Schlock Mercenary VII: A T.A.D. Too Much Dialogue These Days

[factotum]

Think about it. There are no officers or crews to administrate the ships. Just an AI that does the Helmsmanship, the tactical, engineering, scanning. Sometimes, an officer is assigned com but the AI can override even them.

Er, yes, we already saw that when Tagii went mad? She had complete control of the ship and nobody on board could do anything about it--apart from Ventura, who had a fail-safe explosive device built in to the computer that only she had control of. It's notable that the AI of Broken Wind was *not* given control over the internal gravitics at Tagon's insistence, because he didn't want a repeat of that situation.

[Kantaki]

Tagon knows Schlock all too well...

But „I haven't decided yet” sounds like a great name for a mercenary ship.

[Imgran]

Living in the shadow of a prior edition of yourself... THAT is a Laz'R'Us immortality scenario that I would not have anticipated.

That said, this is not the first time Captain Tagon has charged glibly into death to save his crew. Even if he doesn't remember the bombwalking, or the time he sacrificed himself to get Elf and Schlock home in the alternate timeline, Captain Tagon knows he's capable of amazing acts of courage. Charging a knife wielding hooligan without a helmet or weapon at the Paris asteroid to save his father springs to mind. So does going off with only Ebbironth for backup to try to evade hordes of better-armed security in order to take down Paris TAD and pull his crew out of the Paris asteroid debacle he'd led them into. And of course the Credomar situation jumping Touch-And-Go into harm's way where it was still his instinct to do it even when it turned out to be the wrong thing entirely

Tagon has always followed the creed of a responsible veteran officer in hostile territory -- first see to the crew, then and only then to yourself. Once he gets over the fact that he's technically not the same guy and realizes that yeah, he is pretty much the same guy, except maybe a bit wiser, I'd expect him to show the same courage again. So the unnamed fobott'r is definitely not wrong here even if his faith in Tagon makes the good Captain feel a bit self conscious and insecure.

I do think it's kind of interesting that the new Tagon seems to be a fair bit more sensitive and sensible than his predecessor. The knowledge that there's a difference between "immortality" and "immunity to death" seems to have shaken the good Captain up somewhat. Also he got some things off his chest in recent missions and repaired his relationship with his dad and that might be in play as well.

[Rockphed]

I do think it's kind of interesting that the new Tagon seems to be a fair bit more sensitive and sensible than his predecessor. The knowledge that there's a difference between "immortality" and "immunity to death" seems to have shaken the good Captain up somewhat. Also he got some things off his chest in recent missions and repaired his relationship with his dad and that might be in play as well.

One of the things that has come up a couple times in the comic is that just because you clone someone and put all their memories back, it does not make them the same as if they hadn't died. See, for instance, the Gavs. All of them were supposed to be perfect copies of the original Gav, may his soul rest in peace, but some of them decided to load new personalities and extreme body modifications onto themselves. Or when Schlock jumped off a cliff and died, Nuschlock considers himself a new person.

On the other hand, gate-clones were still considered the same as the original person by law when the Shipyard of Insufferable Arrogance was purchased.

[Imgran]

Yeah, but the gate clone thing was more "we haven't really had a chance to think about it yet."

[Kantaki]

Wasn't the gate-clone is the same person thing mostly for stuff that happened before the clone was made?
So if you commited a crime and then got gate-cloned both versions would get punished, but not if it happened the other way around?

I like Tagon’s „Don't say anything. You are a statue. It would be weird.”
Seems as if his brain is ahead of him in the working-this-out-department.

Oh, and Cynthetic Certainty is a great name for a ship.

[Cikomyr]

Sunday's comic was surprisingly deep and poignant

[eschmenk]

Sunday's comic was surprisingly deep and poignant

Now that's a pretty darned low bar to cross.

But yes, Sunday's page was way outside the norm.

[Cikomyr]

Today's alt-text was pretty entertaining.

I miss those humorous lore tidbits.

