It looks like by default the "RED-REO" nanotech does "bone and skin backups"
; being torn into many pieces only slightly compromises the integrity of said backups, but being completely vaporized or otherwise losing track of the pieces does. I don't think it does offsite backups by default, although it probably could if you wanted (note that having both the brain AND the RED-REO backups destroyed is only a 4 out of the maximum 5 on the Laz death scale, see the previous page). Possibly having both destroyed with no off-site backups is the full 5 out of 5 dead.
Petey definitely has off-site backups of Schlock, but carbosilicate amorphs are particularly easy to do that sort of thing with.
He also has a backup of Kevyn, but that was from a while ago, and obtained while doing a serious overhaul of his entire body. He does not have a similar backup of Tagon; he used Schlock's memories as a guide while redoing his brain to point out false memories.
Well, actually, he might have read things out while doing the update, but that backup would be pretty old by now as well.
I do have to agree that making regular off-site backups of yourself would be sensible given the technology to do so. I'd probably do them daily if it wasn't too much of a hassle.
edited 18th Sep '16 3:05:25 PM by Shinziril
Gentleman Adventurer!
I'm slightly willing to believe this is real, only because we are supposedly close to the end of the series. Didn't Howard say this is the last book with this cast of characters?
That said, given all the "what makes me me" philosophizing with Murtaugh and Vog that kicked off this book, and Schlock's identity crisis as well, I wouldn't be surprised if Tagon had a backup, or one is scrounged up through some other means. But it won't be treated like nothing happened.
edited 18th Sep '16 8:27:26 PM by Brickman
Your funny quote here! (Maybe)
I wonder which would be considered better, losing just a bunch of recent memories (Tagon, if there is a backup), or the loss them more here-and-there (Murtaugh)?
The latest strip does nothing to confirm it either way, as it's Petey doing the talking.
edited 19th Sep '16 12:58:21 AM by MattII
Not knowing what and when you lost; as well as loss being in the old and treasured memories is pretty horrifying.
Meanwhile losing some specific recent time - you know what you've lost, you know you've not lost anything else, and you can fill up on the current situation to an acceptable degree.
That's my reading of it as well. Also, given the procession power available to Petey, maybe he could use recordings to reconstruct at least some of the memories Tagon's lost since his last backup.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
IIRC synthesising appropriate memories was on offer to Elf after Kevyn's taste of Laz'r'us supersoldier mode came back to light. So yea, he can do some of that.
edited 19th Sep '16 1:12:58 AM by Adannor
Didn't he order the Doctor back as well? Something in that implies he knows he's going to die, but needs her away to make that "not happen"?
Regarding the immortality in this universe, isn't it like the Eclipse universe, in that it isn't, strictly speaking, YOU that survives, just a clone/copy of you with no contiguous, continuity of memory to the "original", and no consciousness transfer?
Ergo, the whole Vog discussion about identity and who he really is?
Also, I may have missed something, but why are the Espees going all invasiony? A pretext for self defence or just because they are biologically programmed to consume / assimilate?
"Regarding the immortality in this universe, isn't it like the Eclipse universe, in that it isn't, strictly speaking, YOU that survives, just a clone/copy of you with no contiguous, continuity of memory to the "original", and no consciousness transfer? "
Yes it is, Schlock just had an arc mulling over exactly that.
And technically it would apply to Murtaugh and Ebby too: their brains got destroyed. All what was left is the backups in nanites and the meatbag that was easily replaceable even before the current tech advance.
They're trying to acquire as much of the absurdly-valuable PTU alloy as they can get their hands on, IIRC (and the Tough's ships happen to be the largest easily-mobile concentrations in the vicinity). Cindercone in particular is worth a really stupidly large amount of money.
Thanks, just confirming - the concept of identity in the future of this universe is weirdly elastic!
It'll be a shame when SM wraps - it's one of the few webcomics I still read with any regularity. The universe is great. Just wonder how it'll wrap. Or has he said he will just continue with a different cast somewhere else?
That was the impression I got, that he's planning on moving just Schlock to a new setting.
I got lost in the plot somewhere around the point where the little mechanical aliens agreed to let Tagon's crew provide security and then attacked them. Is this betrayal by the leader, or betrayal by a group of rebels, and having laid claim to a super valuable world size hunk of I guess super valuable metal, why would they bother? The ships aren't worth near as much as what they're sitting on now. With the money they just made from selling the junk metal world, they can buy anything they want without waging war. Can someone tell me where I took a left turn into Albuquerque?
Granted even though the plot has totally lost me, I remain fascinated by the crew doing what they do best: walking into a charlie foxtrot and handing the enemy their asses on a platter.
Supervaluable metal is also supertough and is thus a pain in the ass to extract from the crumpled ball it is in. The ships Toughs are currently flying are made out of the same stuff and are easier to make use of.
Additionally, there is now a potential for massive hordes of other spacefaring nations to descend on them and give no fucks whatsoever about who came there earlier.
The main mind behind the "grab everything we can" plan is the Esspererin's military leader/advisor. The one that seems to be the overall leader ("first provident", see previous page) also seemed fine with the peaceful version of the deal, and was not informed of the change of plans prior to implementation.
edited 5th Oct '16 7:05:42 AM by Shinziril
Heh. One of the ships in the 10/9 strip is probably a Futurama reference.
So the UNS defences are up the wazoo, but luckily overwatch is being held by Chinook, who'd going to lay a very serious amount of hurt on them.
Trans Siberian Anarchestra (it/they)
So apparently sosheki have doge-level intelligence (see also the next few strips). Whoosagoodgirlden?
Oh, well, that solves that problem. And forty minutes is nothing, I was thinking he'd have to make up days of weeks.
edited 3rd Dec '16 10:18:14 PM by MattII
The main problem is philosophical. As Schlock noted earlier, if Tagon had survived, they still could have made a new Tagon. It looks like he's going to have to deal with an existential crisis in the next book.
It didn't dawn on me until you pointed it out that they can create a perfect copy of you at any time now even if you're still alive. People like the Reverend might refuse to have copies made, for ethical reasons. Or frequent backups might become a condition of employment. Is the reincarnated person bound by the old person's contracts and history, or an entirely new person? This has fascinating legal and philosophical questions.
The gateclones did give them some precedent for this sort of thing. "You were cloned after the crimes were committed, so we can punish you for them."
People make off-site backups for cookie recipes. Failing to make an off-site backup for your own mind when the technology is available would be ridiculously stupid. Especially when these people and their ships are in the line of fire on a daily basis. If it was me, I'd have every ship in the fleet have a backup of every person in the company, just to be on the safe side. But that might be overkill.
edited 18th Sep '16 2:42:27 PM by Discar