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Poll

Do you have a monomania (special interest)?

yes
- 2 (15.4%)
no
- 0 (0%)
maybe
- 3 (23.1%)
Well, yes, but no. (it shifts)
- 6 (46.2%)
Do not sit (this means you, Moray)
- 2 (15.4%)

Total Members Voted: 13


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Author Topic: WCDT - September 19th to September 23th, 2022 (strips #4876 to #4880)  (Read 19910 times)

Gyrre

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Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!

Also, still trying to figure out how the hell Moray works.
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a real-ass gaddam sword
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"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

SmilingCat

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Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!

Also, still trying to figure out how the hell Moray works.

She's a soup of co-networked nanoscale processeors in a transmission medium able to reorganize on the fly however they are needed. Because the entire soup is dependent on wireless connectivity and individual processors are very susceptible to interference, her outer dermal layer is a combination of a smart myomer mesh that contracts and relaxes to allow for movement and hold her shape and a particularly advanced EM shield to keep out outside interference.

That time she sprung a leak, she was leaking brain matter. Her processor soup automatically adjusts to take up the slack of lost processing power, and her core self has redundant backups of the data stored throughout it, but there's always the risk that she might lose just a bit of herself. New nanoprocesors can be added to replace the lost ones, but any data contained within the lost part of the processing network? Gone.

She can never leave cubetown because any major puncture of her dermal layer could be very quickly fatal. She's so friendly with everybody because she's dying for outside contact, aching at the limitations of her highly experimental form, questioning why she had to be created like this, just to be a prisoner of her own body.

She would cry, but she can't. So she smiles. But she wants to. "If only she was more human" she tells her counselor. But somewhere in her deepest thoughts, during her recharge cycles, she thinks she might want to cry for another reason. To cry and cry, let it all leak out until it's over...

Or honestly, probably just a slime girl with a standard processor hidden in the eyes or something. Just because she thought it was neat.
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Gyrre

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[snip]
Also, still trying to figure out how the hell Moray works.
[snip]
She would cry, but she can't. So she smiles. But she wants to. "If only she was more human" she tells her counselor. But somewhere in her deepest thoughts, during her recharge cycles, she thinks she might want to cry for another reason. To cry and cry, let it all leak out until it's over...

Or honestly, probably just a slime girl with a standard processor hidden in the eyes or something. Just because she thought it was neat.

Oof. That hits right in the feels. Especially remembering the Tachikomas' story arc.
Makes me wonder if HelloBot[1] was something of a precursor to the AnthroPCs.

[1] I keep meaning to 'try my hand' at a cover of that now that I have a better mic.

EDIT: snipping big quote chain
« Last Edit: 19 Sep 2022, 04:33 by Gyrre »
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a real-ass gaddam sword
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"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

JimC

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Remind me, has Clinton met Yaay/spooky bot and is aware of what they actually are?
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shanejayell

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Don't THINK so...

Aww, that was cute tho.

Torlek

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Remind me, has Clinton met Yaay/spooky bot and is aware of what they actually are?

4576
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shanejayell

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Well, they've MET but I don't think he knows they are a eldrich superintelligence that may or may not be spyware....

hedgie

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You know, as much as people joke about “who is that guy” when referring to Marten, it actually took me a second to remember Elliot.
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"The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there." -- Vonnegut

Mr_Rose

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Huh. I’m pretty sure his character model has changed the least over the timeskip. So far anyway.
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"I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." - Charles Babbage

shanejayell

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New comic

Well.... actually I don't think you get sharks that far north?

Torlek

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Great Whites and the occasional mako can range as far north as Newfoundland. The waters off Nova Scotia are the natural range of the smaller porbeagle which could still eat you given enough time. Also, we're dealing with a scientific collective that operates on an offshore rig. Who's to say they aren't going full Deep Blue Sea out there? Also, Claire's discounting the possibility of weird gravitational anomalies, hyper-intelligent octopi and portals to the dimension where evil Hanners lives.
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Quis pater tibi est?

shanejayell

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And admittedly this is a alternate universe from ours ANYWAY...

SmilingCat

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Claire's scenario is... actually very reasonable.

The ocean is not your friend, and literally everything about it wants to kill you.

