Yellow light means Twain on Twack? Cliff Hanger Alert, will Dolly get to Lynn before they go to meet the Big Scary AI? Or will we be following yet another act in the New Troy traveling Smoke~Mirrors~Lights and Magic Show 0n Monday?
Don't we just love Fridays?
@Sheela - You can point out that it's longer before we know if our red shirt is going to have a chance to survive or not (Ada also tracking Lynn or Miraiko stopping by to investigate extra door-to-AIS openings and calling Julia are the two options that seem most likely to me if he's going to pull through).
@Dragonrider: Anybody with even a little diligence and/or professionalism in webcomics will never end up posting their last finished comic, because they have what is known as a, "Buffer." This, "Buffer," is a collection of unpublished work that is maintained as a reserve against the normal variability in life's level of interruptions and distractions from getting work done. I realize you may think that such a, "Buffer," is utterly mythological--like unicorns or honest politicians--but some comic authors genuinely have them.
Now that I've explained the, "Buffer," myth and claimed it isn't entirely a myth, I will make the wildly unsupportable claim that webcomic authors that have published more than a thousand comics are more likely to have one than others. That may mean, "And for the Moment there will NOT be a scene change on Monday," could indicate they have a finished comic for Monday already done. The creators would probably know what that looks like, and what is or isn't in that, unless they've been outsourcing to India again. :)
So, five women who are very different from each other. Do they count as a five-woman band, and if so which one is which? About the only one I'm sure of is that Arianna is the chick but I am not sure about the others. Maybe Lynn for leader, Acantha for lancer, Dolly for smart lady and Ceci for the big lady?
See, you're right about that (obviously you should know your character better than I do) but the thing is that the lancer is supposed to be harder-edged than the leader if anything. Lynn doesn't seem to fit in any of the other roles except chick (which is full), and sometimes the leader in those five man bands is actually the most feckless/ineffectual one. I somehow don't see her as being the smart one (it would be an informed attribute at this point since she hasn't made too many smart moves) so what else is left?
My mistake, looking up the key terms on ruin your life says that the lancer is foremost the leader's foil, and can be the party morality pet if the leader is pragmatic/expedient.
Okay, next question: Musical band or mecha pilots?
Obviously CeCi is Scary Spice, Lynn is Ginger Spice, Acantha is Posh Spice, Dolly is Sporty Spice, and Ariana is Baby Spice. ^_^
I wanted Lynn to be Baby Spice, but Ariana doesn't work as Ginger Spice. Those people campaigning for CeCi as Baby Spice haven't been paying attention.
That tech is pretty common place actually ( Making a Android look totally Human However Roma flat out makes it illegal and it is frowned on in New Troy.
Black ops opens all kinds of doors though Teedee and Ada have devices that give off signals that make them appear to be Human even cursory scans will show them as such.
Actually .. that whole egg thing is being written out of the reboots .. it was never intended to be a plot point. That was still way back before I knew what the hell i was doing. Sorry Sheela.
yeah .. that was originally suppose to be just a malfunction - her eggs had nothing to do with the plot and with the readers as willing to speculate on it and making a big deal we decided that it would not play any part in the story, So when we redo that scene eggs will not be mentioned at all. My apology's
We've seen CeCi's scanners from her perspective. The absence of any weapon on Arianna will be instantly apparent, and the collar is a fairly obvious item.
Well, they're clearly on the run, they know Acantha is Lynn's friend (that was established some while back, I think?) and Arianna is obviously a slave and unarmed. I can see Dolly & Ceci warning her off but unless she makes an overtly hostile move, there's no reason for them to kill her.
Yes they know who and what Acantha looks like - its not like its classified material. and Ceci already has files on most of the major players by raping the palace's computer system.
Alot can happen in a few seconds Dolly. She better hurry. I hope it's not gonna be one of those "just missed" scenes where Dolly runs up and the tram is just out of reach for her to get to Lynn.
