Also … "boss-widowed", that got a giggle out of me.
Not to mention the "Happy Heart all the way, if it's you askin'" … makes me think she may have a little crush on the old man. 😊
Also, seems like he used to be Lunar, and have moved down to ground.
I'm still thinking the goldies may be androids that didn't want to die, and have gone to extreme ends to stay alive.
So those *are* cyborgs of some sort, from some time ago, as I make it out. Data on them restricted? The 'nest' suggests might be considerably more of them. I have some speculations.
That's basically what I get; could, as always, be wrong. ;)
To me the "nest" part sounds like they're SPECULATING that there's probably more than one or two of them. Which is pretty likely since why should anybody go through the trouble to design something like that and then build only one?
Them being confirmed as cyborgs seems to support the idea that has been floating around that it is blood or some type of fluid the organic components need. Also seems to reinforce the idea that they take meat for spare parts or new conscripts so the kid's parents may be getting parted out or fitted with new golden skins. Seems the ranger doesn't trust the AI. I liked the lingo, I had to read it slowly but it was fairly easy to translate. I took it more for a Luna dialect than just future speak.
The lingo sounds like a fairly narrow regional dialect, as in a lesser percentage of the population of Luna. Centcomm mentioned noticing Luna Star, and I'll add interactions in DC. We hadn't heard (read) it until now. So Skyla and maybe some of her friends and/or family, people in her area, speak it, but it seems uncommon for Luna as a whole.
Narrowing it down to cyborgs helps, but leaves questions. Cyborgs is the main choice of a few I had leaned toward at first because of the speech, and later because of the fluids, etc. The question now is: "why"? The tech suggests unusual resources. This isn't everyday hardware. That asks one to consider who could wield such resources? Just a few possibilities there. Luna, Roma, Troy come to mind. Tokyo Rose is a possibility; she can pull strings when necessary. But some of these might also be eliminated. Rose, for example, seems more likely to use unorthodox methods to bypass red tape and get things done, but usually those things are to straighten things out in spite of themselves. Not the sort to randomly destroy and fuck things up, and certainly not to randomly kill.
One by one suspects can be eliminated. CentComm would kill to protect, but barring that, I don't think she'd do so randomly either.
That leaves Luna and Roma. We don't have a lot of info on Luna in this time frame. Most of what we know comes from the time frame of Luna Star, and at that time, there was a Russian presence as well, but that info is stale. I can't think of any reason here either, although they might have capability to manufacture the hardware.
Roma does pose a few questions that raise an eyebrow. We don't know, for instance, the range of projects that Setorius worked on, or with whom. We also don't know whether there were any insidious fail-safes on 'the contingencies', or what exists in the way of well-connected Senate members. Maxus' campaign to clean up connections in the wastes could have ruffled a few feathers, or caused someone to get nervous.
Their preferential targeting of meat over an active "significant" threat is the best clue we have, although I don't know what it is. Originally, I thought they were exterminators, but the fact that they left the girl alive nixes that. Could they have been so confident of winning the encounter that they prioritized keeping the resource supplies in reach?
And my interpretation of "significant resistance" as meaning "I am part of a much larger force" seems to be bearing out nicely...
I have to admit, that facehuggers take a lot of killing … a LOOOT of killing!
They are pretty delicious once you drain their blood .. acid.
Mind you, you have to slow cook them - Or - Sous-Vide them, and then roast themover a jet engine for that crispy flavor. 😁
It's pretty much a given that its too late for the 'rents. Mommy's don't tell little girl's to not look. She was a good little girl and kept her eyes tight shut until the ranger showed. They totally used her as bait.
OOOOH...!! Wheels inside wheels, dolls nesting inside dolls. There's a lot going on... I wonder, is Tokyo Rose listening in? Is this golem composite a global phenomenon? Cf the Shinedo filler a while back.
Looking forward to future! Many Thanks!
Very, VERY nice dialogue. Sort of reminiscent of Firefly's "can't stop the signal" scenes yet still original.