And given the kind of organization we've seen out of these people so far, do we really think they put a lot of thought into maintenance, damage control, emergency preparedness, and lifesaving procedure?

EDIT: Though to be fair she's much more likely to die of drowing, hypothermia, or hypothermia then drowning than a shark attack.
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Gyrre

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Claire's scenario is... actually very reasonable.

The ocean is not your friend, and literally everything about it wants to kill you.

And given the kind of organization we've seen out of these people so far, do we really think they put a lot of thought into maintenance, damage control, emergency preparedness, and lifesaving procedure?

EDIT: Though to be fair she's much more likely to die of drowing, hypothermia, or hypothermia then drowning than a shark attack.

There are some things that just want to suck your blood (most are copopods).
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Quote
a real-ass gaddam sword
Quote
"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

DaiJB

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"Claire isn't being imaginative enough..."

"Trapped on a research platform that, owing to some weird experimental glitch, is simultaneously freezing and burning, and is sinking because the hungry hyper-intelligent sharks have sabotaged it"

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"This fellow... he picks up this tiny bird in his hands and carries its quivering little body across this busy junction -  and feeds it to his cat.
Life's like that; a complex texture of conflicting moralities. " 

Norman Clegg, Last of the Summer Wine

St.Clair

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once again, xkcd is relevant.
« Last Edit: 20 Sep 2022, 03:43 by pwhodges »
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Gyrre

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once again, xkcd is relevant.

Link fixed (^-^)

This forum doesn't require quotation marks around linked urls.
[Took me a time or two to get that. No worries.]
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Quote
a real-ass gaddam sword
Quote
"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

Marco

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Well, they've MET but I don't think he knows they are a eldrich superintelligence that may or may not be spyware....

They have given enough clues for him. I reread the whole conversation and it was, well, spooky.
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St.Clair

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once again, xkcd is relevant.

Link fixed (^-^)

This forum doesn't require quotation marks around linked urls.
[Took me a time or two to get that. No worries.]

Fair enough.  Though I believe it also works with quotes, so I tend to do it anyway; just a 'best practices' thing.
Also, turns out there's one that fits even better.
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pwhodges

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No.  Quotes break it.  They are required in some other forum software, so you just have to know, I'm afraid.
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"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."  (from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )
"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"  (from: The Eccentric Family )

Tyr

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[snip\ portals to the dimension where evil Hanners lives.
in fairness to the scientists of Cubetown, they weren't experimenting with portals to Evil Hanners Dimension deliberately... They're just at the confluence at which her machinery was able to punch through most easily. The other end of the portal is in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States, Earth-2193(Evil-Hanners Dimension).
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Just going through life.

Torlek

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[snip\ portals to the dimension where evil Hanners lives.
in fairness to the scientists of Cubetown, they weren't experimenting with portals to Evil Hanners Dimension deliberately... They're just at the confluence at which her machinery was able to punch through most easily. The other end of the portal is in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States, Earth-2193(Evil-Hanners Dimension).
Evil Hanners has to go to Iowa to open her conquest portals to other dimensions? No wonder she's so angry.
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Quis pater tibi est?

shanejayell

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New comic!

Going soon, huh? Good luck!

Farideh

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I like to think that Moray is made out of Silly Putty.
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I am not hiding. I am maintaining a respectful distance.

Gyrre

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Carbonated? Does she know a Spot and a Cage?

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Quote
a real-ass gaddam sword
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"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

badbum61

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Well, Moray does appear to have a rather effervescent personality...
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pendrake

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For comic #4879...

1. "A very well-connected AI." - If consulted, it would/will be interesting to see what information &/or insights Yay has about Cubetown.

2. What is a 'Yurt'? - For those wondering...  (Excerpted from Wikipedia.)

A traditional 'yurt' (from the Turkic languages) or 'ger' (Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes of Central Asia.  The structure consists of an angled assembly or latticework of wood or bamboo for walls, a door frame, ribs (poles, rafters), and a wheel (crown, compression ring) possibly steam-bent.  The roof structure is often self-supporting, but large yurts may have interior posts supporting the crown.  The top of the wall of self-supporting yurts is prevented from spreading by means of a tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs.  Modern yurts may be permanently built on a wooden platform; they may use modern materials such as steam-bent wooden framing or metal framing, canvas or tarpaulin, plexiglass dome, wire rope, or radiant insulation.

