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

[The Glyphstone]

OK, so any bets on what this is going to turn out to be? Guessing it isn't going to turn out to be the actual afterlife...

I think this is the 'storage buffer' where NuTagon's gestalt is stored. He's been reactivated, but not yet downloaded into meatware for whatever reason.

[Windscion]

If so (and I can think of no better explanation) this blurs the line between AI and meat-sophont even further.

[guttering flame]

Shouldn't a Virtual Reality heaven created by our mercenaries have more oomph?

[Windscion]

It's not heaven, merely Eden.

[keybounce]

Shouldn't a Virtual Reality heaven created by our mercenaries have more oomph?

Ahh, here's my bet (I'll put 20Q on this on the Erf forums if you want):

This is Petey's VR. Petey has stated that he wants to take some sociopaths out of circulation. So, he's trying to make a pleasant enough experience that Kaff will accept staying in A.L. instead of R.L.

This implies that we'll have a way for A.L. Kaff to talk with the rest of his staff.

Hmm. A little immortality, as an artificial lifeform. It's not the first treatment of the idea in fiction.

Which blurs the line a bit. Where is the line of life and death, when death is just an AI gateway? When your gestalt can be turned into a computer simulation, heck it can be turned into multiple simulations -- what would it mean to have 5 AI copies of you, and three regrown copies of you?

What will happen to the concept of "Life" in this post-longevity world?

[Rockphed]

Ahh, here's my bet (I'll put 20Q on this on the Erf forums if you want):

This is Petey's VR. Petey has stated that he wants to take some sociopaths out of circulation. So, he's trying to make a pleasant enough experience that Kaff will accept staying in A.L. instead of R.L.

This implies that we'll have a way for A.L. Kaff to talk with the rest of his staff.

Hmm. A little immortality, as an artificial lifeform. It's not the first treatment of the idea in fiction.

Which blurs the line a bit. Where is the line of life and death, when death is just an AI gateway? When your gestalt can be turned into a computer simulation, heck it can be turned into multiple simulations -- what would it mean to have 5 AI copies of you, and three regrown copies of you?

What will happen to the concept of "Life" in this post-longevity world?

Well, didn't the Bradicor die out because they uploaded their brains into computers and then forgot who was who?

[HandofShadows]

Well, didn't the Bradicor die out because they uploaded their brains into computers and then forgot who was who?

The system was destroyed in what were called The Personality Wars. But I don't recall much more.

[factotum]

Well, didn't the Bradicor die out because they uploaded their brains into computers and then forgot who was who?

As I recall, the Bradicor were split into two groups: the ones who replaced their brains with Schlock-style memory banks, and the ones who uploaded themselves into computers. Pretty sure the ones who uploaded themselves into computers died because of computer failures, not because of forgetting who they were.

[Cikomyr]

I personally am very happy that they actually make backups.

I think i made clear that i found the idea of them lacking backups to be a bigger plot hole than them suddenly having one.

[The Glyphstone]

Though now I have to wonder why Tagon recorded that goodbye message to his father, if they could just copy him out into a new body from the backup.

[Kantaki]

Though now I have to wonder why Tagon recorded that goodbye message to his father, if they could just copy him out into a new body from the backup.

Because he was going to die?
It's not as if the back-up is the same person.
He will just have Tagon’s personality and memories up to ~a hour before the original’s death
Schlock was pretty depressed because of something along those lines some time ago.

[ryuplaneswalker]

Though now I have to wonder why Tagon recorded that goodbye message to his father, if they could just copy him out into a new body from the backup.

I am going to say he was a bit too in the moment, The idea that he can blow himself up and get rebuilt from a back up is very likely to not be in his conscious thought stream for years. He has spent 40 years with the idea that "If I blow up I am gone" and a few months with the idea "if I blow up they can rebuild me"

[Cikomyr]

the Tagon that lived that extra 45 minutes is dead.

He is the one who came at certain realizations. And needed to say Goodbye.

[Mobius Twist]

Though now I have to wonder why Tagon recorded that goodbye message to his father, if they could just copy him out into a new body from the backup.

The "Continuity Flaw" is one concept that is woven throughout Schlockverse, almost as if the author intended for a large portion of his work to reflect this and subvert popular character immortality. We kind dodged it when Tagon died the first time and Kevyn literally travelled back in time to save him. No so much any more.

[eschmenk]

The "Continuity Flaw" is one concept that is woven throughout Schlockverse, almost as if the author intended for a large portion of his work to reflect this and subvert popular character immortality. We kind dodged it when Tagon died the first time and Kevyn literally travelled back in time to save him. No so much any more.

True, although it was glossed over when Kevyn gate-cloned himself before committing suicide.

[Cikomyr]

Score one for the AI

[Rockphed]

True, although it was glossed over when Kevyn gate-cloned himself before committing suicide.

As memory serves, Kevyn used the "I'm not the person who blew up target Alpha" to excuse his killing of the not-so-security detail.

