Questionable Content

Theoretically, a human and an Anthro PC could reproduce if Science found a way to take human DNA and convert it into some kind of code that a computer can use to design a "personality" of sorts. It would probably also give them a preference for how it "should" look, and maybe even a gender identity.

New weird page-topper.

edited 8th Dec '16 8:35:31 AM by SalFishFin

Reminds me of how carbosilicate amorphs can reproduce with other species, essentially by consciously creating an offspring amorph with the desired personality traits.

@Sail that is honestly way more comforting than the egg thing.

No. EGGS.

The best thing about being able to lay eggs is that you'll always have a source of food.

ewwww

Doesn't even work. Where do you think the energy that goes into them comes from?

The webcomic Endtown actually made a whole plot-arc about a colony of egg-layers doing exactly that. (They were formerly-human mutated lizard-folk.)

New comic.

Reeeeeally starting to dislike CW. She's no Umbridge, but she's getting there.

This has been a pretty rough day for Corpsewitch, all things considered

Yeah you need some magical bullshitt to survive on your own eggs. Although if you've missed in fertilizing during the season, omelette is a way to recoup some of the loss. Powder the shell too, that's a ton of calcium.

@comic: yeah being Bubbles is hard.

Well according to Bernard Werber, new ant queens initially survive on their own eggs until they can finally get a worker ant capable of fetching food.

See, now is a good time for CW to get punched.

Keeping Bubbles in the robot fighting ring by threatening to unlock memories of some horrific wartime shit, that may or may not involve her killing her squad intentinally or unintentionally - essentially unlocking a super-PTSD? That's fuckin' evil.

Do you think we're going to witness the first robot murder in the comics any time soon?

I feel like it's the other way, that she's essentially holding memories hostage.

The following strips are every cast member lining up to punch Corpsewitch over some hitherto unknown grudge.

So, this is what bugs me. Corpsewitch being a completely flat, evil-y evil villain is kind of boring. I liked the nuance where Villain Has a Point and her actions have honestly been pretty reasonable... but to make things black and white, she's has to be cartoonishly evil and also be blackmailing Bubbles.

And we're also validating the whole "the only reason that Bubbles wouldn't go with Faye is because either they're not friends or CW has shit on Bubbles." Which is bullshit.

Honestly, I think that Corpse Witch is simply a highly-functioning sociopath. She's not malicious, but she also simply does not have morals whether because of how she was programmed, how she developed, or by choice.And like the old joke about how the best sort of government is a benevolent dictatorship, that just might be what the fight club needs to survive.

I love how Jeph has completely abandoned what little subtlety was still left in the whole allegory for abusive and manipulative relationships that is Corpsewitch and Bubbles. But I'm sure that there are still at least some readers who are going to wring their hands about how Corpsewitch isn't evil, she's just looking out for Bubbles and wants what's best for her and is trying to keep her from getting hurt again and bluh bluh bluh.

I like how Jeph has performed the bold artistic choice of using a fantasy race as a metaphor for an oppressed minority.

Literally nobody has ever done that. It makes it easier for my honky ass to relate.

I don't disagree - like I've hated CW as much as anyone else recently, but aside from the jabs she's had okay moments. She even neutralized the situation before Faye punched her. An interesting aspect is that despite her passive aggressive garbage, before now it was just really psychologically messy shit. There was malice there, and some hinting at having control over Bubbles, but nothing overt - her main crime has been being a scummy, bitchy person, but she's at least been a competent boss. In a way, this blunt statement of her having serious power over Bubbles erases some of that ambiguity.

At the same time, it's juicy as hell and I want more.

Ehh. Bubbles is being oppressed by another robot, and the issue here is at least tied to Bubbles being tech - there is power over AI memories if someone knows what to do. That's a nice little AI tidbit that I appreciate.

The whole "AI = oppressed minority" thing has been done much more hamfisted in the past. Look at May applying for jobs, for example.

Honestly, I like the idea of an AI story focusing on social issues. I wrote a little pilot concept thing coming from the POV of a second generation android, who's fought against being manufactured and sold as a commercial product, and details about how older units were slowly obsoleted by evolving hardware to the point of being unable to back themselves up - and the act of backing an AI up itself being considered highly unethical, creating two branching paths of the same personality and such. The "fighting against being property" reeks of "forced fantasy slavery allegory" and I hate that I can't escape the shadow of that, but the idea of AI social issues has really captured my imagination regardless. All that aside, this isn't even the most blatant "robot racism" moment in the comic - if you're looking for snark fodder, go back and find the really heavyhanded political commentary.

May not being able to find a job is also not exclusively a minority issue. Unless you're considering "felon" a minority.

Tends to be a minority issue though given that lots of them are locked up on either bullshit charges or for small amounts of weed. Then they get a felony conviction because the laws are deliberately designed to harm them and they can't defend themselves because the public attorneys are deliberately underfunded and now they've got a felony record and probably can't ever get legal work again. So they end up turning to crime and go back to prison. Which is privately owned of course.

It had racism and ex-con elements. May couldn't find a job willing to take her for her criminal record, and one of the last shops explicitly told her that the boss didn't want them hiring robots - which, according to May, is illegal and probably a show of bias against A.I.s.

I definitely worded my post wrong in that area, I'm sorry if I came across as a dickbag.

Felony conviction on fairly minor offences is almost exclusively a minority issue. Not being able to find work after serving your time is not. most places don't want to hire white ex-cons either.

....There is a lot going on here that we aren't completely aware of. What I find...odd, is that the way Corpse Witch phrases it Bubbles actively requested a memory wipe to which she obliged, and while I don't think it would be accurate to say she's holding Bubble's memories hostage, it is fair to say that she has a point.

She's done a lot for A.I.s with less possible or legitimate lives, including Bubbles, and she's apparently done a lot for Bubbles personally, and it's kind of unfair to say 'well screw you I'm out of here/I don't care'.

The overall sense I'm getting here is that there is more backstory between the two of them then which we are aware, and possible and more complicated personal history. Something liking memory locking doesn't seem like a request you'd make of *just* your boss. An old war buddy maybe, or an old friend.