This takes jargon and slang to the level I'd expect it to be in the 39th Century but is still quite understandable.
Can you imagine a conversation between a 15th century 'english' speaking character and a really geek-slangy one from today ? Oh wait, I think you did :)
For what it's worth Rose & Cent, like Evervigilant, I understood the slang, but I did have to slow down my reading a bit to grasp the meaning and also just assumed it was Luna speak. then again, I did read Lunastar and they didn't talk like that, so I don't know why I had that first impression.
This does take place a long time after Luna Star and notice that the Luna Ambassador Galatea does not talk like that - its a Luna thing yes like slang.
Panel 2:
Skyla: Hey, boss! Oh, wait, I don't have a boss, since you died.
Logrin: Skyla, I just took a break, I didn't die.
Skyla: Whatever. You're lost to me, but I'll still help you. What do you need?
Logrin: Information.
Skyla: Something interesting? How tricky will this be?
Logrin: Had a shootout with a cyborg, but it's new tech I'm not familiar with.
Skyla: Just stuff to look fancy? Or maybe just a borg addict?
Panel 3:
Logrin: I tried to break into its data, but I couldn't, despite having my best tools.
Skyla: Are you OK?
Logrin: I'm fine, but only because I'm lucky. Can you ask around about any new threats people have noticed? If you need something from me to make it worth your while, let me know.
Skyla: I still owe you more than I could imagine ever paying back. I'm thrilled to help, since it's you.
Logrin: Ok, I'm sending all the data I have on this.
Panel 4:
Skyla: Give me a moment... Um, wow, that actually looks like *old* stuff. Um, wait, I can't get anywhere on breaking into that either. This must have come from somebody important.
Logrin: Do you have even the foggiest idea of who/where that may have been? Anything you have is better than the nothing I have.
Skyla: Problems come from somewhere. I haven't heard anything though. Do you have any AIS contacts? They may have better intel.
Logrin: I'm really not wanting to ask CentComm, Aeneas, Tokyo Rose, or Deep Blue yet. Can you look a bit more?
Skyla: Ok, I'll keep on this. I'll find something or die trying.
My impression is that it's new instances of the creatures made by some old hoped dead and buried monster project.
IOW, I think these are not the original monsters created by that project come out of cryogenic preservation or suspension; these are *new* monsters, messily and horribly created from "available materials" in the very recent past.
On a reread of this section for goings on a few years down the road that new readers don't need to know about just yet ;)
Just noticed that the orange tattoo/applique on Skyla's face looks very much like a stylized outline of today's Prince Edward Island, which is where Nova Roma is located....
Not to mention the "Happy Heart all the way, if it's you askin'" … makes me think she may have a little crush on the old man. 😊
Also, seems like he used to be Lunar, and have moved down to ground.
I'm still thinking the goldies may be androids that didn't want to die, and have gone to extreme ends to stay alive.
So those *are* cyborgs of some sort, from some time ago, as I make it out. Data on them restricted? The 'nest' suggests might be considerably more of them. I have some speculations.
That's basically what I get; could, as always, be wrong. ;)
(Nice to have friends in *high* places.) :D
Narrowing it down to cyborgs helps, but leaves questions. Cyborgs is the main choice of a few I had leaned toward at first because of the speech, and later because of the fluids, etc. The question now is: "why"? The tech suggests unusual resources. This isn't everyday hardware. That asks one to consider who could wield such resources? Just a few possibilities there. Luna, Roma, Troy come to mind. Tokyo Rose is a possibility; she can pull strings when necessary. But some of these might also be eliminated. Rose, for example, seems more likely to use unorthodox methods to bypass red tape and get things done, but usually those things are to straighten things out in spite of themselves. Not the sort to randomly destroy and fuck things up, and certainly not to randomly kill.
One by one suspects can be eliminated. CentComm would kill to protect, but barring that, I don't think she'd do so randomly either.