« Last Edit: 21 Sep 2022, 21:59 by pendrake »
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Near Lurker

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Wait, when did Aurelia encounter Yay again?
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After seventeen years, once again, sort of a lurker.  (he/him)

pendrake

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@Near Lurker - Aurelia and Yay first met in [comic #4584 - Undetectable].
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traroth

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Cosmo in the first panel: "this sammich is relevant to my interest"
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St.Clair

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Cosmo in the first panel: "this sammich is relevant to my interest"

Soon to be followed by "this sammich is mine now", and then very quickly by "what sammich? I have no idea what you're talking about."
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Gyrre

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I wonder if Moray has a bunch of tiny octobots networked inside her?
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Quote
a real-ass gaddam sword
Quote
"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

dutchrvl

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Wait, remind me, are marten and Claire aware of Jay’s existence (or did they even meet at some point)?
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BenRG

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No, they aren't and this is a hideous breach of trust on Aurelia's part.
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hedgie

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I like to think that Moray is made out of Silly Putty.

Wrong comic.  That’s more like Choochoobear.
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"The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there." -- Vonnegut

dutchrvl

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No, they aren't and this is a hideous breach of trust on Aurelia's part.

Hm, I don't quite agree with that verdict, at least not yet.

So far all Aurelia has said is that she knows an AI with good connections who could potentially help. To me that's not dissimilar to letting anyone know that you might know somebody who could help.
In other words, so far Aurelia hasn't said anything that could plausibly give away Jay's identity or anything else.

Now, if Aurelia would also mention that that AI she knows has extraordinary capabilities themselves, she would cross a red line in my view
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Farideh

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No, they aren't and this is a hideous breach of trust on Aurelia's part.


Is it though? All Aurelia mentioned was having a 'very well connected AI' friend. I inferred that she would talk to Yay on Claire's behalf, not arrange an introduction between the two.
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DaiJB

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Cosmo in the first panel: "this sammich is relevant to my interest"

Soon to be followed by "this sammich is mine now", and then very quickly by "what sammich? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Followed by "C'mon - you can't stay angry at me - see these soulful eyes? Look at my eyes - and these adorable floppy ears? - and if all else fails, I just tilt my head sideways and grin (never fails)..."
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"This fellow... he picks up this tiny bird in his hands and carries its quivering little body across this busy junction -  and feeds it to his cat.
Life's like that; a complex texture of conflicting moralities. " 

Norman Clegg, Last of the Summer Wine

Gyrre

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New comic.
Aurelia ommits as promised.

If they do get Bubbles, it will certainly make for an interesting reunion.
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Quote
a real-ass gaddam sword
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"Broken swords and dragon bones scattered on the way back home."

Too stubborn to die, just like the rest of my family.

shanejayell

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I'm guessing it's Spooky...  :laugh:

St.Clair

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IMO, Aurelia very much wants to brag about knowing Yay, but knows she shouldn't, but...
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SmilingCat

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My current updated guess of how this is going to go.

Claire and Marten will go to cubetown, Claire will start out terrified by the mess she see's before her, but as she tours the facility, sometimes asking obvious questions which solve various denizens many many problems, she'll gradually start to realize that... yes, it's stressful, yes it's a dumpster fire. Yes she'll be herding cats. But she can do real good here. She can help make a difference and (by getting these people to focus on more than whatever has caught their attention that day) she can possibly even help change the world.

She'll be on her way to the director's office to formally accept the job when the alarms sound.

Smash cut to Claire, Marten, and Moray sitting in a lifeboat watching this unique, fantastically expensive, and irreplaceable philanthropic endeavor sink into the ocean. They're back home by the next comic.
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DaiJB

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Marten's off-panel comment about Bubbles made me wonder what "Aurelia meets Bubbles" would be like...which naturally led me to what "Aurelia meets May" and "Aurelia meets Pintsize" would be like.

I just want to see the impact of Aurelia's "Mom energy" on these, um, "distinctive" individuals...  :-D
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"This fellow... he picks up this tiny bird in his hands and carries its quivering little body across this busy junction -  and feeds it to his cat.
Life's like that; a complex texture of conflicting moralities. " 

Norman Clegg, Last of the Summer Wine
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