History WMG / SchlockMercenary

* Jaksmouth was later given a space burial inside a "coffinpedo" in [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2004-03-14 2004-03-14]]. If the blood-nanites kept him alive until he suffocated/starved to death, this theory turns into FridgeHorror.

** Jossed apparently, but it was not likely. During ''Sharp End of the Stick'', Petey did give Kevyn very powerful soldier boosts that sustained his brain activity and healed major trauma, but they weren't the "immortality" nannies we saw later (not able to regenerate brain damage), and the rest of the crew (eg Pronto) did not have them at all. As the Toughs were captive on Morokweng when Petey got the technology, and didn't have contact with Petey until after ''Massively Parallel'', there was no oppoertunity to give it to them before Credomar.

In other words, a headshot shouldn't have even come close to killing Jaksmouth. Xinchub would know this, so he was possibly actually helping Jaksmouth fake his death and disappear.

In [https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2004-02-29 2004-02-29], Xinchub has Tunguska force Tagon to shoot Jaksmouth in the head. He then explains that Jaksmouth and he were UNS intelligence and both immune to mindripping. Later, we learn that the ''reason'' Xinchub is immune is that he has blood nanites that back up his brain contents into the rest of his body and can survive even total destruction of his head.

In other words, a headshot shouldn't have even come close to killing Jaksmouth.

Unless someone on the inside subverted the project, and deliberately allowed the technology to slip through.

* Mooted: alt-Sorlie from Boloceade arrives in the next strip to intercept such an outcome before anyone can think about anything stupid.

* Therefore, the simplest explanation would be... [[ArtificialHuman She just woke up one day somewhere uninteresting]], with a plausible set of life experience and history complete with exquisitely-manufactured paper and electronic trails, a very employable skill set suitable for deep cover and subversion, an undying loyalty to her cause and agency, and really didn't know better than anyone else about her own origins... Oh yeah, there's something ''je ne sais quoi'' about the setting when -that- would be the simplest explanation.

* Therefore, the simplest explanation would be... She just woke up one day somewhere uninteresting, with a plausible set of life experience and history complete with exquisitely-manufactured paper and electronic trails, a very employable skill set suitable for deep cover and subversion, an undying loyalty to her cause and agency, and really didn't know better than anyone else about her own origins... Oh yeah, there's something ''je ne sais quoi'' about the setting when -that- would be the simplest explanation.

* Therefore, the simplest explanation would be... She just woke up one day somewhere uninteresting, with a plausible set of life experience and history complete with exquisitely-manufactured paper and electronic trails, an very employable skill set suitable for deep cover and infiltration, an undying loyalty to her cause and agency, and really didn't know better than anyone else about her own origins... Oh yeah, there's something ''je ne sais quoi'' about the setting when -that- would be the simplest explanation.

** Para Ventura has a hypernet-connected shaped-charge as a remote kill switch for her 4th cervical vertebra.
* Therefore, the simplest explanation would be...She just woke up one day somewhere uninteresting, with a plausible set of life experience and history complete with exquisitely-manufactured paper and electronic trails, an undying loyalty to her cause and agency, and really didn't know better than anyone else about her own origins...Oh yeah, there's something ''je ne sais quoi'' about the setting when -that- would be the simplest explanation.

** Para Ventura, an UNS Int-Aff-Int agent, joined the Toughs while under deep-cover around a ''rival'' intelligence agency, and was preternaturally talented for her age and station.

... Draw your own conclusions.

** Confirmed, in a way. The Kaff Tagon and Alexia Murtaugh in the cyberspace hold of the ''Pursuing Dinosaurs'' now seem to be engaged in some kind of long term romantic or sexual relationship. However, the Tagon and Murtaugh who [[spoiler:until recently]] remained in their home galaxy haven't done the same (presumably because, while compatible, they haven't yet spent the necessary "processing cycles" to form such a relationship—whereas the extragalactic Tagon and Murtaugh have been thinking much faster in cyberspace to prepare for their meeting with the dinosaur worldship - and, quote unquote, [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2019-04-23 realizing secret ambitions in the virtual realm]]).

** Confirmed, in a way. The Kaff Tagon and Alexia Murtaugh in the cyberspace hold of the ''Pursuing Dinosaurs'' now seem to be engaged in some kind of long term romantic or sexual relationship. However, the Tagon and Murtaugh who [[spoiler:until recently]] remained in their home galaxy haven't done the same (presumably because, while compatible, they haven't yet spent the necessary "processing cycles" to form such a relationship—whereas the extragalactic Tagon and Murtaugh have been thinking much faster in cyberspace to prepare for their meeting with the dinosaur worldship - and, quote unquote, [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2019-04-23 realizing secret ambitions in the virtual realm]]).

* Part of the original joke prior to the Franklin Covey–induced retcon was that although the book was called the "7 H*bits" there were clearly far more than 7 rules included. Having more than 70 maxims would maintain the original joke.

** Confirmed, in a way. The Kaff Tagon and Alexia Murtaugh in the cyberspace hold of the ''Pursuing Dinosaurs'' now seem to be engaged in some kind of long term romantic or sexual relationship. However, the Tagon and Murtaugh who [[spoiler:until recently]] remained in their home galaxy haven't done the same (presumably because, while compatible, they haven't yet spent the necessary "processing cycles" to form such a relationship—whereas the extragalactic Tagon and Murtaugh have been thinking much faster in cyberspace to prepare for their meeting with the dinosaur worldship).

* Part of the original joke prior to the Franklin Covey–induced retcon was that although the book was called the "7 H*bits" there were clearly far more than 7 rules included. Having more than 70 maxims would maintain the original joke.

That probability manifold managed to predict that exact scenario, and someone is still doing something wrong - success will go in their heads, Petey will try to solve problems with force, voting will turn ugly, Chinook will usurp them both... It'll be arrival of "Pursuing Dinosaurs" with crucial info that averts the calamity.

The one Toughs encounter at Andromeda station is actually scared of 'barrys' and simply wants to run away, but is bossed by it's higher-ups. Later it'll turn out most of them aren't malicious and quite able to settle things diplomatically, even finding some way to allow teraport (their own barionic forces use it freely, after all), and whole war is initiated and prolonged by a relatively small faction, who use it to keep the rest of their population in fear of barrys and subservient to them, while engaging in terrorism and shooting messengers on purpose. Well, you know, just like some barionic individuals that Petey was trying to tame, before his arms were tied by that war.