Star Power VI: Shooting Stars (VORP VORP VORP)

[Neoriceisgood]

Aw, that's cute indeed.
But.. Well, it just seems weird he'd only care about that one applicant dying if there probably were many before him.

I'm surprised that he seems ... shocked/surprised in the latest page, like ... dude was ready to pull a gun on the guy himself over a slightly trembling voice not too long ago right?

Not sure what to make of this.

[guttering flame]

I'm surprised that he seems ... shocked/surprised in the latest page, like ... dude was ready to pull a gun on the guy himself over a slightly trembling voice not too long ago right?

Not sure what to make of this.

he was in lurve

[PraetorDragoon]

Weird. It seems that there has passed some time between the pages, but I can't tell how much.

How long does the applicant training take btw?

[Kato]

I'm surprised that he seems ... shocked/surprised in the latest page, like ... dude was ready to pull a gun on the guy himself over a slightly trembling voice not too long ago right?

Not sure what to make of this.

I was thinking the same at first, then I assumed he was just surprised that he didn't pass (?) that makes some sense at least.

[AMX]

I'm surprised that he seems ... shocked/surprised in the latest page, like ... dude was ready to pull a gun on the guy himself over a slightly trembling voice not too long ago right?

Not sure what to make of this.

That's what the "don't interact outside training" rule is for - presumably believing that the "imperfect" deserve to die is part of the "education."
But if the guard singer talks too much with the prisoner applicant, he might start to view him as an actual person and question whether killing him is actually the right thing to do.
And when your minions start wondering if maybe you're wrong about exterminating the genetically inferior imperfect musicians, your reign of evil music career is in trouble...

[Celestia]

Aw, that's cute indeed.
But.. Well, it just seems weird he'd only care about that one applicant dying if there probably were many before him.

Hence the shipping.

[lord_khaine]

That's what the "don't interact outside training" rule is for - presumably believing that the "imperfect" deserve to die is part of the "education."
But if the guard singer talks too much with the prisoner applicant, he might start to view him as an actual person and question whether killing him is actually the right thing to do.
And when your minions start wondering if maybe you're wrong about exterminating the genetically inferior imperfect musicians, your reign of evil music career is in trouble...

A really good way of explaining it. And i am actually genuinly curious about this development.
How does it connect with the suposedly dead applicant who are now missing?

For that matter, this really do remind me of an arc in schlock mercenary, if anyone else reads that.
One of the main characters, Kevin, got shot in the chest while a captive. 2 guards dragged him off to be incinerated, but his healing nanites kicked in, and woke him up in time to murder both guards.

[random11]

On vacation next week, so I thought now is a good time to sum up all the incompetence and coincidences that we had in this story so far.
Keep in mind that we are still waiting for the real fun to start...

- Security team not knowing anything about the schedule, arrangements or anything else in the trip.
Sure, non of them had any reason to take it seriously, but there is a basic level of professionalism expected from them, even just to not embarrass the uniform.

- Security chief not knowing that the team will not be reachable during the stay.
Again, he didn't expect any trouble, but this is not just a basic fact, it's also the reason a security team was part of this meeting.

- Security chief missed the fact the team already left.
Sure, he was busy, but knowing about his security team is part of his job.
Among the list, this is the one point I was willing to forgive if it was just by itself, but with all the rest going on at the same time it's impossible to ignore.
Not to mention that the search that solved the case at the end was supposed to be the most basic search, speaking of which...

- Investigators did a lousy job X years ago.
Burke was never a suspect in the slaver ring, he was kicked out of killing the officer who WAS in charge.
Checking which trips he made were official and which were not is kind of the FIRST thing they should have checked in the original investigation.
I find it hard to believe that every investigator working on this case missed that part.

- Slaves. Why did it have to be slaves?
The smuggling ring transported slaves, drugs, weapons and other illegal goods.
Not knowing anything about Hymn's crimes, why did the chief assume it's human trafficking?
Given Hymn's oddities my first guess would have been drugs or a rare illegal collection. Heck, it could have been smuggled peaches for all we know.


And now for coincidences:
- Burke brought slaves to Hymn, and there he is as a guest in a completely unrelated reason.
This by itself contained a chain of impossible coincidences starting from when Burke was interrogated, by whom and why.
- Timing of Chief's discovery.
- Timing of someone trying to escape - this one is not confirmed yet, it could be a plan initiated from knowing Star-Power will be there, but it sure looks like a coincidence so far and I'm WELL beyond giving this story the benefit of the doubt.

