposed to mean "pertaining to/wrt. Eschatology" -> That one actually does exist in German: Eschatologisch (The Dictionary ranks it at 2/5 for frequency of use) 

(Edit: I just found out that "Eschatogenic" does not exist in English. Now that's weird ...)



Comic's up!

There definitely should be a word for "creepycutedisturbingheartwarming". Maybe "Emily"?

[Method of Madness]

So the newcomer is almost certainly not human, but...what are they?

[TheEvilDog]

Something else.

[Tova]

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the addition to the comic of what appear to be more or less omnipotent beings, but I'm happy to sit back and find out where this takes us.

[ANeM]

I fear more and more that GreyCreep was sent by Corpse Witch. Rather than unlocking Bubbles memories the intended goal here is to encrypt or erase the memories of Faye to bring her Bubbles in line.

Beyond that, I find this whole plot thread to have progressed surprisingly quickly. It has only been 20 pages since Bubbles revealed her secret.

[TheEvilDog]

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the addition to the comic of what appear to be more or less omnipotent beings, but I'm happy to sit back and find out where this takes us.

I don't see the group that AIbino belongs to as omnipotent per se, but rather they see and hear as much as the average heavily surveilled city in the Western world. Like us, the QC world exists in an increasingly digital world. Unlike us, however, there exists AI and collective Intelligentsia monitoring everything in their world. There's chatter, video feed, informants, undercovers and the list goes on. They're connected, but connected in a different way to meat-bag intelligence groups, they can literally pool together and become a gestalt entity rather than different pieces working together.

It feels more like a toned down version of Clarke's Third Law.

At least, that's how I see it.

[Tova]

I really like the idea that you've painted there, actually.

It was more their ability to cause humans in a room to snooze with a snap of the fingers, and the ability to laugh off a physical threat from Bubbles that I was referring to. I agree it's not actual omnipotence, but relative to the other beings in the room, it's an approximation.

If they are a huge gestalt entity, hive mind, or similar, then I can almost accept their ability to break Corpse Witch's encryption without breaking a sweat (or giving a mere mortal the tools to do so).

[Near Lurker]

Am I the only one reminded by Faye and Bubbles' quasi-relationship of Abel and Jyrras?

[hedgie]

Like us, the QC world exists in an increasingly digital world. Unlike us, however, there exists AI and collective Intelligentsia monitoring everything in their world. There's chatter, video feed, informants, undercovers and the list on.

You can't stop the signal, I guess.

[Gyrre]

Hmmm.... I wonder if CreepyPasty is an artificially created organic entity that's had cybernetic components interwoven with the organic components, not a traditional cyborg so much as a bio-mechanical being.

[St.Clair]

Dang.  From one great expression of Bubbles' (and Jeph's drawing of it), straight into close contact and an earnest It Has Been An Honor...

[Gyrre]

Most people seem to think the grey maybe-maybenot AI is a government agent.
Am I the only one who got an immediate vibe of Mephisto? As in Faustian deal Mephisto? Is an AI Satan a thing post-singularity?

Satan as in "Quasi-Supernatural Entity with the sole goal of ruining humanity spiritually and morally"? No. Not in SF-lit, as far as I can recall. In "serious" discussions about AI ... IDK. Off-the-cuff I'd say that judging from the one secure datapoint for intelligence that we have - ourselves - it would not be rational to expect an AI to develop into an artificial Satan (in the boundaries of the definition in my above line), for lack of human examples (I recognize that the veracity of that statement is highly dependent on one's definition of 'evil' in general, and 'sole aim' as well as 'ruin' in particular). I think 'satanic' behaviour simply "doesn't pay of", in a (very vague) game-theory sense, or in the sense of "parsimonious use of ones resources".   

