Line #81 Webcomic/QuantumVibe


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qv_3507.jpg]]
2
3	''Quantum Vibe'' is a [[SciFiWebcomics Sci Fi Webcomic]] created by Scott Bieser under Big Head Press.
4
5	Taking place in the year 2523 C.E.(566 S.A. or Space Age), the tale follows Nicole Oresme, a girl who has an emotional breakdown following a sudden breakup with her boyfriend Philbert, resulting in her losing her job for not showing up. Figuring that she ought to get her life in shape, she decides to get a new job from a certain Dr. Seamus O Murchadha. In her meeting with Murchadha, she finds out that the job involves experiments having to do with some strange process the Doctor calls "quantum vibremonics"; he wants her to help him in continuing these studies.
6
7	The offer seems pretty good, as Nicole would get a fairly high-paying job with a boss who respects her. Furthermore, she would get to travel to many exotic locations across the solar system as the job demanded. But the job turns out to be far more dangerous than Nicole anticipated; following a near-fatal experiment close to the surface of the sun, she has several attempts on her life by assassins of unknown employment and purpose. It appears that Murchadha's experiments are attracting some unwanted and hostile attention....
8
9	Following the conclusion of Dr. Murchadha and Nicole's adventures, a centuries-long TimeSkip ensues. We are introduced to a new cast of characters in a very different location, focusing on Bok and Zander, longtime friends, as they slowly uncover a conspiracy controlling their lives and those of the people around them. This section was officially titled Quantum Vibe: Venus 23, and then started the Quantum Vibe: Assimulation arc, covering the adventures of Murphy, a new artifolk named Hugo, and one of Nicole's distant great-grandchildren, Eithne. The Assimulation arc has now closed and the series will shift to focus on Venus 23 again.
10
11	The strip updates three times a week, with occasional interruptions announced by the author. [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1 Here]] is the first strip, and [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/ here]] is the latest.
12
13	----
14	!!Provides examples of:
15
16	* AlternateCalendar: Most of the solar system dates from the Sputnik launch. Huǒxīng has their own calendar using Martian years (roughly twice as long), dating from the Viking 1 landing.
17	* AlternateUniverse: [[spoiler:Seamus' research project has as its goal the access to these as a new frontier for humanity to explore.]]
18	* ArtificialGravity: Electro-gravity, also acts as a form of InertialDampening.
19	* AuthorTract: The author frequently shows off his libertarian views (not, however, in a particularly uninteresting fashion).
20	** Venus 23 is dedicated to tearing [[https://www.thevenusproject.com The Venus Project]] a new one.
21	* [[BizarreAlienBiology Bizarre Transhuman Biology]]: Seamus' botched [[LongevityTreatment rejuvenation]] treatment has [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=211 presented many odd changes]] ''besides'' turning him into an eight-foot tall, four-hundred pound giant. For example, he can [[{{Gasshole}} fart at will]](and has at least [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=41 once]] used that ability to [[{{Fartillery}} clear a room]] so he can privately contact someone). One that annoys him to no end is that each strand of his scalp hair has a single, long ''nerve'' growing in the center - he prefers having short hair, but can't cut it without the aid of a trustworthy anesthesiologist, as cutting it feels like ''cutting off his fingers.''
22	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: For most of the first volume, when Nicole and Seamus have an antagonistic relationship, and the audience is expected to be somewhat suspicious of him, as a regeneration error has trapped him in a 250 kg body with a dumpy face and kinky red hair. It's about the time she begins to trust him implicitly that this is fixed, leaving him thin and beautiful with a perfect face and hair.
23	* BerserkButton: Don't call Dr. Seamus O Murchadha "Doctor" (despite the [[Series/DoctorWho resemblance]]) - [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=81 "I'm a person, not a TITLE!"]]
24	* BrainComputerInterface: Nicole jacks her implant into the Helio-flyer when its normal controls are fried.
25	* BrainUploading: It's possible to copy a human's memories into a planktronic brain. Seamus kept a spare one just in case one of his enemies got him, [[spoiler: which he ended up using to replace Murphy's original planktronic brain when Bobinardi fried it. Though he is still uploaded into an android later on.]]