That would be interesting comic relief - Dolly and CeCi running down the tracks after the tram - "Hey! Wait for us!" while Aeneas (who doesn't recognize them) and Ceci take pot shots at each other.
It is time that is of essence here and wasting it could get you killed...
Too late, they already left on the train... ^_^
So, Dolly really abandoned Demo and left him to die??? I hope they will return to Demo once the train left since they would have to wait for its return...
Dolly trusted CeCi told her the truth, which sadly doesn't seem to be the case. ;-( Poor Democlus.
As for CeCi, I think she is EXACTLY as she was meant to be right now, mjkj, for the first time. We just got used to the self-aware CeCi and the current CeCi is alien to that CeCi. This is a focused killing machine, coldly efficient.
Sadly it appears so .. Dolly is fixed on finding her missing girl. and Ceci has already declared him dead. Shes not going to waste time or resources on a dead man.
As for Ceci. Also Sadly .. She is behaving exactly as a black angel should at the moment.
How are Black Angels "supposed to act"? Like Malati? Like Nox? Like TeeDee? The term gets bandied about a bit, but doesn't seem to be at all well-defined other than to mean "possessed of uber powers and totally justified in treated lesser beings like scum any time they feel like it -- only the nice ones don't". You can tell who the nice ones are because they don't ... right up until the time that they do.
From the tech page all we are told is that Black Angels are CentCom's custom wetwork black ops androids, which implies that each one is custom tailored for their specific assigned functions and it is, therefore, impossible to know whether or not it is behaving as it ought, unless you know what its specific assigned function is. Fortunately, we know what this is for CeCi. It is <redacted>. So, of course she is behaving exactly as she ought.
Notice how CeCi is opening the security doors? A wave of her hand and they are FLYING open. If someone was watching on a security board it would be terrifying, I think. Layers of security, just collapsing at a run.
Of course what would be even more interesting would be if the next security door doesn't open to her hand wave while this one closes, trapping them inbetween. Then we hear Aeneaus on the wall speaker stating, "They who'd pass this gate held by me, must answer first these questions three."
No, Lynn has never met CeCi. CeCi was specifically made for this trip as I remember (somewhere around Angel in a box ).
As for Dolly, I think her face and hair is patterned after her old body. If her voice is the same, it might be enough to trigger recognition. Have to wait and see.
Still like the idea of Ceci calling Lynn Sis and Dolly Mommy, really throw Arianna and Acantha in a tizzy as well as confuse the hell out of Lynn. As for the New Troy Smoke~Mirrors~Light ~&~Magic Show their gonna scratch their collective heads and Doc Silver is gonna go into meltdown when they meet Dolly and find out she is an Android, Best meeting would be with Dolly and Douchie bet he would qualify as Soprano for the Old Style Vienna Boys Choir.
Dolly good to see you too. I would suggest being careful to avoid making puns that are so offensively bad they'll nuke you from orbit just to be sure, though.
- "Ground burst confirmed, sir. Nuke was dead on target."
- "Good!"
- "Sir! Transmission from ground zero! There's a lot of interference, but-"
- "Replay it."
- "*hsss* *crackle* Why does a herbivorous goat like me find it hard to stomach a nuclear weapon coming in at orbital velocity like this? Becaaaause that makes it a little meteor! Ba dum tish!"
- "ALL HANDS CEASE GROANING! THAT'S AN ORDER! Lieutenant, do we have planet-busters available?!?"
So at this point, assuming Acantha's plan goes well, as planned then it should be fairly safe with Aenaes...but if Aenaes doesn't recognize Dolly and Ceci's intents after Acantha & co. are safe-ish..oh dear. That's if they get there.
I think there's maybe three or four fire-fights of some kind before we get the 'resolve' in this bit here.
Also, wonderful job with all the expressions in these last few pages *v*
I just realized: I suspect Aeneas and Decimus were written to be a near perfect dichotomy of each other. And this was - at least in part - to create a greater story impact.