The closest I can recall is the Eschaton in Charlie Stross' Singularity Sky - but that's more like a dialed-up Skynet that believes in the principle of applying the minimum of violence necessary to protect itself from humanity meddling with causality in its historic lightcone. Where "minimum violence" can include a planetary civilisation violating it's commandment suddenly finding itself in the path of a city-sized asteroid.

Not strictly speaking evil, but terribly, terribly ... un-empathetic.

Depending on the theologist you talk to, humanity falls more into the category of 'collateral damage' or 'a means to an end', with Lucifer's/Satan's/the devil's primary goal being to make God sad/unhappy.
So, definitely extremely unempathetic if that's the case.

As for human examples; there's some very wealthy very amoral/immoral people out there amongst the 1%ers.


EDIT: I somehow butchered 'collateral' as 'colatoral'

[Morituri]

If "Eschatogenic" is supposed to mean "pertaining to/wrt. Eschatology" -> That one actually does exist in German: Eschatologisch Dictionary ranks it at 2/5 for frequency of use

Ah, no.  I understand, but in English "-genic" means "cause of" or "starter" and "-logical" means "about" or "pertaining to."

So, according to English word construction rules (inherited from German but rarely so enthusiastic about it) the horsemen of the apocalypse, or possibly Donald Trump once he gets his finger on The Button, would be "Eschatogenists"  but a professor specializing in end-of-the-world scenarios would be an "Eschatologist." 

Something labeled "Eschatogenic, do not touch" has an implication that fooling with it could end the world.

[Tova]

I'm going out on a limb here, but perhaps it could also mean the last gene. 

[brasca]

I fear more and more that GreyCreep was sent by Corpse Witch. Rather than unlocking Bubbles memories the intended goal here is to encrypt or erase the memories of Faye to bring her Bubbles in line.

Beyond that, I find this whole plot thread to have progressed surprisingly quickly. It has only been 20 pages since Bubbles revealed her secret.

If Uptown Envy really works for Corpse Witch then she is definitely more than meets the eye.  I could imagine that she's similar to other human criminals who look like ordinary people, but run a vast criminal enterprise like The Wire's Proposition Joe or The Soprano's Uncle Junior.  She might just be, but I don't think she's on the same level as who our mysterious stranger represents. 

Perhaps Corpse Witch used to work for them which might explain another reason for helping Bubbles.  I've likened this stranger to Fullmetal Alchemist's Envy and maybe Corpse Witch is the equivalent of Greed. 

Regarding vomiting that's one thing an AI is not missing and an experience I'd be more than happy to eliminate if I could upgrade out of my mortal coil. 

[Is it cold in here?]

I still don't get why you're over-analysing it.

Over-analyzing things is fun!

[Is it cold in here?]

I fear more and more that GreyCreep was sent by Corpse Witch. Rather than unlocking Bubbles memories the intended goal here is to encrypt or erase the memories of Faye to bring her Bubbles in line.

Beyond that, I find this whole plot thread to have progressed surprisingly quickly. It has only been 20 pages since Bubbles revealed her secret.

Welcome, new person!

That would be darker than we're used to, but Jeph does seem to be trying new things.

Bubbles with her memories back, active PTSD, and her current chassis could easily go in dark directions as well if Albino Creepatron is on the level.

[BenRG]

That was a sweet little moment between Faye and Bubbles. Jeph has been doing a very good job telling a story of a friendship between them that has been only good for both parties. I can hear the shippers going 'Squeee!' from my seat here!

That aside, that was a lovely bit of Emily and a reminder of just how strange and different her perception of the universe and of life can be. She really, really needs a close friend dogging her steps and making sure that she doesn't ever injure herself in pursuit of an 'intense experience'. The time she hit Bubbles with a hammer indicates that, whilst intelligent, she doesn't have much common sense when it comes to things like that!

Hmmm.... I wonder if CreepyPasty is an artificially created organic entity that's had cybernetic components interwoven with the organic components, not a traditional cyborg so much as a bio-mechanical being.