26	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: When she's in the middle of a 30-hour trip back from Sol to Mercury, Nicole browses through news articles, physics papers, and eventually - to keep her aggravated and on edge - talk radio.
27	* CallARabbitASmeerp: Robots are called "Artifolk."
28	* CallASmeerpARabbit: In the real world, "cheese" was used for a time to refer to heroin cut with Tylenol PM; on Luna, "cheez" is heroin mixed with methamphetamine.
29	* CheshireCatGrin: Claud pulls one, [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=397 complete with fade-out]], in his farewell towards the end of the Luna arc.
30	* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld: Well, Mars anyway. Or Huǒxīng, as it's called in the series.
31	* ClusterFBomb: Veronica/Ventura drops a [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=511 rather colorful one]] when she regains access to her memories.
32	* CoitusUninterruptus: Gensaxwal Executive Mr. Bobinardi actually ''[[http://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=29 initiates]]'' sex with a subordinate in front of his two '[[SlaveRace valets]]', emphasizing how little he thinks of them when placed in contrast with his unwillingness to express emotion with his wife.
33	* CorporateWarfare: "Mercorp wars" are alluded to a few times.
34	* CorralledCosmos: Deep space is filled with ''gas-giant sized'' clumps of dark matter. {{Generation Ship}}s and [[TimeDilation light-huggers]] attempting interstellar travel thus get pulled off course or collide with them. As FTL travel capable of bypassing those obstacles has yet to be invented, humanity is effectively trapped in the solar system. And given that every planet, moon, and gap in space in the solar system (except Venus, which is being terraformed) has been colonized by the 26th century, they're running out of elbow room and are starting to enter a societal decline.
35	* DataPad: Despite many people having implants touchscreens that can expand from smartphone-sized to the length and width of a large tablet are in common use.
36	* DistractedByTheSexy: Diana is having trouble focusing on the content on [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1752 this page]].
37	* {{Expy}}: Despite his best efforts, Bieser couldn't help but invoke some beloved science fiction characters from other franchises in ''Quantum Vibe'':
38	** O Murchada has a lot of Creator/TomBaker's [[Series/DoctorWho Doctor]] in him, both in appearance and love of the bizarre. And after [[spoiler:undergoing an unexpectedly complicated "rejuvenation", he ends up looking quite a bit like Creator/WilliamHartnell.]]
39	** [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=246 Hari Copperton]] has a lot of [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration William Riker]] in his face and clothes.
40	** [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=170 Vanessa Oresme]] (Nicole's mother) bears more than a passing resemblance to [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Nichelle Nichols]]. Emphasized in recent comics that have Nicole dressing up in a uniform reminiscent of the Trek movie era.
41	** Alyss Roaz has several [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2009 grandchildren]] who look and act like the Creator/MarxBrothers.
42	* {{Fanservice}}:
43	** Nicole winds up showing off to the 'camera' here and there, though never past a PG-13 rating. [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=305 Though this pushes the rating a bit.]]
44	** As well, Murphy, who becomes rather generously-endowed by the "Assimulation" arc, [[spoiler:ends up showing quite a bit of cleavage when Eithne initiates sex with her.]]
45	** We see Diana naked from the waist up in several pages, from the front, complete with details.
46	* FantasticCasteSystem: Terrans have enforced one with [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=50 cruel genetic engineering]]. The upper class "executives" are engineered to look good and have {{pheromones}} that make you want to trust and respect them. The lowest class "associates" are engineered to be diminutive in body and spirit and to have pheromones that make them repellent and hateful ''even to themselves''. There are also specialist castes in between that we haven't encountered.
47	* FantasticMeasurementSystem:
48	** Huoke (roughly 15 minutes), as a Martian measurement of time.
49	** Gravs (1 meter per second squared), a derived unit of acceleration instead of one based on Earth's gravity. (So what we'd call "1 G" would be 9.81 gravs).
50	* FantasticRacism:
51	** The 'loonies' don't much care for anyone who's decidedly different, in particular Belters - their entire court system seems to drive that point home, by claiming that an eighteen-year-old is really ''three'' because of how often her home revolved around the sun.
52	** Also hinted at for Artifolk, even where they're not enslaved or property.
53	** Nicole herself gets a few "elf" slurs on Luna once her ears become apparent.
