Star Power VI: Shooting Stars (VORP VORP VORP)

[random11]

My current idea to plug most of these plot holes is that Hymn switched from slaves to mass-produced and mass-trained clones after his slave source dried up. Just:
* Why did he ever bother with slaves in the first place?
* And why would he kill off imperfect clones, when he knows that his clones have the potential of perfection with just the right training?

If Hymn doesn't bother with clones, but instead continued in the slave business:
* How does he get them and who trains them how, in order to supply him with enough applicants to even stabilize the number of his singers?
* What would he need DNA and hair samples for?

Maybe he started with slaves, and then the technology was perfected and he switched to clones.
Another alternative is that he uses both, but for different purposes. (the only real reason I can think of is to use the slaves to connect Burke to this mess)

Like Kantaki already mentioned, if clones are cheap and easy to produce and grow, it might be easier to kill them if they fail to fill their purpose.
Same does not apply to slaves though.


Edit:
BTW, will her hair change back once Danica reverts from her Star Power form?

[guttering flame]

Maybe Hymn is a voodoo practitioner?

[Honest Tiefling]

You'd think that in an advance society with DNA recongition this is a bit like Hymn asking Danica for her mother's maiden name and birth date and claiming to be from Microsoft support.

Through maybe Mitch has her back and has already tampered with the DNA. I mean, she's probably been irradiated a few times by now.

[Kantaki]

Would navigating by constellations even work in space?
Are they even identifiable if you aren't on the right planet? On the correct hemisphere?
And even if it works, at best it would tell you in with system you are.
Something you should already know unless things went so very wrong that your position is th least of your problems.
Not that useful for interstellar travels.

Also, stop flirting with your best friend's date Danica.
Seriously, first she acts like a kindergartener because Vrax took Burke along and now she's hitting on him?
Because their humor is equally bad?

[guttering flame]

Would navigating by constellations even work in space?
Are they even identifiable if you aren't on the right planet? On the correct hemisphere?
And even if it works, at best it would tell you in with system you are.
Something you should already know unless things went so very wrong that your position is th least of your problems.
Not that useful for interstellar travels.

Shhh, don't confuse Mookie, amateur astronomer extraordinaire.

On a more serious note, you could memorize a couple of significant distant light sources like Andromeda Galaxy that won't change too much unless you're hopping galaxies. In which case you choose from even farther away. If you bothered to install a dead reckoning device and a good map, you're good to go.

All this is beside the point in the Star Power universe where you never wander far away from a Gate. Navigating within a star system shouldn't involve star maps. Just the Sun and orbiting planets.

Also, stop flirting with your best friend's date Danica.
Seriously, first she acts like a kindergartener because Vrax took Burke along and now she's hitting on him?
Because their humor is equally bad?

I hate/despise him. Haha, oh whatever. We're besties now.

[Welf]

To give credit where credit is due: Still a better love story than Twilight.
Also:
-They share common interests; bad puns and astronomy, both shown on screen
-They have common friends
-They know each other from work
-Burke has tried to murder Danica 0 times (as net total; +1 murder attempt in beginning, -1 murder attempt when he saved her from his former squad mate)
This is more realistic than 95% of shonen manga relationships. ("We are completely opposite characters, and I keep humiliating you, but we were promised as kids, so this'll work out".)

Also: Vanito the Virgin saved his life, but then he likely went and murdered a bunch of people. Astronomy didn't save their lives.

[guttering flame]

Also: Vanito the Virgin saved his life, but then he likely went and murdered a bunch of people. Astronomy didn't save their lives.

If only they knew Astronomy!

[Celestia]

Wow. All the bad science is coming out. First, we have cloning from hair (presumably) despite that being absolutely impossible. Hair does not contain DNA. And now we've got navigation through space with constellations even though those will change drastically as you move. Realistically, any spacefaring society will have long abandoned the very notion of constellations what with them being isolated to individual planets.

[Zaq]

Maybe he’s talking about when he’s flying planet-level missions within a planet’s atmosphere and not at relativistic speeds? The equivalent of the Starfox levels like Corneria rather than Sector X?

No, that’s still stupid, and it’s not what he said. I got nothing.

Speaking of Starfox, is Slippy planning to change back from his banana shirt into his fancy suit before Hymn gets back, or is he planning on setting up some kind of bad sitcom line?

[Vinyadan]

Knowing the shape of mountains is important to know where you are and triangulate your position, even though mountains aren't universal and they have different faces depending on where you are when you look at them. To me, it makes sense to know some regional landmarks, which is what constellations are. Of course, with stars, you also need to keep in mind the time of year and time of day, but that's what training is for.

[Onyavar]

It really depends on the constellation. The most dominant constellations on earth like Orion or Wagon can't be used for interstellar orientation, because their stars only seem similarly bright /important from earth.
If you travel just a meager ten lightyears (the MillFed spans more than 10.000 lightyears!), these constellations are nearly unrecognizable.

The constellations great for interstellar orientation are groups of stars that really are close to each other, like the Plejades. Even if you look at them from a whole different position than earth - if you can spot this group and have another reference star/cluster, you can triangulate your position. (unless you're IN the Plejades which isn't too unlikely given that the MillFed probably contains them.)

But, anyway, a really advanced civilization like the MillFed should have developed navigation computers that have some thousand orientation stars (their spectral wavelengths, their relative speed and positions in 3D) programmed, and then compute their position based on the observations.

[random11]

Meah, it worked on Star-gate so, whatever.