That's my feeling, yes. Something like the Gen-3 Synths from Fallout 4 - A human-like chassis made of synthetically-created biological components seamlessly merged with electronic components to enable the AIs to operate through the cereberal cortex. A true android, as it is frequently described in golden-age sci-fi rather than the cruder 'meat over a metal frame' form that was popularised in The Terminator or the 'pre-programmed clone' from Blade Runner. I can honestly hearing the dev team for that chassis telling a sceptical Dr Elicott-Chatham that this represents 'the next evolutionary step of AI and human alike'.

[Gyrre]

I suppose Jeph introduced Agent Peroxide and the whole "almost omnipotent AI"-stuff to get Emily into Bubbles brain as soon as possible. Maybe he got tired of all this drama and hoplesness. After a few days thinking about it, I´m fine with this.
And I love Agent Peroxide. Come to think of it, maybe he uses the "we" because he´s not an independet AI of his own, but rather a drone, a representation of one or more of those friggin´powerful AI´s themselves. 

So I suppose (or rather hope) we´ll get a loog inside Bubbles brain. Can´t wait for this to happen. What will it look like? Something in manga-style is a good guess I think.
Or maybe Its something like Gunnerkrigg Court: New Data:
http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1599
Or a real classic: Doonesbury: The Return to Reagans Brain (1987):
http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1987/03/23

Huuh, I can´t wait. 

TM

TRON is the obvious one, so I'll mention Kabuki Quantum Fighter.

[Storel]

Oops, yeah, sorry, that was in fact supposed to be with a single 'o' in the first syllable.  Fixed.

So you caught the Voor -> Vor correction, but missed the Poleizi -> Polizei one? Interesting blind spot... 

Also, when Emily said "You should try it sometime! It's a very intense experience", my first thought was "Vomiting or hugging?" I'm still not 100% sure she means vomiting, but it's definitely more likely...

[Tova]

Vomiting certainly is intense. And it does usually feel better when you stop.

[Method of Madness]

Oh, she absolutely meant vomiting.

[Zebediah]

Vomiting certainly is intense. And it does usually feel better when you stop.

Even when you strain an abdominal muscle in the process. Which I've done. 

That was a sweet little moment between Faye and Bubbles. Jeph has been doing a very good job telling a story of a friendship between them that has been only good for both parties. I can hear the shippers going 'Squeee!' from my seat here!

Because you are their king, Ben! You were squeeing the loudest of all and you know it! 

That's my feeling, yes. Something like the Gen-3 Synths from Fallout 4 - A human-like chassis made of synthetically-created biological components seamlessly merged with electronic components to enable the AIs to operate through the cereberal cortex. A true android, as it is frequently described in golden-age sci-fi rather than the cruder 'meat over a metal frame' form that was popularised in The Terminator or the 'pre-programmed clone' from Blade Runner. I can honestly hearing the dev team for that chassis telling a sceptical Dr Elicott-Chatham that this represents 'the next evolutionary step of AI and human alike'.

Skeptical? You honestly think Dr. E-C would be skeptical of an advancement like that? It's more like the ultimate goal he's been working towards.

[ronbo]

That was a sweet little moment between Faye and Bubbles. Jeph has been doing a very good job telling a story of a friendship between them that has been only good for both parties. I can hear the shippers going 'Squeee!' from my seat here!

I was late the the shipping party, but it crept in there.  "Just friends" don't do panel two.  Cupping her face in her hands while staring intently in her eyes at an up close and personal distance is straight up "I love you in a Harlequin romance kinda way."

[JimC]

Vomiting certainly is intense. And it does usually feel better when you stop.

I get migraines, and for many years the course of them was that I'd feel worse and worse, headache would be more and more intense, then I'd throw up and that was a signal that the worst was over and I'd soon be feeling better. So the vomiting was positively welcome!

[Case]

Vomiting certainly is intense. And it does usually feel better when you stop.