54	*** And she initially shows some discomfort with [[AndroidsArePeopleToo Artifolk]], either as sexual partners or even just to tip them, although she does improve over time.
55	* FilmNoir: The Luna arc. Gangsters, crooked cops, nightclubs. You know that the artist is starting to ''really'' enjoy himself once Nicole puts on a BadassLongcoat.
56	* FullyClothedNudity: Nicole is embarrassed to be seen with her anysuit deactivated, despite it being less revealing in that state than many of the outfits she has programmed into it.
57	* FunetikAksent: The lunar dialect (used in a lot of media) tends to do this, and adds just a smidgen of WebOriginal/LOLCats.
58	* FutureSlang / PardonMyKlingon: Words like "crat" (ObstructiveBureaucrat/crap), "feek" (fuck), and "shuck" (shit/fuck) pop up from time to time.
59	* GenderBender: Hitomi, an artifolk courtesan for a ship of four men [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=128 can change into a man]] at will.
60	* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: One example [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2199 here]] and a spear counterpart [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2093 here]].
61	* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Nicole.
62	* HarmfulHealing: When we first meet him, a botched rejuvenation has left Seamus with uncontrolled weight gain, nerves in his hair that make it painful to cut, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the ability to fart at will]].
63	* HolographicDisguise:
64	** The Anysuit qualifies, though it is generally only used for fashion.
65	** Artifolk have this feature built in.
66	** A "[[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio Pinocchio]]" is an artifolk who uses this technology to disguise his real nature.
67	* {{Homage}}: Davis Family Caverns on Luna are a homage to ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress.''
68	* HumanSubspecies: There's the different castes on Terra. The Belters developed multi-armed Spyders and apelike Beltapes. And a fur-covered rejuv doctor appears in the Luna arc.
69	* ImmuneToDrugs: Nicole metabolizes alcohol quickly thanks to her genetic modifications, so every time she gets drunk she had to consume more than enough to knock out a Beltape three times her mass,
70	* IntrepidReporter: Claud Southend, [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=122 who seems at first]] to be more of a celebrity-chasing {{Paparazzi}} but who becomes an invaluable ally to Nicole in the Luna arc.
71	* ItSeemedTrivial: "Oh, by the way, your new uniform can turn into an environmental suit." [[spoiler:Mentioned less than a day after its owner is sort-of ThrownOutTheAirlock.]]
72	* KilledOffForReal: Generally the comic avoids actual deaths "on-screen", but [[spoiler:Buford, one of the beltapes who became friends with Nicole and Murphy, dies of a shot to the head during the rescue of Seamus.]]
73	* TheLadette: Hard-drinking, bed-hopping Nicole.
74	* LanguageDrift:
75	** Five centuries into the future Loonies (residents of Luna) have developed a dialect that resembles Lolcats.
76	** In Venus 23, another 500 years later, most people of "Oz" speak a pidgin of English and Portuguese called "Portanglo".
77	** Refugees from Zytemonde discover that their language is actually Loonie, though with a funny accent and occasional shift in word meaning. This allows Diana in particular to easily enter Bubbleopolis society while she learns Portanglo.
78	* LawEnforcementInc: Smith & Holder Resolutions.
79	* LetsYouAndHimFight: Quoted word for word [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=678 here]].
80	* LibertariansInSpace: A central plot element, with Libertarian concepts such as asset-based currencies, contract resolution, and individual accomplishment being the key to peaceful, prosperous, humane societies, as opposed to Luna's [[DemocracyIsBad increasingly-bureaucratic democracy]] or the [[MegaCorp Mercorps]] that rule Earth, Mars and the Jovian satellites - ''badly''. Each statist society is noted to have a large underclass - Beltapes on Luna, poor people on the Jovian moons. Mars has android ''slaves'', and Earth has '''genetically engineered''' entire subraces in a FantasticCasteSystem; can't have an upper class without a lower class.
81	* {{Lightworlder}}: Beltapes can't stand in even Martian gravity for very long. Not that you could tell from their appearance. Humans themselves seem to have gotten more accustomed to low gravity, with various characters complaining about environments of even 5 or 6 m/s^2 (for reference earth's gravity is 9.81 m/s^2).
82	* LongevityTreatment: Rejuvenation treatments are readily available. One of the main characters is reportedly in his third century, but there's [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=294 evidence]] that he's ''[[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld over 500 years old.]]''
