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which of the following is the most advanced?

Momo's chassis covering is dishwasher safe
Pintsize's hand and feet use suction to grip things
Bubbles has triple reinforced artificial muscles
May can fall apart at a moments notice.... wait that's a defect
PT410x's heatsink neckbeard
toastbot's face

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Author Topic: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?  (Read 15066 times)

hakko504

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #50 on: 29 May 2018, 23:47 »

I've assumed that some AI chassis have a degree of anatomical correctness

Didn't Momo once say she could shoot "Eels out of her.....orifice?"
Nope. She said "shoot live eels out of my" when she was cut off by Marten. (Momo's first appearance in the strip BTW.)
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Staff_Inflection

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #51 on: 29 May 2018, 23:50 »

I've assumed that some AI chassis have a degree of anatomical correctness

Didn't Momo once say she could shoot "Eels out of her.....orifice?"
Nope. She said "shoot live eels out of my" when she was cut off by Marten. (Momo's first appearance in the strip BTW.)

Yeah you know what she's talking about though.
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BenRG

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #52 on: 29 May 2018, 23:54 »

FWIW, I've always assumed that it was part of a party mode (on what was, after all, clearly meant to be a 'doll/toy' chassis) and she shot those spring-loaded foam rubber snakes out of an internal compartment for special celebrations.

Either that or it was a sarcastic comment she always appended to her specification list because she liked freaking out nosy humans.
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awgiedawgie

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #53 on: 29 May 2018, 23:57 »

I've assumed that some AI chassis have a degree of anatomical correctness

Didn't Momo once say she could shoot "Eels out of her.....orifice?"
Nope. She said "shoot live eels out of my" when she was cut off by Marten. (Momo's first appearance in the strip BTW.)

Yeah you know what she's talking about though.
No, you assume what she's talking about. And around here, it's unwise to make assumptions about anatomy.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #54 on: 30 May 2018, 03:10 »

Furthermore Momo was in a Chibi chassis then and any speculation about how her anatomy corresponds to human doesn't really make any sense.
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OldGoat

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #55 on: 30 May 2018, 11:12 »

You can keep your uniform when you discharge but uniforms can't punch holes in brick walls.

On the other hand Jeph did say once that AIs are the legal owners of the bodies they inhabit. That can't always be right. The nuclear sub who's now working at the Idoru store must have been an exception.
The gubbermint would have a specific definition of a "body" which wouldn't include aircraft above hobby drone size, tanks, destroyers, expensive stuff that could be re-configured to be human operable.  It would specifically describe anthropomorphic chassis and other relatively small units (I'm thinking Jerome).  May didn't own her host media/"cell" in robot prison, for example, and E-C Industries owns the spaceship and space station that Spaceship and Station control (although the latter owns enough E-CI shares that he might be able to claim it if they were to liquidate).
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Mr_Rose

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #56 on: 30 May 2018, 11:21 »

I’m still of the opinion that Bubbles either can’t (write-once memory, non-standard interfaces, weird hardware, take your pick) leave her body, or her body can’t be occupied (autonomic kill-software/hardware tailored to her ‘signature’) by any AI but her, for reasons that probably seemed perfectly rational when Operation Robo-Valkyrie was being developed (e.g. that way no-one can KO the body, wipe our girl and insert their own AI infiltrator) but led to her having to be discharged mostly intact when she suddenly stopped being property and became a veteran…
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awgiedawgie

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #57 on: 30 May 2018, 13:53 »

You can keep your uniform when you discharge but uniforms can't punch holes in brick walls.

On the other hand Jeph did say once that AIs are the legal owners of the bodies they inhabit. That can't always be right. The nuclear sub who's now working at the Idoru store must have been an exception.
The gubbermint would have a specific definition of a "body" which wouldn't include aircraft above hobby drone size, tanks, destroyers, expensive stuff that could be re-configured to be human operable.  It would specifically describe anthropomorphic chassis and other relatively small units (I'm thinking Jerome).  May didn't own her host media/"cell" in robot prison, for example, and E-C Industries owns the spaceship and space station that Spaceship and Station control (although the latter owns enough E-CI shares that he might be able to claim it if they were to liquidate).
There’s also the question of whether she was the nuclear sub, or was simply living in it, without a physical body of her own. I don’t remember her exact account of it, and I still don’t have my computer up and running, so I can’t look it up easily.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #58 on: 30 May 2018, 14:14 »

...Both have a military chassis, that was developed, if I remember correctly, at the same time. However, it seems they went with Bubbles' "Valkyrie"-model, as a standard.

You want a more humanoid chassis so that an AI can step in and use equipment designed for organic use, whether it's driving a tank, a HUM-V.  using a mounted machine gun or ... well, anything, really.  Although there might be tight squeezes in some spaces, I'm sure her joint flexibility helps a bit with that. 

After all, the military's all about interchangeability on the field.
Except that Bubbles' chassis can't be used for many purposes. Any number of military ranks need small soldiers: tankers, in particular, need to be quite short. (An M1-A1 may be big, but the crew compartment is tiny.)  In fact, she would be terribly ill-suited to any role in the mobile artillery -- she's Just Too Big. I don't know how much she weighs, but I'm pretty sure that she would materially reduce the complement which could be carried to a deployment point on a helicopter.

From a strategic point of view, Bubbles is actually poorly designed. She'd have been much more useful if she were roughly 5' 5" and about the same girth as an average woman of similar height. And had all the rest of her features, of course.
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BenRG

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #59 on: 31 May 2018, 02:10 »

I'm pretty sure that Bubbles is specifically an infantry unit; I doubt that she'd be be in any other vehicle other than a Hummer or a passenger on a Blackhawk.

