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Imagine if you will, a sugar cube...

Recreation of the "Puny God" scene from the Avengers.

Nothing. Bubbles Honor Code will prevent her from disintegrating her.

She lets Faye go to town on her chassis.

"It's a small world aaaaaa-fter all!..."

Tuned into a waffle maker.

Space Ham?

Purple Monkey AI-run Dishwasher!

...Yes, I'm a Patreon subscriber, why do you ask?

[Doc]

Wooh, the Dream family are Agents of S.Q.U.I.D.!

[USS Martenclaire]

Interesting. Bubble's rather cryptic comment lends fuel to a train of thought I had about Creepybot.

It's curious to note that the AIs we've seen havent shown much interest in their own development. Supposing an AI did and suppose that AI had recursive development of that interest, constantly building their intelligence and evolving.

Such behaviour would account for Creepybot's intelligence and awareness....and it would also account for why sanctity of mind is so important for them.

[HiFranc]

[...]

Faye is back to where she was around 2902: at loose ends, looking for work and trying to stay sober. Now with a Large Metal Friend.

She's more confident now and more accepting of life.  I agree with others that she and Bubbles may decide to open their own company.

[BenRG]

Codename: SQUID

Sapient
Quantum
Universe
Intelligence
Derivation

It ticks all the technobabble boxes. It's meaningless but sounds technical super-sciencey to the lay reader and that is what is important in pulp sci-fi!

[JimC]

super-sciencey [snip] pulp sci-fi!

Dammit BenRG, have I slipped back to the 1930s? Even I wasn't born then...

But yes, the squid analogy was a lovely way of saying nothing informative!

[brasca]

Considering that it was Faye's rash actions that got this ball rolling it's kind of ironic for her to stay that to Bubbles

I doubt Corpse Witch will retaliate.  She has no cards left to play so she'll probably cut her losses and let Bubbles go.

She may not be able to use her police contacts at this point but if she's part of a Robot Mafia she might appeal to them for protection and retaliation. She's also now at the "cornered rat" stage of desperation. When a railgun package has your name on it there's not much left to lose.

Does she know there is a rail gun trained at her?  And even if that threat was made to her quite possibly that would be enough reason for her Mafia associates to abandon her since that is the kind of attention they do not want.  And when did she lose her police contacts?  She lost her control over Bubbles, but I don't recall that happening.  Now Bubbles could go to the police that aren't in on the corruption and possibly get an immunity deal, but she would also be turning on a lot of AIs that still work for Corpse Witch for similar reasons which is why she is mulling it over.  I think they both know that so for now Corpse Witch will have to cope with the recent loss of 2 important employees and greater chance the place could get shut down.  I know a lot of people want to see some kind of glorious comeuppance, but she could just as easily fade from the scene like Angus, Nat, and Raven.   

[RMc]

From the "Notes for New Members":

7- Please, no religion or politics.  They just lead to people getting all het up in entrenched positions with consequent unpleasantness, so we don't allow it in general.

But apparently that rule doesn't apply when you want to criticize a president you don't like. (Full disclosure: I don't like the guy, either.)

QC: Come for the aggressively silly sci-fi plotlines, stay for the feral political rants!

Sorry, but I'm out.

[Thrillho]

From the "Notes for New Members":

7- Please, no religion or politics.  They just lead to people getting all het up in entrenched positions with consequent unpleasantness, so we don't allow it in general.

But apparently that rule doesn't apply when you want to criticize a president you don't like. (Full disclosure: I don't like the guy, either.)

QC: Come for the aggressively silly sci-fi plotlines, stay for the feral political rants!

Sorry, but I'm out.

Admittedly I've not read this particular thread too closely, but why exactly have you posted that reply here?

[Dustin1280]

Still hoping the comic does something with the greys...

You don't just introduce a character that appears to have godlike powers, and then dismiss it as a giant squid never to be brought up again...
If the comic goes this direction it will make me crazy.

[gopher]

From the "Notes for New Members":

7- Please, no religion or politics.  They just lead to people getting all het up in entrenched positions with consequent unpleasantness, so we don't allow it in general.