83	* LukeIAmYourFather: Turns out, Nicole's mother used chromosomes from eleven other people to create her and [[spoiler:Seamus is [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=172 a donor.]] That CorruptCorporateExecutive probably too.]]
84	* MegaCorp: Earth is split between two gigantic Mega Corps, and all the other off-world planets and stations seen so far have been owned by corporate joint ventures except for Luna. And even Luna has had its government nearly-completely swallowed by Omega Tek. Joe's Diners and Muc Ar Foulain, from the asteroid belts and the L5 Colony respectively, are a lot less evil than the conventional MegaCorp, though.
85	* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay: Except on Zytemonde, for whatever reason they measure distance in "peters" instead of meters. They still use SI prefixes though.
86	* [[MixAndMatchMan Mix-and-Match Woman]]: Nicole is an "osmotic clone" that her mother created from the chromosomes of herself and eleven other anonymous donors. She originally intended to use the genes of 2400 people but couldn't get it to work.
87	* NeuralImplanting: Nicole has an implant giving her the minimal skills to pilot a Helio-flyer, Seamus still insisted she get some simulation training.
88	* NixonMask:
89	** Mr. Graves has a holographic mask that is set to [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=181 President Obama]] when we first meet him. Later, he switches to [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=200 Bush]] and [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=219 Clinton]].
90	** Another android, Mr Tombs (possibly Graves again under a different pseudonym), also has one that is actually set to [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=860 Nixon]].
91	* NoNewFashionsInTheFuture / SpaceClothes: Flips between these. Many of the styles wouldn't look too out of place in modern society, but just as many draw inspiration from some of the wildest fashions ScienceFiction has to offer. The Anysuit actually lets the wearer project holographic clothes in any style they desire, including fashions from either of these.
92	* NoodleIncident: [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2220 Michael to Alyss]]:
93	--> '''Michael:''' Yeah and don't forget Galt's Planetoid.
94	--> '''Alyss:''' [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain You promised not to mention Galt's Planetoid again]].
95	* OffhandBackhand: An invading soldier does this to a technician that [[https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2348 tries to attack him with a tablet]].
96	* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Sort of. Seamus is an Objectivist model "practical scientist"; whereas tame "theoretical scientists" spend their lives in laboratories performing "[[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=179 endless, incremental experimentation and publishing in journals]]," he "approaches science by [[MadScientist jumping in with both feet, grabbing nature by the throat and throttling the truth out of her.]] As a result [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=19 his discoveries and inventions are often quite game-changing.]]"
97	* OrphanedPunchline: "So they find another boy a ways up the roadside, laughing his ass off. They ask him what's wrong and he says, 'I sneezed and that house blew up!'"
98	* OurShowersAreDifferent: "Clean-branes", first seen in ''Timepeeper'' - membranes of memory plastic that one simply steps through to strip all detritus from one's body, leaving the user not only clean as a whistle but bone-dry.
99	* {{Pheromones}}: Terra has a caste system enforced by genetic engineering to produce pheromones. Executives have pheromones that make them seem more likable and attractive than their personalities would suggest, Associates make you want to kick them, and both castes are susceptible to the effects of their own scents. Not clear what the other castes have in regards to pheromones but they probably follow the pattern.
100	* PardonMyKlingon: See "FutureSlang" above.
101	* PointyEars: Nicole has them, though they're usually covered by her hairstyle. Turns out that it was a fad around the time L-5 was established, so many of their descendants have them, and it's the source of elf-related slurs for L-5'ers. The similarity between "L-5" and "Elf-hive" hasn't been discussed in canon.
102	* PoliceBrutality: The Lunan cops beat Nicole so badly she spends the next three days in a HealingVat.
103	* QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything: Indicated by the title itself, [[spoiler:Seamus was attempting to invent interdimensional travel, but accidentally laid the groundwork for FasterThanLightTravel]].
104	* ReallyDeadMontage: After [[spoiler:Buford]] is killed, there's a strip of each of the others replaying past scenes in their head.
105	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[LongevityTreatment Rejuvenation]] is in common use in this world. More than one character has availed himself of it:
106	** Seamus claims to be almost 350, though there's some [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=294 evidence]] suggesting that he's at least ''500.''