Consider: Aeneas had reasons to hurt, kill, or use Acantha (as a hostage). She was a Livius, granddaughter of Aurelian Livius who led the attack which crippled him. He was created to serve and protect Nova Roma, so that was a betrayal most cruel. Further, Aeneas is quite insane. Despite this, he befriended Acantha and would go to great lengths to protect her (if he could).
Decimus, in contrast, is brother to Acantha. He has every reason to protect and care for his younger sister. And unlike crippled Aeneas, he has the resources to do so. Instead, he physically and mentally abuses her, and goes to great lengths to "discipline" her. Even tried to rape her. Indeed, it's strongly hinted that he killed his own father and, later, his mother, just to get them out of the way and assume the throne.
Like Aeneas, Decimus is more than a little insane. But their behavior is quite different. I think this helps emphasize that insanity is -no excuse- for Decimus' behavior. More importantly, it emphasizes the compassion and humanity in Aeneas. He was the brother Acantha never had - what Decimus should have been. This, in turn, helps emphasize the potential for a machine to have a heart or soul (more-so than certain humans, even), which is a recurring theme.
Looking at it more broadly, we see other dichotomies in the story that portray a similar contrast with androids and AI. For instance, New Troy has a huge android population. And, there, androids and sapient AI are granted rights and protections similar to humans. They're also respected and trusted by most citizens. This is in sharp contrast with Nova Roma where the situation is entirely reversed. Again, it adds emphasis by way of contrast. (To be fair, Nova Roma also has human slaves. But I think we've seen that even the slaves have more rights than androids there.)
Small correction: Valerius remarried after his first wife (Decimus's mother) died, and that second marriage produced Acantha. Acantha strongly suspects that Decimus caused her mother's death, and that he also murdered their father years later.
I always enjoy the dialogue so much in your comics, Centy! It seems like you have so many characters and each of them have their own voice <3.
Lovely!!
Yes but your Mother didn't shove you face first into a wasps nest and Acantha does not want to leave Arianna behind. with the wasps. The giant spider eating wasps.
Don't we just love Fridays?
Sorry the devil made me point that out.
Now that I've explained the, "Buffer," myth and claimed it isn't entirely a myth, I will make the wildly unsupportable claim that webcomic authors that have published more than a thousand comics are more likely to have one than others. That may mean, "And for the Moment there will NOT be a scene change on Monday," could indicate they have a finished comic for Monday already done. The creators would probably know what that looks like, and what is or isn't in that, unless they've been outsourcing to India again. :)
;)
CeCi would be the Cute Bruiser.
Okay, next question: Musical band or mecha pilots?
I wanted Lynn to be Baby Spice, but Ariana doesn't work as Ginger Spice. Those people campaigning for CeCi as Baby Spice haven't been paying attention.
TWO human lifesigns? Is Arianna an android?
Two human lifesigns, Acantha and Arianna, unless I'm miscounting?
... hrmm .. I might be in a bit of a trolling mood today, eh ?
Black ops opens all kinds of doors though Teedee and Ada have devices that give off signals that make them appear to be Human even cursory scans will show them as such.
And yes, "Lynn and the Life Signs" would make for an awesome band name!
Chekov's ovum!
Friendly Fire, AIN'T!
Well, if she dies then at least then she won't have to agonize over poor dying Democlus. :)
to have have our dynamic duo
arrive just in time to see
the train disappearing
around the bend.
down the track!
That doesn't work as well when Arianna is in a blind panic trying to save Acantha FROM the Gates of Hell.
@ wolfsbain
Hehe it would be funny.
It is time that is of essence here and wasting it could get you killed...
Too late, they already left on the train... ^_^
So, Dolly really abandoned Demo and left him to die??? I hope they will return to Demo once the train left since they would have to wait for its return...
...and CeCi is totally not her own self...
As for CeCi, I think she is EXACTLY as she was meant to be right now, mjkj, for the first time. We just got used to the self-aware CeCi and the current CeCi is alien to that CeCi. This is a focused killing machine, coldly efficient.
As for Ceci. Also Sadly .. She is behaving exactly as a black angel should at the moment.