But apparently that rule doesn't apply when you want to criticize a president you don't like. (Full disclosure: I don't like the guy, either.)

QC: Come for the aggressively silly sci-fi plotlines, stay for the feral political rants!

Sorry, but I'm out.

Jeph's house, his rules. You don't have to read his comments after the comic, there was even a warning.

[bhtooefr]

The forum rules have always been different from what happens in-comic, in the news posts, or on Jeph's Twitter account.

And, there's DISCUSS for political discussion here.

[pwhodges]

But apparently that rule doesn't apply when you want to criticize a president you don't like. (Full disclosure: I don't like the guy, either.)

QC: Come for the aggressively silly sci-fi plotlines, stay for the feral political rants!

Why would you think our forum rules would have anything to do with what Jeph writes under his comic?  He's posted political material there in the past, as well.  Forum rules are for limiting behaviour in the forum (where politics is proscribed, except in the place allocated for it).

[gprimr1]

For Jeph, it's simple. cathedra mea regulae meae

[TieDyeKat]

Perhaps we should be discussing Bubbles' living arrangements. I'm suspecting she will join the compound that is Marten-Faye-Claire-Pintsize's abode. Kinda cramped for a two bedroom apartment.

Or perhaps she'll move in with Hanners. Honestly, perfect roommate - doesn't drop dead cells anywhere, has own cleaning mechanism, enjoys math. I anticipate a Winslow crush.

[USS Martenclaire]

Bubbles and Winslow? I like this. 

[jheartney]

All Bubbles needs for living space is a corner with a wall plug. She doesn't even need the couch; she just sits on the floor.

[BenRG]

I'm not so sure about that. When we saw Bubbles recharging at the skate park, there was something on the wall that looked like a radiator of some kind. My feeling is that was the heat sink on a huge transformer. That suggests very strongly that Bubbles uses some kind of industrial- or military-standard high-amperage recharging system that probably isn't compatible with a domestic electric supply.

The recharging shop near the apartment probably has the right recharging apparatus for Bubbles but, no, she couldn't just plug into a wall socket.

[Is it cold in here?]

>And when did she lose her police contacts?

If she tries to use them now that she has high profile enemies they have no reason to risk helping her.

[Is it cold in here?]

Global Moderator Comment

There's been no change -- the forum still limits political criticism to the DISCUSS sub-forum and the moderator team will enforce that.

[jwhouk]

Maybe she needs 220 instead of 110 for charging, kinda like a Tesla?

Sent from my Nextbook on Tapatalk

[blt]

Maybe she needs 220 instead of 110 for charging, kinda like a Tesla?

Sent from my Nextbook on Tapatalk

I'd assume they could just unplug the oven then.

[Kugai]

All Bubbles needs for living space is a corner with a wall plug. She doesn't even need the couch; she just sits on the floor.

Wasn't quite happy with that when I first saw it to be honest.  Smacked too much of the way Seven of Nine got treated in Voyager.

[OldGoat]

I also suppose Faye deserves a mention for knowing the Latin genera name for the giant squid.

Faye doesn't always watch TV, but when she does it's WGHB.

[Sullivan]

This is me but I've got a feeling that Martin is going to wake up tomorrow morning with a combat robot on his couch (Well... They needed to replace that couch anyway).

"We're gonna need a bigger couch"

[OldGoat]

And when did [Corpse Witch] lose her police contacts?

Did she even have any to begin with?  She said she did, but she said she had Bubb's memories securely locked away and encrypted, too.  Don't take CW's word for anything.

We can safely assume that CW has been similarly blackmailing at least some of other members of her staff, and that AI's do rumor mill just like humans.    When it comes to her physical safety, Bubbles is the least of her worries.  When (not if, when) word leaks out that her hold on Bubbles was all bluff, others will wonder if her hold on them is of the same sort, and some of them will be more inclined toward Station's school of thought than Bubble's.  (Can you imagine a pissed off Punchbot?)