107	** Hari Copperton is about 400 years old.
108	** On Venus 23, [[spoiler:it turns out that Nicole has survived to the "present day" and is 525 years in standard reckoning.]]
109	* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Artifolk are humaniform sentient robots. They generally do not pass for human [[note]]but see "Holographic Disguise: Pinocchio" above)[[/note]], but share many human traits and perform human jobs (including as sex workers).
110	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
111	** Veronica considers this after [[spoiler:regaining her memories of being wronged by Po Xu-Ke's nephews]], but decides against it after (extensively) calculating that while she has a fairly good chance of achieving her objective, she would certainly not survive the process.
112	** However, later (as Murphy), she goes on an intense one when [[spoiler:Buford is killed]].
113	* SheCleansUpNicely: Agent Antigone Stone of Smith & Holder Resolutions, who goes from looking like [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=362 this]] to [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=367 this]] when her investigation calls for a little... finesse. It's quite probable that she's the lucky recipient of some good genetic engineering, given her strength in the first of those two links.
114	* ShoutOut: Too many to list[[note]]though we'll give it our best shot[[/note]].
115	** [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=383 One disguised android's true form]] (spoiler alert!) is a dead ringer for ''Anime/EightManAfter'' from the '90s remakes.
116	** A bald, IntrepidReporter, aggressively sticking his nose where the powerful don't like it, with a head tattoo and mismatched glasses? [[ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}} Nah, probably just a coincidence.]]
117	*** Another investigator actually whips out a [[BrownNote bowel disruptor]]... er, a "[[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=368 colon spasticator]]".
118	** The [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=188 first manned starship]] is called the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Enterprise]]'', and shares some major design elements (albeit in a different configuration).
119	*** The first ''un''manned starship seems to take some design cues from ''[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Discovery]]'', but it's not as blatant.
120	** [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=572 The Weapons Shop of Escher]] is a reference to the Weapons Shop of Isher by Creator/AEVanVogt. Noted immediately by Nicole.
121	** The Callahan's franchise of taverns is a reference to the Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon series of books.
122	** In the "impromptu autopsy" sequence ([[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=588 starts here]]) we meet a clerk who, we later find out, [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=598 wants to open a Callahan's Tavern]]. The clerk is not only a [[http://www.spiderrobinson.com/gallery.html dead ringer]] for the author of the [[Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon Callahan's]] series, Creator/SpiderRobinson, but he's also a member of a six-armed humanoid race -- a "[[StealthPun Spyder]]".
123	** A large part of the Huǒxīng storyline involves a crew of police investigators imported from Series/CSIMiami. There's even an obligatory GlassesPull and QuipToBlack at the end of the [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=502 first page]]. Expies include:
124	*** Chief Ho (Horatio Caine)
125	*** Rui-anh (Ryan Wolfe)
126	*** Du-ken (Calleigh Duquesne)
127	** The cops on Luna resemble characters from Series/{{NCIS}}; [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=317 here]] we see Tony and Ziva, Gibbs (he's even called Leroy), and [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=320 a few strips later]] we get a chubby version of Abby, as well as a character who resembles Ray Langston from Series/{{CSI}}.
128	** An {{Film/Airplane}} joke? [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=624 Shirley you jest!]]
129	** If you don't recognize the two robots center and left on the last panel of [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1752 this page]], they're homages of
130	*** [[http://thejetsons.wikia.com/wiki/Rosey Rosie]] from WesternAnimation/TheJetsons;
131	*** C-3PO from Franchise/StarWars.
132	** Film/{{Coneheads}} are a transhuman clade who speak French.
133	** When she visits Luna, Nicole wears a (holographic) [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=313 outfit]] that looks just like Franchise/CarmenSandiego's -- and in a much later strip, another character shows up who wears a very similar outfit and is [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1955 actually named Carmen]].
134	---> '''Diana:''' [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1963 Where in the world is Carmen?]]
135	** One recurring character is an artifolk named Monty who has several different android bodies including a ''house'' and a number of different animals -- [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1810 one of which]] is a [[Creator/MontyPython python]].
136	** Inigo Montoya and Fezzik from Film/ThePrincessBride [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2401 are used as disguises]]. Actual quotes from the work a few pages later.