[Rockphed]

Today's alt-text was pretty entertaining.

I miss those humorous lore tidbits.

My favorite part is that the moons of Bacchus are known as the Bacchanal. If we ever do find a major planet in the Kuipiter belt, we must see to it that it is named Bacchus. So let it be written, so let it be done.

[factotum]

My favorite part is that the moons of Bacchus are known as the Bacchanal. If we ever do find a major planet in the Kuipiter belt, we must see to it that it is named Bacchus. So let it be written, so let it be done.

The difficult bit would be mining the existing Bacchus asteroid down to gravel first, though.

[HandofShadows]

The difficult bit would be mining the existing Bacchus asteroid down to gravel first, though.

Not in the Schlockvers. With the tech they have it probably took a couple of week.

[guttering flame]

Not in the Schlockvers. With the tech they have it probably took a couple of week.

The difficult part is giving a justification that's not "So we can name another object Bacchus"

[Rockphed]

The difficult part is giving a justification that's not "So we can name another object Bacchus"

Obviously they were mining it to get the raw materials to build Bacchus Base.

[Kantaki]

The difficult part is giving a justification that's not "So we can name another object Bacchus"

Making a new planet match the established naming scheme isn't enough?
What other justification could you possibly need?

Obviously they were mining it to get the raw materials to build Bacchus Base.

Makes sense. What else should they do with all that rubble?

[factotum]

Not in the Schlockvers. With the tech they have it probably took a couple of week.

Obviously, but I was referring to Rockphed's comment that if we actually find a Kuiper belt giant planet we'd have to call it Bacchus, which is more about the real world than the Schlockverse.

[guttering flame]

I wonder how many astronomers read this comic?

[Onyavar]

Who elses things that Bacchus has all the signamancy of another Oisri?

[factotum]

Who elses things that Bacchus has all the signamancy of another Oisri?

Um, no? I'm not even sure where you're seeing this "signamancy"--it just looks like a planet to me. Not to mention, if it *was* something like Oisri you'd have to wonder how stupid the UNS must be to not actually notice it when it's orbiting their own home solar system!

[NEO|Phyte]

Who elses things that Bacchus has all the signamancy of another Oisri?

Only in the sense that it is a generally featureless spherical planetoid. The important signamancies would be below the surface, and I rather doubt it would be anything less than fortified to rival Warhammer 40000's Terra were it another Oisri.

[guttering flame]

Maybe the AI got virus-drunk because 'Bacchus'? AI can be stupid too

[factotum]

So they have an Esspee on staff now, or is that some other insectoid alien species that just happens to look like an Esspee? I don't see any wings...

[keybounce]

Somehow, the thought of an Espee medic worries me that I might have some biotech inside me after an operation.

[Kantaki]

Somehow, the thought of an Espee medic worries me that I might have some biotech inside me after an operation.

Eh, as long as it works.
And doesn't need much more maintance than the regular stuff.
Might even be a improvement.

[factotum]

Am I the only one who finds it kind of cute the way Neeka is holding on to the comic frame in the final panel?

[smuchmuch]

Somehow, the thought of an Espee medic worries me that I might have some biotech inside me after an operation.

Seeing that at this point basicaly everyone is full of Lazarus nanies anyway, that might be a little too late to worry that...

[keybounce]

Good point. I mean, it's not like the Esspee can touch the nanobots, right?

[memnarch]

Took me a second reading to get the joke, but i did figure it out.

Tailor could do with a slight improvement though I think.

[Kantaki]

Took me a second reading to get the joke, but i did figure it out.

Tailor could do with a slight improvement though I think.

Clearly Tagon has to read more. Because that joke was great.
And the Xeno-Team definitely needs a burglar.
I mean they will loot everything they can(’t) anyway, might as well hire a professional.

[Cikomyr]

Is it me, or Tagon would gain a lot out of reading his own staffing report?

I am in a lot of Honor Harrington books, and i rarely see a CO take command without getting a customary understanding of the people who will be your subordinates.