I don't feel like it should be a verb at all - if anything, it feels more like 'being made to vomit' (or being 'wrung out', if you had a bad oyster ...).

Then and again, the same applies to 'falling' - little choice involved, either - however, it feels wrong-ish for your body to so blatantly ignore your wishes in the matter. 

Ah, no.  I understand, but in English "-genic" means "cause of" or "starter" and "-logical" means "about" or "pertaining to."
...
Something labeled "Eschatogenic, do not touch" has an implication that fooling with it could end the world.

Ah, yes! -genic, not -logic (Haw! Haw!). Like in 'mutagenic'. No, German doesn't have a world like 'eschatogenic'. It does have (the) Weltvernichtungsmaschine (World-annihilation-machine), courtesy of Stanley Kubrik.

[theMarc]

*sigh*

Alright, I guess I'm enlisting as a crew member of the Faye/Bubbles ship.

[Method of Madness]

Ehh...I just don't see it. It's not out of line, but I remain unconvinced.

[Neko_Ali]

It is possible to be very close friends with someone without there being romance involved. That said, there has been plenty of body language from Bubbles that Faye's more casually hands on moments are flustering to Bubbles, but not unwelcome. That could be an indication of attraction toward Faye. Or it could be that Bubbles is just unused to such displays and doesn't know how to deal with them. She doesn't do the 'blush and avert eyes' when Hanners hugs her though. Just for Faye. So it's entirely possible that Bubbles feels some attraction to Faye beyond friendship.

On the other hand, Faye has shown no such reactions. Or any kind of attraction to women, human or AI. Bubbles is a good friend though, and Faye is fiercely loyal to her friends. So none of what she has done For or to Bubbles has been out of character, or outside the sort of thing she's done with Marten, Dora or Hanners. None of whom does she have an attraction to. They're more family to her than anything else.

[TinPenguin]

If you have led a life without close personal friendship (even though her fallen squad were dear to her, I don't think it is the same), then when you make your first true friend, you will friend hard.

[Case]

It is possible to be very close friends with someone without there being romance involved. That said, there has been plenty of body language from Bubbles that Faye's more casually hands on moments are flustering to Bubbles, but not unwelcome. That could be an indication of attraction toward Faye. Or it could be that Bubbles is just unused to such displays and doesn't know how to deal with them. She doesn't do the 'blush and avert eyes' when Hanners hugs her though. Just for Faye. So it's entirely possible that Bubbles feels some attraction to Faye beyond friendship.

That's what I see in her body-language, too - though I'd add that it appears to me that Bubbles might be trying to 'sublimate' a (possible) attraction by designating Faye a special status as 'honored comrade'; a position of trust, respect and closeness that she had previously only experienced within the squad she lost, and had reserved for her squadmates. Her 'potentially last words' to Faye are a bit at odds with the intimate gesture that accompanies them.

Also, Bubbles is pretty sharp and 'wordly' - I wouldn't be surprised if she'd interpreted Faye's physical affections as 'I'm happy to have a friend again' rather than physical attraction. Whether she's attracted to Faye or not, regaining a close bond similar to that which she had shared with her squad might be her highest priority.

I guess one could regard both of them as part orphans in a way - both lost (part of) their 'family' suddenly and violently, both may be seeking bonds to intensely loyal people that give them back a feeling of security they had lost.

If you have led a life without close personal friendship (even though her fallen squad were dear to her, I don't think it is the same), then when you make your first true friend, you will friend hard.

True - but if the closest you ever got to 'friend' and 'family' was a military unit (and there's many reports from soldiers who said those bonds are even closer, and more intense), then someone as fiercely loyal as Faye probably fits your mold like ... a thing that fits another thing that ...(*) even better.

(*) In the Rhenish 'dialect' of German, there's the expression "Passt wie Arsch auf Eimer" ("Fits like Butt on Bucket (Toiletseat)") - but I think that may ruin ze cutes

[Kugai]

Either Agent Creepy is that cynical or she's using cynicism to cover for 'The Feels'.