If I were Corpse Witch I'd pack my pink panties and head for someplace safer like Mogadishu or Caracas, 'cause her life is worth the spot price of scrap metal in New England.

[Sullivan]

^ This. Especially since it's clear that at least some of the other robots like Bubbles.

I have to wonder how much Jeremy overheard of Bubbles' last visit to the skate rink...

[Sullivan]

Codename: SQUID

Sapient
Quantum
Universe
Intelligence
Derivation

It ticks all the technobabble boxes. It's meaningless but sounds technical super-sciencey to the lay reader and that is what is important in pulp sci-fi!

"'Sapient Quantum Universe Intelligence Derivation.' What does that even mean?"

"It means we really wanted our acronym to be 'S.Q.U.I.D.'."

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Giant squid are lunch for sperm whales.

I won't mind if Corpse Witch fades from the scene. I suppose she was once a bright young bot, with lofty goals in the human world, but somehow it all went wrong. (Exit CW, pursued by Metal Munching Moon Mice)

Keep the Robot Fights going? Bubbles and Faye lack CW's network of friends in low places and corrupt officials in high ones. Anyway the betting is illegal.

An AI Body Shop sounds good. There is definitely a need -- consider May's predicament. They'd need legit title to the skate park. Maybe Station could supply startup capital.

[Storel]

Interesting analogy. Squid are reputedly very intelligent -- at the dolphin/whale level, at least. Giant squid, perhaps even more so. High intelligence + long tentacles...

[jheartney]

Maybe she needs 220 instead of 110 for charging, kinda like a Tesla?

Sent from my Nextbook on Tapatalk

I'd think a combat droid would be provisioned with a multi-source power interface; it wouldn't be hard to do, and if she were in the field they wouldn't need to bring along a giant transformer to keep her going. A 30 amp 220v outlet is enough to charge a vehicle battery for a couple hundred miles overnight. That ought to be enough to keep Bubbles going for a day.

[Welu]

I enjoyed this comic. Felt like a big moment for Faye and Bubbles. Despite the issues to follow, it feels like an optimistic end of chapter (but not the book) to me. Although it also feels like a small time-jump is being set-up which is mostly out-of-nowhere speculation.

[Is it cold in here?]

The Pugnacious Peach is the friend Bubbles needs now.

[TheEvilDog]

I'm not so sure about that. When we saw Bubbles recharging at the skate park, there was something on the wall that looked like a radiator of some kind. My feeling is that was the heat sink on a huge transformer. That suggests very strongly that Bubbles uses some kind of industrial- or military-standard high-amperage recharging system that probably isn't compatible with a domestic electric supply.

The recharging shop near the apartment probably has the right recharging apparatus for Bubbles but, no, she couldn't just plug into a wall socket.

The problem with that theory is the fact that Bubbles is a combat model AI chassis. Unless you can guarantee a dedicated system to help her and other AI recharge in the middle of a warzone, its something of a difficult thing to do, especially because you can't guarantee that system. In all likelihood, Bubbles and her kin were designed to use what they could, where they could, her charging system would be quite robust. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Bubbles had a setup like this to help her charge.

[Method of Madness]

I'm ok with green olives, but black olives (which are for some reason the only type I ever see on pizza) are just gross.

[Gyrre]

super-sciencey [snip] pulp sci-fi!

Dammit BenRG, have I slipped back to the 1930s? Even I wasn't born then...

But yes, the squid analogy was a lovely way of saying nothing informative!

It's informative, but it requires a nose-dive crash-course in marine biology and marine ecology.

[Alzarath]

Elephant in the room.

It but does get easier. I promise.

Does that not sound horribly un-natural to anyone else?

[Method of Madness]

It's almost certainly supposed to be "but it does." Interesting typo though, switching two entire words.

[Carl-E]

Sapient Quantum Underpinnings of Intelligent Design. 

It's a collective of nanobots, in the shape of a grey humanoid.  Hence the first-person plural. 





Thousands of years later, when it loses much of its coherence, it will wander the earth until it gets a boost and decides to take revenge on the moon. 

