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Feedback to the guys who brought Gavia and Ardent to Earth. "Call when they get there!"

A bird that just didn't like nanotech

A bird that just didn't like the moon

A signal to someone else who has no import to the story at all. Just a coincidence.

Cowboy Neal

[retrosteve]

Jeph ended with "I left lots of things unexplained or open to interpretation on purpose; I think stories are more fun if you don’t necessarily have all the answers."

For those of us who were getting pretty invested in our interpretations, and those who might like to contribute, I am starting a thread for interpretation, speculation, and missing backstory.

Go wild.

[retrosteve]

I will start the thread with my previous speculation that Alice and Sedna were powered by black hole entropy sinks invented by Emily.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3183

[brasca]

I think it was just a booby trap that the AIs neglected to edit out either by mistake or because they though it best if Earth was left without any advanced technology for a period of time. 

It also functioned as a plot device that made it possible for everyone to get into orbit.  If Gavia still had her nanotech when Pate and Church arrived at the archaeophile site I imagine the latter would quickly overpower Alice and Sedna.  However, Gavia would take Pate hostage using a phase shifting dagger as she does later.  Of course this would put them at an impasse since Gavia could never let Pate out of her sight, but would never want to bring them with her back to the Praeses. 

It's interesting to think what might happen next and I hope we can call come up with some good ideas. 

Here's one I thought of that was partially inspired by this strip that Jeph shared on Tumblr and may or may not be able to link to it: https://68.media.tumblr.com/5416bfd9f458626519e5106f4247471f/tumblr_inline_ot1dm3nT2w1qkjo9f_540.jpg

If Questionable Content is one of the many simulated worlds within the Praeses then perhaps they would share some inspiration as a gift for Gavia who doesn't know what she's going to do with her life now that she'll be living on Earth permanently.  It comes to her in a dream.  Open a coffee shop!  And what we get is a slice of webcomic in the distant future.  Gavia would be the Dora in this story and she soon assembles a staff of townspeople to work there.  Sedna could be the Faye doppleganger and there'd be a ditzy smart girl who would be Raven and a Sara who is actually devoured by an allosaurus for real and not in a semi humorous attempt to drop a character of little interest.  And eventually there would be the savant daughter of Jesper Pate joining the cast.   

So what do you think sirs? 

[BenRG]

My guess?

Idea One
The Nightwakler was the pre-Blink AIs in an evolved and distributed form (or at least some of them). They'd been hanging around and monitoring events were proceeding according to their calculations. The blast at the moon was their signal that the 'package' (Ardent) had been received and was working nominally.

They depowered Gavia because... well, they found her personality irritating and thought that losing her superpowers would force character growth.

Idea Two
The Nightwalker was an old Technologist Faction weapon that had been lying around for several millennia, looking around for an energy source to carry out its last commanded fire-plan from before The Blink; it was just looking for a power source to tap into and Gavia was 'lucky' enough to be around. The blast was aimed at the site of a bioengineer base on the Moon. Whether that even still existed is probably moot. Now, it's completely dormant, waiting for a command signal with new target coordinates that will never come.

[brasca]

In an effort to keep the discussion going what do you think happened in the time between the penultimate strip and the finale?  Some time passed obviously since Gavia's hair is almost shoulder length and Sedna has an arm again.  Strangely enough Alice's hair never grew back and Alice's left eye is still red.  Ardent didn't change noticeably.

This is what we know.  What I speculate is Alice, Ardent, and Gavia returned to the archaeophile site so the diggers wouldn't be waiting there forever.  Sedna probably remained on the habitat until she got a new arm.  After leaving the dig site they returned to Alice's village and broke the news about the changes ahead and her departure.  Ardent and Gavia offer to help teach the people how to use these new abilities.  As such Gavia probably adopted a less severe look or may have chosen to grow her hair out and adjust the melanin in her skin to define herself since she had the biggest identity crisis of the two.  Eventually Sedna rejoined them earlier or not until the interstellar ship was completed.  Maybe she sticks around with Ardent and Gavia or eventually goes her own way.  As for Ardent and Gavia I could see them eventually leaving Alice's town to find the other space dwellers and tell them what happened.

[BenRG]

Don't forget that Ardent and Gavia have fast self-editing bodies. It's possible that Gavia lengthened her hair somewhat as a personal aesthetic choice, perhaps to deliberately distance herself from her previous style now she's been 'rejected' - Lots of teens can behave in that way.

[brasca]

I didn't forget.  I said she could've adopted that look to define herself.  She's the one that went through the biggest identity crisis once she learned that she was a simulation, but accepted exile because she could never go back to who she was even if the Praeses permitted it.  Gavia has her nanotech back and it could be superior to what she originally had, but she chooses a more natural skin color in addition to longer hair and I think blue eyes.  Those are cosmetic choices since I noticed she's hovering and not about to forsake her abilities just to fit in.

[BenRG]

FWIW, I think that she'd started trying to emulate Sedna's appearance for some reason; of all the other main cast, she seemed to get on best with her.

[brasca]

Yes I can see that happening.  In the end Gavia respected Alice, but couldn't get close.  Sedna's more approachable when she's not trying to kill you.

[Tova]

Sedna's more approachable when she's not trying to kill you.

This is a great sentence.