That leaves Luna and Roma. We don't have a lot of info on Luna in this time frame. Most of what we know comes from the time frame of Luna Star, and at that time, there was a Russian presence as well, but that info is stale. I can't think of any reason here either, although they might have capability to manufacture the hardware.
Roma does pose a few questions that raise an eyebrow. We don't know, for instance, the range of projects that Setorius worked on, or with whom. We also don't know whether there were any insidious fail-safes on 'the contingencies', or what exists in the way of well-connected Senate members. Maxus' campaign to clean up connections in the wastes could have ruffled a few feathers, or caused someone to get nervous.
And my interpretation of "significant resistance" as meaning "I am part of a much larger force" seems to be bearing out nicely...
They are pretty delicious once you drain their
blood.. acid.Mind you, you have to slow cook them - Or - Sous-Vide them, and then roast themover a jet engine for that crispy flavor. 😁
...sounds almost like they are a hive...
I hope she can find some more intel on them...
...and maybe they can rescue Cyana's parents before it is too late... =S
Looking forward to future! Many Thanks!
This takes jargon and slang to the level I'd expect it to be in the 39th Century but is still quite understandable.
Can you imagine a conversation between a 15th century 'english' speaking character and a really geek-slangy one from today ? Oh wait, I think you did :)
"Wot tha fohk yew jibberin' 'bout, slag?"
:D
For what it's worth Rose & Cent, like Evervigilant, I understood the slang, but I did have to slow down my reading a bit to grasp the meaning and also just assumed it was Luna speak. then again, I did read Lunastar and they didn't talk like that, so I don't know why I had that first impression.
Skyla: Hey, boss! Oh, wait, I don't have a boss, since you died.
Logrin: Skyla, I just took a break, I didn't die.
Skyla: Whatever. You're lost to me, but I'll still help you. What do you need?
Logrin: Information.
Skyla: Something interesting? How tricky will this be?
Logrin: Had a shootout with a cyborg, but it's new tech I'm not familiar with.
Skyla: Just stuff to look fancy? Or maybe just a borg addict?
Panel 3:
Logrin: I tried to break into its data, but I couldn't, despite having my best tools.
Skyla: Are you OK?
Logrin: I'm fine, but only because I'm lucky. Can you ask around about any new threats people have noticed? If you need something from me to make it worth your while, let me know.
Skyla: I still owe you more than I could imagine ever paying back. I'm thrilled to help, since it's you.
Logrin: Ok, I'm sending all the data I have on this.
Panel 4:
Skyla: Give me a moment... Um, wow, that actually looks like *old* stuff. Um, wait, I can't get anywhere on breaking into that either. This must have come from somebody important.
Logrin: Do you have even the foggiest idea of who/where that may have been? Anything you have is better than the nothing I have.
Skyla: Problems come from somewhere. I haven't heard anything though. Do you have any AIS contacts? They may have better intel.
Logrin: I'm really not wanting to ask CentComm, Aeneas, Tokyo Rose, or Deep Blue yet. Can you look a bit more?
Skyla: Ok, I'll keep on this. I'll find something or die trying.
Logrin: I appreciate your assistance, Skyla.
*backs off to a safe distance*
Rose is a Pony, Apocolypse Pony,
Punishes man for their sins
Sing along if you know the words!
(that dumb chicken didn't need that joke anyway!)
I still think Rose is Fluttershy.
Panel 3:
Logrin: It had some serious shielding - had my heavy caliber gun with me and it took 4!
Skyla: Did it hurt you?
Logrin: Still in one piece but that’s just luck. Can you check records to see if anyone else has encountered them?
http://datachasers.thecomicseries.com/comics/1665
IOW, I think these are not the original monsters created by that project come out of cryogenic preservation or suspension; these are *new* monsters, messily and horribly created from "available materials" in the very recent past.
Just noticed that the orange tattoo/applique on Skyla's face looks very much like a stylized outline of today's Prince Edward Island, which is where Nova Roma is located....