And

DANG!!

The feels
The feels

[Akima]

Not even a gesture at seeking Emily's consent for something that could leave her with nightmares at the very least.

Equally, no indication of compulsion, and Emily seems to put the headband on voluntarily with a "Neat! Okay!", so maybe that happened "off screen". Honestly, would anyone expect Emily even to hesitate to perform a risky brain-dive? She's got the mind-set of a smokejumper.

True - but if the closest you ever got to 'friend' and 'family' was a military unit (and there's many reports from soldiers who said those bonds are even closer, and more intense), then someone as fiercely loyal as Faye probably fits your mold like ... a thing that fits another thing that ...(*) even better.

Mmm... Given that Bubbles was designed to be a member of a combat team, Faye's loyalty and pugnacity might resonate strongly. Faye and Bubbles are 同袍 (tóngpáo), which means both comrade-in-arms and intimate friend, and I can't think of an English word that means quite the same thing.

[Tova]

Either Agent Creepy is that cynical or she's using cynicism to cover for 'The Feels'.

It's possible, though by no means certain, that Agent Creepy Hive Mind know Bubbles will be perfectly fine, and are thus completely unmoved by all the (unnecessary from their perspective) emotion on display.

[Storel]

Either Agent Creepy is that cynical or she's using cynicism to cover for 'The Feels'.

It's possible, though by no means certain, that Agent Creepy Hive Mind know Bubbles will be perfectly fine, and are thus completely unmoved by all the (unnecessary from their perspective) emotion on display.

Seems like it would be hard to know that without already knowing what's in Bubbles's head, which Agent We can't know since they haven't yet looked in there (and professed revulsion at the notion of doing so themselves). Unless they are really damned certain that their inductive interface's tools (plus Emily's talents?) are capable of preventing any damage from anything so primitive that Corpse Witch would have access to it. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeph ends up shaking Agent We's confidence a tad by having CW's boobytraps turn out to be unexpectedly tricky.

[St.Clair]

It is possible to be very close friends with someone without there being romance involved.

One of my personal peeves, for a while now, is the tendency of fandom - all fandom, in general - to devalue and dismiss close, intimate but platonic friendship in favor of romantic and/or sexual love.

[Neko_Ali]

It's not even just in fandom either. Plenty of people treat others in real life like that. If you have two people who are close and aren't related then they must be either sleeping together or attracted to each other.  Nobody is allowed to be just friends  unless you maintain a society-approved level of detachment.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I blame Hollywood. Quick and lazy way to show two are close.

People have made so many different names for GreyCreep! Who may not even have a name.

Morituri's idea of Emily's Bizarre Adventure is delightful. While others try to think outside the box, Emily thinks outside the Solar System.

And dang! Weekend cliffhanger!

[Celly]

I am calling them Legion and my theory is that they are Grey Goo.

Not an individual, they are a hivemind of billions of nanobots, thinking and working together.  They've taken (in the immediate present) the form of a humanoid for the purpose of interaction on a macro level.

Their shape and their speech (indicated by the round bubble) very closely approximates that of a living organism, because they aren't a bucket of servos and muscle fibers, but billions of tiny nanobots, so they can be a far more perfect approximation.

They can disable people by touch because the nanobots quickly invade the target's body to shut down whatever particular neurons are necessary to knock someone out (in this case, without killing them, though they absolutely could kill if they wanted to).

They've been in hiding because people would freak out and probably blow an EMP, since they are literally (in this form at least) a walking end-of-the-world scenario - but they aren't motivated to wipe out the world, by whatever lucky happenstance.  Station knew how to contact them, however, and sent them to help.  Perhaps Orbital Railgun Justice is what is keeping Legion in line, that much I wouldn't know.  But it's pretty clear to me that Legion is a case of Grey Goo, which would absolutely be a reasonable thing to exist in a post-singularity world.