As long as it's a minor point in a conversation and not an actual plot point, I'm fine with things like this even if they are wrong.

[Shogo]

Oof. The guy from a people obsessed with the sky is named Skyle? That's like naming a woman from a culture obsessed with porn Pornticia.

[Kato]

Oof. The guy from a people obsessed with the sky is named Skyle? That's like naming a woman from a culture obsessed with porn Pornticia.

Well, maybe his real name is just unpronouncable and that's what he decided on because of his interest. Thar or lazy naming.

Also, I guess I've seen worse ways for people to connect / fall in love over common interests. It's not great but it's fine.

[Vinyadan]

For being in the academia (or so I guess), Danica is being very nice. Normally, this kind of conversation end up with the academician trying to instruct the other person and being careful to show that she knows more than him, instead of trying to get to know the other person.

I mean, beside the whole "You tried to kill me, but we're cool now" deal.

[random11]

I have no problem with the conversation.
Quite the opposite actually, it looks like a solid and natural human interaction.

I do have a very big issue with something that Mookie had problem with a long time ago, and it became more obvious here:

But my squad leader was a Shrixian, they're in love with the sky...

You see, that's the problem with "planet of the hats".
With just these few words, it wasn't Skyle who taught him about the stars and had a relationship with based on shared love of flight, it was just another Shrixian.

[Kantaki]

The last panel...
Subtle.
Like a truck to the face.

[PraetorDragoon]

The last panel...
Subtle.
Like a truck to the face.

Subtle by Mookie standards.

[Kato]

Well, maybe my expectations are low for Starpower but I like today's strip. I might have liked it a little better with no dialogue at all but it's still good, I think.

[guttering flame]

Romance, huh. If only it wasn't those two...

[Onyx]

Hymm is a Voodoo practitioner ;), just a guess

[Kato]

Hymm is a Voodoo practitioner ;), just a guess

Oooh, space voodoo! Massively underrated genre indeed.

So, Burke, my boy, at what point did you think the homicidal mercenaries were great buddies? Because blaming others for your terrible judgment is a little unfair.

[Honest Tiefling]

Romance, huh. If only it wasn't those two...

This is a universe with aliens. Why isn't she considering an alien? Is this taboo? Is it normalized? Penalized? Absolutely impossible? Why isn't the little guy with the obsession with food a viable choice? He probably knows how to cook!

I mean, a guy saying 'I will equate your field of scientific research with pretty shapes and mythology' is a horrible basis for a relationship. But they are two moderately attractive people below the age of fourty so they are going to get it on. Admittedly, Danica/Brightman would be suuuuuuuper creepy at this point.

[PraetorDragoon]

You know, I do wonder what happens when Hymm is forced to endure imperfection. Maybe he turns into a space monster?

[Elanasaurus]

You know, I do wonder what happens when Hymm is forced to endure imperfection. Maybe he turns into a space monster?

More monstrous than he already is? Maybe.

[ZeroiaSD]

This is a universe with aliens. Why isn't she considering an alien? Is this taboo? Is it normalized? Penalized? Absolutely impossible? Why isn't the little guy with the obsession with food a viable choice? He probably knows how to cook!

I mean, a guy saying 'I will equate your field of scientific research with pretty shapes and mythology' is a horrible basis for a relationship. But they are two moderately attractive people below the age of fourty so they are going to get it on. Admittedly, Danica/Brightman would be suuuuuuuper creepy at this point.

Danica is the one who randomly names stars she sees, so 'stars are pretty and mythological and I know some constellations' is more plus than minus. Her stance is "stars are awesome" not "stars are serious business."

Danica doesn't need someone who knows stars, she needs someone who'll listen when she gushes how awesome stars are :)

Also, key factor: Dating a superhero. There's a high probability that at some point any SO will be captured by a villain and must be rescued, maybe multiple times, so it has to be someone who's good to have in that role.

[Kato]

So.. How old is Hymn supposed to be? Or look? I mean, I guess with high tech medicine that's a difficult question but Burke seems to assume he is... 60?
Also, I guess this sounds like an interesting mystery but I'm sure the reveal will be disappointing

[random11]

Update

Here are some solutions for your "mystery":

- Who said the portrait is new or recent?

- It's a painting not a photograph, you are aware that paintings can be different than how the object looks in reality, right?

[PraetorDragoon]

Obviously the answer is Space Vampire who feeds on the emotions brought out by his music.

[Onyavar]

Update

Here are some solutions for your "mystery":

- Who said the portrait is new or recent?

- It's a painting not a photograph, you are aware that paintings can be different than how the object looks in reality, right?

Maybe it IS a photo.

And the mystery is that the portrait is supposed to be rather old, but Burke met the guy more recently.

Easiest solution is if it is an escaped clone, or one of the contacts of his bad boss, I guess.

Hmn...
* Hymn is a large-style illegal importer of "people". (I need to correct myself, I mostly wrote "slaves" until now, but that was never actually said.)
* Hymn mass-clones hymself: all his employees except his assistant are male copies of him. (I think we can safely assume at this point)
* Hymn collected Danica's samples. (To improve hymself or to clone her?)
* Hymn and his (clone) ringleaders don't hesitate to kills off any copies they deem imperfect, at slightest offenses.

I'm now really puzzled how the pieces will fit together, because "smuggled people" don't fit with "cloning scheme" - unless it's not "cleanly" growing clones in vats, but doing something really icky instead. Cell harvesting or Hymn-breeding or...