137	** A nod to [[{{Awesome/Watchmen}} Rorschach]] from {{Film/Watchmen}} in the last frame of [[https://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2411 this page]].
138	* SpacePirate: Jesus Hernandez and his crew, which are actually Ionian revolutionaries.
139	* SpiceRackPanacea: When Nicole begins having PTSD flashbacks, Seamus has a pharmacist prepare her an "old remedy" of vitamins and amino acids. The order also includes hashish, but this is Seamus's own addition.
140	* {{Terraform}}: Mars is almost fully terraformed while Venus is about 14% done, Nicole's mother is working on the latter.
141	* ThrownOutTheAirlock:
142	** In the Vesta chapter [[spoiler: Nicole, Murphy, Buford, and Nigel]] are shot out of a cannon into space by Vesta Vista. Fortunately [[spoiler: Nicole has her Sundiver suit with her, Murphy's a gynoid, and the Beltapes can survive half an hour in vacuum.]] Unfortunately they're on a ballistic arc that will make them crash into Vesta at more than fatal speeds.
143	** Subverted and then played straight [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=553 in this segment]] when [[spoiler: Murphy interrupts a pinocchio trying to kidnap Seamus. She loses the fight, but turns the tables at the last second and tosses the would-be kidnapper out instead.]]
144	** In a less literal example, subverted in an [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=102 early arc]] when [[spoiler: Nicole and Seamus's]] staterooms are scheduled to be "vacuumed" while they are still in them, due to an act of sabotage.
145	* TooDumbToLive: In the Mars chapter, Nicole takes the IdiotBall and runs with it. After having been given a brutal lesson in the last chapter what lengths Seamus's enemies will go to for info on his project, what does she do in the next chapter after being alerted there might be trouble? [[spoiler:She gets her Beltape bodyguard injured in a high-grav train ride, ditches her at a clinic to recover while she goes shopping, and then heads straight into a crime-infested part of town and gets her android companion snatched away.]] And later the whole group sans Seamus [[spoiler: walk into a fairly blatant trap and end up getting shot into space.]]
146	* UnmovingPlaid: [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=713 here]]. The pattern may be holographic.
147	* UpliftedAnimal: Beltapes look like hairless gorillas. There's also birdmen, porpoises, anthrofish... furries look like modified humans though. [[spoiler: After FTL is discovered uplift starts on a number of alien species.]]
148	* {{Utopia}}: An InvokedTrope - Murchada points out that societies provide the greatest good for the greatest number in their dynamic phase, that is, when they have room to expand and resources to spare. Libertarianism (placing the individual before the group) can only be practiced effectively in such a phase. In all other phases, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo necessity]] sacrifices the individual to the group to varying degrees.
149	-->'''Seamus O Murchada''': ''[[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=191 Centuries of observation have taught me that humans flourish best when they have frontiers to explore and conquer. Keep us bottled up within boundaries long enough and our culture begins to rot and erode, and people become either ennervated or destructive. Then the manic ones eat the tired ones.]]''
150	* VisualPun: There are a few scattered around.
151	** [[http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=31 Here]] we see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irina_Dunn a fish that actually has a use for a bicycle.]]
152	** Jerome [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cracking-open-a-cold-one-with-the-boys cracks open a cold one]] on [[https://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=2090 this page]].
153	* WifeBasherBasher: While issuing Che-style trials to the crew and passengers of the Argosy, Jesus Hernandez accuses one crewman of beating his ex-wife (and selling war refugees into slavery), when the crewman tries to justify his actions Jesus jumps over the table to headbutt him, gives him a stern lecture on why you should never abuse your life partner, then sentences the wife beater to airlocking.
154	* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"I am Theophilus Farnsworth."]]
155	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Artifolk can be free or owned as slaves. Mars only has the latter option.
156	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Po Xu-Ke, the oldest man in the Solar System, dies after refusing any more rejuvenation treatments, though his exact reason for choosing to do this is left a little vague. Conversely, there are a number of others who aren't done living yet such as Seamus [[spoiler: who's actually even older than Po.]]
157	* WordSaladLyrics: [[http://quantumvibe.com/strip?page=302 Chari and Prebakar]] take this trope up to eleven.

Context Webcomic / QuantumVibe