[Shogo]

AMX already explained it, but the Singer is shocked because he did something he wasn't supposed to do. He saw that Applicant as a person.

It's right there in their first comic together. Singers and Applicants are meant to keep to themselves, only interacting when necessary. That separation is one of what would be several things that help the Singers to dehumanize the Applicants. It's why, when they were just meeting, the Singer was ready to execute the Applicant at the first sign of doubting "The Song". You know, before he got out that what he was actually scared of was being a disappointment.

But since the Applicant managed to get the Singer to want to befriend him, to establish a connection, well, he's not some faceless Applicant anymore. He's a person. A friend. Someone the Singer would actually be shocked to see killed.

[Vinyadan]

STAR POWER: A Dad Wrote This ®

[Kato]

I think Danica was laughing because of how bad the joke was, right? Right?! Because this unoriginal insult, which if anything works written down but not said, could not have made her genuinely amused.

Also... Will Danica save Hymn's life from the garden assassin only to then learn the truth? Bets are on.

[Neoriceisgood]

STAR POWER: A Dad Wrote This ®

Even back in the DD days it was obvious Mookie was destined to be a dad, based on his humor.

[Elanasaurus]

I think Danica was laughing because of how bad the joke was, right? Right?! Because this unoriginal insult, which if anything works written down but not said, could not have made her genuinely amused.

Danica has been shown to be amused by(her own) bad puns. And she cracked the Hymn one too (but better than Burke did).

[ZeroiaSD]

- Investigators did a lousy job X years ago.
Burke was never a suspect in the slaver ring, he was kicked out of killing the officer who WAS in charge.
Checking which trips he made were official and which were not is kind of the FIRST thing they should have checked in the original investigation.
I find it hard to believe that every investigator working on this case missed that part.

Apparently it was just one of a lot of places, and fairly far down in the chain. The Chief is just the one that put together they'd have a big need for people. Frankly it's pretty thin for him to be so sure, IMO.

[guttering flame]

Apparently it was just one of a lot of places, and fairly far down in the chain. The Chief is just the one that put together they'd have a big need for people. Frankly it's pretty thin for him to be so sure, IMO.

I assumed there was a coverup by corrupt officials involved in the slave trade.

[Celestia]

This is actually a really nice callback here. I approve.

[Vinyadan]

Yea, that's nice. In general, I am enjoying this story.

[Celestia]

Yea, that's nice. In general, I am enjoying this story.

I agree. It has its flaws, but I do think its the best story so far.

[Kato]

I agree. It has its flaws, but I do think its the best story so far.

I'd say that's a pretty low bar.. I guess it is better than the arcs I can remember because I'm not entirely sure how this will end. But that is the extent of my praise.

[Kantaki]

Okay, Hymn definitely wants a Star Power clone.Clone Power?
Not that it should work that way. I think. I mean Danica is more like Green Lantern than Spiderman, right?

The question is for what purpose.
Does he need a bodyguard? A new attraction for his show? A girlfriend?

Either way it's probably not good.

[guttering flame]

Next chapter:
- Black Star
- Boy Star
- Star the Hymn
- HummingStar

[Kato]

Yeah... the bit where apparently Mitch changes you DNA if you transform... doesn't make much sense to me. I mean it's scifi but still..

But maybe that will be the twist, Hymn tries to clone her and just gets... Danica. i mean, things could be worse. Unless his plan is somehow more complicated.

[Vinyadan]

But maybe that will be the twist, Hymn tries to clone her and just gets... Danica. i mean, things could be worse. Unless his plan is somehow more complicated.

OK, that sounds like fun.

[Shogo]

Hmm. I would have assumed that the moment she plucked out one of her hairs, that hair would have gone back to normal. Kind of weird it keeps that good old fashioned "white power".

Is that a bad joke to make?

[PraetorDragoon]

Okay, Hymn definitely wants a Star Power clone.Clone Power?
Not that it should work that way. I think. I mean Danica is more like Green Lantern than Spiderman, right?

The question is for what purpose.
Does he need a bodyguard? A new attraction for his show? A girlfriend?

Either way it's probably not good.

What could possibly go wrong?

[random11]

I assumed there was a coverup by corrupt officials involved in the slave trade.

There are two problems with this theory.