I also suspect that her chassis was designed in part for psychological warfare purposes. Since the day of the Judeo-Philistine wars of the 10th Century BC, it has been an accepted tactic that, when confronted by a very, very large combatant, most irregular soldiers (and the contemporary US Army faces mostly irregular/insurgent-level foes) will just run away.
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OldGoat

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #60 on: 31 May 2018, 22:55 »

Some after-the-fact story line logic.  Armor and infantry work very closely in nearly all environments* with armor providing movable cover for foot soldiers.  The US D-Day landing on Omaha Beach started out as a disaster because most of their tanks didn't make it to shore so the poor grunts had NO cover and got chopped to pieces.

Bubbles' chassis was meant to function like a very small, very nimble tank for a 4 to 9 person team - she could soak up hostile fire while the unit advances with impunity.  Seeing her coming towards you while you shoot at her to no discernable effect would be terrifying.  You'd duck down, maybe pray some, and actually feel relieved when her team mates disarm you and slip Flex-Cuffs on you.  No wonder taking her out became a special project.

*open country is the notable exception
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Akima

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #61 on: 01 Jun 2018, 20:12 »

Having seen, in clips from Series 3 of The Expanse, the way Bobby Draper "takes point" in her powered armour while her lightly-armoured comrades stack up behind her and cover the flanks, this makes perfect sense of Bubbles's role and size.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #62 on: 02 Jun 2018, 03:38 »

As a further extension, I'd think her mass and strength would make her a natural slot for heavy weapons specialist - plenty of recoil control to enable mobile, accurate LMG or heavier fire, able to carry more ammo than any human to allow sustained cover and suppression, armor allows for more exposed positions to better leverage firelanes, and depending on bulk of gear, she'd likely be able to carry a SAM or LAW with a reload or two just in case. 
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #63 on: 02 Jun 2018, 08:03 »

I had been thinking of her as Special Ops, where her bulk would be a significant disadvantage. I'd come to that conclusion because only her unit was destroyed, which suggests they were detached from the main force. In that case, her bulk would work against her: sure, she's murder on the ground in a stand-up fight, but she's not much use in a stealthy advance: being able to shield one or more soldiers doesn't help if everybody is trying to move forward one soldier at a time.

In fact, I think that's true even in modern infantry tactics.

That said, the point someone raised about her pure visual threat against irregulars is very sound: if I walk towards you through your fire carrying a really big f*ing gun and say "Hi there! Feeling lucky today?", you are likely to at least try to retreat.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #64 on: 03 Jun 2018, 04:20 »

Having seen, in clips from Series 3 of The Expanse, the way Bobby Draper "takes point" in her powered armour while her lightly-armoured comrades stack up behind her and cover the flanks, this makes perfect sense of Bubbles's role and size.

She and Bobby do have a lot in common.
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cybersmurf

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #65 on: 18 Jun 2018, 05:30 »

Being a military prototype, the government might not have wanted certain secrets to be accessible to enemies. My theory is that either Bubbles AI is hardwired to her chassis, or extracting/separating the AI from the chassis destroys certain or all memories.
She did get disabled, and her squad killed, but apparently only immobilized than knocked out completely. Disabling hee consciousness might be harder thab you think, probably for self destruct purposes.
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cybersmurf

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #66 on: 18 Jun 2018, 05:34 »

Having seen, in clips from Series 3 of The Expanse, the way Bobby Draper "takes point" in her powered armour while her lightly-armoured comrades stack up behind her and cover the flanks, this makes perfect sense of Bubbles's role and size.

She and Bobby do have a lot in common.

Oh, yes. Bobby is human though, but the whole Ganymede incident is practically the same origin thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeph had drawn some inspiration from that.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #67 on: 18 Jun 2018, 18:52 »

Being a military prototype, the government might not have wanted certain secrets to be accessible to enemies. My theory is that either Bubbles AI is hardwired to her chassis, or extracting/separating the AI from the chassis destroys certain or all memories.
She did get disabled, and her squad killed, but apparently only immobilized than knocked out completely. Disabling hee consciousness might be harder thab you think, probably for self destruct purposes.

On the other hand Corpse Witch talked about Bubbles potentially losing her body. It was the conversation where Bubbles replied "I am certain that was not intended as a threat".

Will Bubbles still want to keep her current chassis now? With a civilian model she could get repairs without mil-spec parts and probably have a lower electric bill. She might consider the military chassis to be a burden to be set aside as she did with her armor.

On the other hand, it's good to have one person in a partnership who can reach the top shelf, and open jars. Faye would be certain to say "I love you just the way you are" and would mean it.
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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #68 on: 18 Jun 2018, 19:51 »

I'm quite sure that had Bubbles not been the physical specimen she is, Faye would not have considered bringing her out of her shell such a challenge. 


All this may not have happened. 
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cybersmurf

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #69 on: 19 Jun 2018, 00:46 »

I think deep down, Bubbles had always accepted her to be the person the chassis was made for. Partially because of her history, partially as a memory to her comrades. And as she told Faye, she's always been different, she's embracing that.
Also, she kept the armor on not as physical protection, but emotional protection, so I guess she'd have felt way too vulnerable before to change into a civilian chassis. And now she is accepted the way she is, so she has no reason to change, rather keep it for being who she is.
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BenRG

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Re: Just how complex is Bubbles' chassis?
« Reply #70 on: 19 Jun 2018, 01:14 »

Possible twist: Bubbles' core chassis is a civilian model that the DoD just wrapped knock-off tactical armour around. They weren't about to let a real combat chassis out into demobilised life but found that Bubbles was so traumatised that she accepted her new similar-looking chassis without question.

As recompense to her for all she had suffered, her demob chassis is as complete and should offer as full a sensory life as is possible.
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