[Ibrinar]

I don't believe the exact same person would ever do different things in the exact same scenario (though it is almost impossible to replicate a scenario exactly and the person wouldn't be quite the same after doing it once so you can't exactly test that without duplicating someone), so that is not a problem AI whose name I forgot!

[factotum]

so that is not a problem AI whose name I forgot!

His name is Tailor, because that's what he was created as--although he's been reprogrammed as more of a medical bot these days.

Anyway, the fact *this* Tagon has learned how he died might mean he would think harder about how to avoid that situation if it happened again, so put him in exactly the same situation and he might well behave differently. Impossible to tell, of course, since it's vanishingly unlikely he'll ever be in exactly the same situation...

[guttering flame]

His name is Tailor, because that's what he was created as--although he's been reprogrammed as more of a medical bot these days.

Anyway, the fact *this* Tagon has learned how he died might mean he would think harder about how to avoid that situation if it happened again, so put him in exactly the same situation and he might well behave differently. Impossible to tell, of course, since it's vanishingly unlikely he'll ever be in exactly the same situation...

Shouldn't it be the opposite? Assured of his resilient backups, Tagon will fearlessly rush toward danger next time. The best part of it is he'll never remember the painful final moments, only the excitement of a bit before.

[factotum]

Shouldn't it be the opposite? Assured of his resilient backups, Tagon will fearlessly rush toward danger next time.

Except this Tagon knows he's not the original. The original is dead and ain't coming back.

[eschmenk]

Though now I have to wonder why Tagon recorded that goodbye message to his father, if they could just copy him out into a new body from the backup.

I wonder if Tailor is the one who created the backup, perhaps without Kaff knowing about it. IIRC, Tailor wasn't in any of the scenes after Kaff died, which would avoid the question of why he didn't tell anyone about the backup. It could even be that this is a backup of Tailor, who might have been destroyed by the Esspies.

I'm not sure I remember, but wasn't Tailor a gift from Karl to Kaff originally? Maybe preserving and updating Kaff's backup was something he did for Karl's and Kaff's benefit?

Shouldn't it be the opposite? Assured of his resilient backups, Tagon will fearlessly rush toward danger next time. The best part of it is he'll never remember the painful final moments, only the excitement of a bit before.

He will experience any painful final moments, then die, then not remember anything. He'll know that there will be an identical replacement to take over, but he won't experience that.

[factotum]

Whoops. Unless I miss my guess, this strip is implying that Int-Aff-Int have got access to long gun technology somehow? That can't be good news.

[Slayn82]

Are they test firing it on Jupiter? Because it looks like they are test firing it on Jupiter, or a similar Gas Giant. And that talk about spacefaring sophonts adding their own lights to the sky isn't helping.

We know the Paanuri could take a lot of the energy output from their central star to power their Buuthandi. We know how Wormhole Cannons work. At least an entire planet worth of energy could be linked to powering one of those cannons and do so much damage.

[Narkis]

Are they test firing it on Jupiter? Because it looks like they are test firing it on Jupiter, or a similar Gas Giant. And that talk about spacefaring sophonts adding their own lights to the sky isn't helping.

Pretty sure they're test-firing from Jupiter, where their HQ is.

[eschmenk]

All that jibber-jabbering, and we still don't know who created Kaff's backup and why they did it? Given all of the other things that haven't ever been explained, I wonder if we'll ever find out.

Are they test firing it on Jupiter? Because it looks like they are test firing it on Jupiter, or a similar Gas Giant. And that talk about spacefaring sophonts adding their own lights to the sky isn't helping.

We have seen that UNS Int-Aff-Int has a base (headquarters?) on Europa. That's probably why factotum assumed it was them. All we know is that there is a button to press that may be on Europa. We don't know if the gun is there or if it is somewhere else.

We know the Paanuri could take a lot of the energy output from their central star to power their Buuthandi. We know how Wormhole Cannons work. At least an entire planet worth of energy could be linked to powering one of those cannons and do so much damage.

Or maybe that have a huge anni plant or numerous smaller ones plus a lot a fuel. Whichever is more convenient. *shrug*

[halfeye]

Somebody just destroyed a natural body which was in hydrostatic equilibrium. That's way beyond the capabilities of the Long Gun.

If it was Jupiter that just went, that's even further beyond the capabilities of anything we currently know about.

Who is TW?

[eschmenk]

The two panels probably do not show the same location. (I doubt the person pushing the button blew themselves up.) We have no idea what was destroyed. Maybe a small asteroid?

How would hydrostatic equilibrium be relevant? Tiny objects can be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Why couldn't a long gun destroy something that's in hydrostatic equilibrium?

HT's signature looks like "TW." I don't know why.

[TaRix]

HT's signature looks like "TW." I don't know why.

TW is Travis Walton, Tayler's colorist. Howard's signature's on another panel.

[tonberrian]

Howard's signature is harder to see on the starry background. The previous Sunday's strip has a better view of it.