The first is technical.
The data wasn't deleted, so it has to be a conspiracy that involves multiple investigation teams, high ranking officers and random bureaucrats.
I guess it's POSSIBLE, but requires a lot more than just a small group of corrupt officers within the government.
(Also, they would have killed Burke while he was in jail)

The second problem is a matter of trust.
Mookie might be a lot of things, but subtle isn't one of them.
If he would plan it as part of a conspiracy, he would have mentioned it in the chief's speech a few pages ago.
(actually, it would solve a lot if he did that, just a single line like "someone deleted the data, but I looked at the original printouts" would explain both the complexity of the search and provide a reason of why other investigators missed it)
I don't mind playing games and filling plot holes, I do it a lot myself here, but I refuse to give him the credit for something he DIDN'T write.

[guttering flame]

There are two problems with this theory.

The first is technical.
The data wasn't deleted, so it has to be a conspiracy that involves multiple investigation teams, high ranking officers and random bureaucrats.
I guess it's POSSIBLE, but requires a lot more than just a small group of corrupt officers within the government.
(Also, they would have killed Burke while he was in jail)

The second problem is a matter of trust.
Mookie might be a lot of things, but subtle isn't one of them.
If he would plan it as part of a conspiracy, he would have mentioned it in the chief's speech a few pages ago.
(actually, it would solve a lot if he did that, just a single line like "someone deleted the data, but I looked at the original printouts" would explain both the complexity of the search and provide a reason of why other investigators missed it)
I don't mind playing games and filling plot holes, I do it a lot myself here, but I refuse to give him the credit for something he DIDN'T write.

Despite basic common sense, for some unfathomable reason bureaucracies the world over, including criminal ones keep surprisingly good records of all their dirty dealings. Also, in this futuristic society it could be hard to delete records from the database. Also also you make cover up sound harder than it actually is. You don't need to delete all records and get the cooperation of numerous diverse officials to hide a crime. You just need to derail the initial investigation and usually all the other countless followup investigators will follow the false snail path to limbo. Or stamp the investigation with CASE CLOSED. Or find a flashy new crime to distract the investigators. Or best of all, mutter 'This is embarrassing to our shiny transport division. If word got out it would tar our name. Best if we bury and forget about it.' The case will VANISH faster than you can say 'Hot potato!' Burke knew very little and he was their scape goat. There was no reason to kill him. Quite the opposite.

[PraetorDragoon]

Its slave trade. There are always corrupt politicians involved with it.

Hmm... I guess we'll see the Singer meet our crew soon.

[Onyavar]

I don't mind playing games and filling plot holes, I do it a lot myself here, but I refuse to give him the credit for something he DIDN'T write.

That's a good approach, but too many things really don't add up in this story, whichever way you fill up the plot holes. You always end in a dystopian comic world, not in the magical super hero world that Star Power is set in.

* We have a oh-so-peaceful multi-species society, with just a few bad apples like Burke's former boss, like BHB, like the biker gang and the Void guys, and we may assume like Hymn and maybe the one or the other government official. But those are considered bad apples.
* As there are no hints at a larger conspiracy. Even the psi-cops seem to be what they claim to be. It wouldn't surprise me if they weren't, but Mookie is, as mentioned, not subtle enough. If, later, the Psis turn out to be as sinister as in B-5, for example, then it has not been foreshadowed at all.
* The bad apples mentioned above have somehow managed to open a slave+weapon+drug trade business, which was eventually betrayed and shut down by "good" officials. So far so good.
* Clients of this same business, aka Hymn, were never disturbed. (Why?) Years later, his choir operates as if nothing happened, and kills off imperfect applicants like they grow by the hundred in the garden.
* Hymn employs dozens of dedicated singers (those who were deemed perfect), who are absoutely loyal to him. These singers do menial tasks that hired servants NOT trained for singing would be better suited for. (Why?)
* We don't know the source of Hymn's applicants, which seems to be limitless. (What IS this source?)
* To achieve perfection and loyalty, Hymn relies on a common sect structure and near-unsurvivably hard training. (The shown results and methods are impossible to reconcile, which means he has additional methods)

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?

[Kantaki]

And why would he kill off imperfect clones, when he knows that his clones have the potential of perfection with just the right training?

That one almost makes sense, from a Evil point of view.
Sure, those... instruments have the potential for perfection, but that doesn't mean they'll be.
And if you create something, using the best raw material, refine it with the best methods and it still falls short, isn't it best to scrap it and start from scratch instead of wasting more resources?
Especially if the other products reach expectations without doing so?