[Kugai]

I suspected that Bubbles would wind up with the Gang at Faye and Martens.  It's going to be interesting to see what, if any, jpb Bubbles can take on.   She's great at Robot Repairs along with Faye now, so there's always the idea of them going into business together.

Bubbles make a great Security Guard.
Or a Bouncer.

[cesium133]

Superconduction QUantum Interference Device 

[OldGoat]

(Exit CW, pursued by Metal Munching Moon Mice)

Good grief, you must be as old as I am if you remember that.

[St.Clair]

I'm ok with green olives, but black olives (which are for some reason the only type I ever see on pizza) are just gross.

Vice versa, for me - I've always enjoyed black olives (and they're part of my regular pizza order), but only learned to appreciate green ones as an adult.  That said, I love 'em both now... but only if the latter are stuffed with garlic, or nothing.  (Still not a fan of pimentos.)

[BenRG]

Panel 1 is interesting today because it gives us an insight into Bubbles' personality: She is the sort of person who broods endlessly about the big questions and major problems and, as a consequence, forgets to attend to the smaller and more immediate issues at hand. Then we read panel 5 and we realise that, ultimately, it is because she's afraid that those big things will always remain insurmountable for her.

That is why she needs friends. That's why she is so lucky to have Faye in her life.

Then we read panel 6 and realise that Bubbles has a very, very dry sense of humour and is far more aware about things than she sometimes makes out.

The problem with that theory is the fact that Bubbles is a combat model AI chassis. Unless you can guarantee a dedicated system to help her and other AI recharge in the middle of a warzone, its something of a difficult thing to do, especially because you can't guarantee that system. In all likelihood, Bubbles and her kin were designed to use what they could, where they could, her charging system would be quite robust. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Bubbles had a setup like this to help her charge.

The problem of not always having a compatible recharge source can be solved by:

• Having a long battery life (>3 days);
• Being able to plug into any and every military vehicle.

I also wonder if Bubbles has an ability to further extend her charge duration by having a feature of her 'sleep mode' where she runs all her systems down to bare minimum for a few hours.

[oeoek]

Ah, sweet victory, for once I nailed the Poll: SPATHE HAM!

[TinPenguin]

wow faye this was a real complex scheme you set up just to get free pizza

[gopher]

Got me thinking about odd pizzas, ones on the menu, not made up to order. Our nearest one dows Kebab meat, baked beans and chip(fries) pizza. It really isn't good.

[Tova]

wow faye this was a real complex scheme you set up just to get free pizza

worth it

[Zebediah]

So which Northampton pizza place will the pizza come from? Sam's (expensive but worth it), Hungry Ghost (good, but you'd better put your order in two hours ahead of time), or Domino's (fast, cheap, and - well, it's fast and cheap)?

[brasca]

>And when did she lose her police contacts?

If she tries to use them now that she has high profile enemies they have no reason to risk helping her.

Only if she uses them to pursue Bubbles and Faye.  It's unknown if during Bubble's resignation scene she mentioned having friends in higher places as a warning or not.  Corpse Witch might appreciate her reprieve and just cut her losses instead of wasting what resources she has left on some vendetta. 

Considering that Bubbles isn't carrying anything it appears that she left with just the coat on her back.  Unless she's got some mementos in her pockets those memories really were all that she had left from the old days. 

[Case]

I doubt Corpse Witch will retaliate.  She has no cards left to play so she'll probably cut her losses and let Bubbles go.

She may not be able to use her police contacts at this point but if she's part of a Robot Mafia she might appeal to them for protection and retaliation. She's also now at the "cornered rat" stage of desperation. When a railgun package has your name on it there's not much left to lose.

I'd say CW is at the "Angry AI in a bleeding-edge combat-chassis is just one annoyance short of ripping my substrates out of my head"-stage. If she retaliates, she has to kill Bubbles. And even demobbed, I doubt that Bubbles is easy to kill.

And when did CW learn of a potential orbital railgun strike?