From the tech page all we are told is that Black Angels are CentCom's custom wetwork black ops androids, which implies that each one is custom tailored for their specific assigned functions and it is, therefore, impossible to know whether or not it is behaving as it ought, unless you know what its specific assigned function is. Fortunately, we know what this is for CeCi. It is <redacted>. So, of course she is behaving exactly as she ought.
Notice how CeCi is opening the security doors? A wave of her hand and they are FLYING open. If someone was watching on a security board it would be terrifying, I think. Layers of security, just collapsing at a run.
And she's never met Ceci, right?
As for Dolly, I think her face and hair is patterned after her old body. If her voice is the same, it might be enough to trigger recognition. Have to wait and see.
Ceci: (surprised at this) Nox?!
Dolly: Nox!
Lynn and Acantha: (hearing them) *!* Who's there?!
Dolly: Dolly!
Lynn: (happy) Dolly!-
Acantha: (interrupting) Who?
Dolly and Ceci charge up to them.
Dolly: (addresses Acantha) Dolly-
Ceci: (interrupting) Good to see you, Lynn!
Inspector-bot:
>:=)> Awaits shower of peanuts. >:=D>
- "Good!"
- "Sir! Transmission from ground zero! There's a lot of interference, but-"
- "Replay it."
- "*hsss* *crackle* Why does a herbivorous goat like me find it hard to stomach a nuclear weapon coming in at orbital velocity like this? Becaaaause that makes it a little meteor! Ba dum tish!"
- "ALL HANDS CEASE GROANING! THAT'S AN ORDER! Lieutenant, do we have planet-busters available?!?"
>:=D>
So at this point, assuming Acantha's plan goes well, as planned then it should be fairly safe with Aenaes...but if Aenaes doesn't recognize Dolly and Ceci's intents after Acantha & co. are safe-ish..oh dear. That's if they get there.
I think there's maybe three or four fire-fights of some kind before we get the 'resolve' in this bit here.
Also, wonderful job with all the expressions in these last few pages *v*
Consider: Aeneas had reasons to hurt, kill, or use Acantha (as a hostage). She was a Livius, granddaughter of Aurelian Livius who led the attack which crippled him. He was created to serve and protect Nova Roma, so that was a betrayal most cruel. Further, Aeneas is quite insane. Despite this, he befriended Acantha and would go to great lengths to protect her (if he could).
Decimus, in contrast, is brother to Acantha. He has every reason to protect and care for his younger sister. And unlike crippled Aeneas, he has the resources to do so. Instead, he physically and mentally abuses her, and goes to great lengths to "discipline" her. Even tried to rape her. Indeed, it's strongly hinted that he killed his own father and, later, his mother, just to get them out of the way and assume the throne.
Like Aeneas, Decimus is more than a little insane. But their behavior is quite different. I think this helps emphasize that insanity is -no excuse- for Decimus' behavior. More importantly, it emphasizes the compassion and humanity in Aeneas. He was the brother Acantha never had - what Decimus should have been. This, in turn, helps emphasize the potential for a machine to have a heart or soul (more-so than certain humans, even), which is a recurring theme.
Looking at it more broadly, we see other dichotomies in the story that portray a similar contrast with androids and AI. For instance, New Troy has a huge android population. And, there, androids and sapient AI are granted rights and protections similar to humans. They're also respected and trusted by most citizens. This is in sharp contrast with Nova Roma where the situation is entirely reversed. Again, it adds emphasis by way of contrast. (To be fair, Nova Roma also has human slaves. But I think we've seen that even the slaves have more rights than androids there.)
Small correction: Valerius remarried after his first wife (Decimus's mother) died, and that second marriage produced Acantha. Acantha strongly suspects that Decimus caused her mother's death, and that he also murdered their father years later.
Sorry, Dolly, missed getting Lynn by *that much*...
Lovely!!
Your mother would not yell at you when there's no danger present.
Were you about to kill yourself, however, things would change real quick.