Freefall 3: Death Ray Byproducts

[Yuki Akuma]

Okay, the comic keeps going to places I wouldn't expect.

I mean, lots of people have strong opinions about a certain board-unfriendly topic, but I've kind of got used to not seeing them in hard sci-fi? Especially not if you're going to put talking points in the mouth of characters and, it looks like, start a discussion.

I don't normally get a "this could come out horribly wrong" sense from this author. He's managed to explore some very interesting ideas, while relating them to the everyday experience of some frankly odd characters in a humorous way. But the emergence of this particular topic automatically makes me think "does he have an agenda here that I'm not seeing?" Which I guess is the very reason it's forbidden on this particular board.

Gregor was already established as religious before we even met him - "Space Amish", I think it was. Possibly slightly lapsed, in that he uses more advanced technology than he's 'supposed to', but more out of pregmatic reasons than forsaking his faith. This was probably going to come up at some point, especially considering his precise religion.

"Space Amish" is a fictional religion that clearly isn't the same as actual Amish, but is meant to evoke a technology-shunning idea. AI is probably on the list of technologies "Space Amish" aren't supposed to use.

[Rockphed]

Without getting in to whether or not souls are a real thing, the question of whether it is right to create moral beings out of animals has been a topic of science fiction since at least Sundiver (the first Uplift novel). Asking if things are worth doing (regardless of whether they can be done) is a core conceit of science fiction.

[WanderingMist]

Gregor was already established as religious before we even met him - "Space Amish", I think it was. Possibly slightly lapsed, in that he uses more advanced technology than he's 'supposed to', but more out of pregmatic reasons than forsaking his faith. This was probably going to come up at some point, especially considering his precise religion.

"Space Amish" is a fictional religion that clearly isn't the same as actual Amish, but is meant to evoke a technology-shunning idea. AI is probably on the list of technologies "Space Amish" aren't supposed to use.

Techno-Amish, and he did leave the faith, as he chose not to go back after meeting his wife during Rumspringa.

[halfeye]

Without getting in to whether or not souls are a real thing, the question of whether it is right to create moral beings out of animals has been a topic of science fiction since at least Sundiver (the first Uplift novel). Asking if things are worth doing (regardless of whether they can be done) is a core conceit of science fiction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Is..._Doctor_Moreau

1896

H.G, Wells was firat to a lot of things. Verne was sometimes earlier, but in my view never better (bad translators perhaps).

[halfeye]

Without getting in to whether or not souls are a real thing, the question of whether it is right to create moral beings out of animals has been a topic of science fiction since at least Sundiver (the first Uplift novel). Asking if things are worth doing (regardless of whether they can be done) is a core conceit of science fiction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Is..._Doctor_Moreau

1896

H.G, Wells was firat to a lot of things. Verne was sometimes earlier, but in my view never better (bad translators perhaps).

Also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwainer_Smith

[theangelJean]

New comic.

I feel like Florence has given this topic some thought. Being a company product can probably do that to a being. It's one of those ideas that comes up a lot when we discuss AI vs humans, but what does it actually mean at a personal level?

Spoiler

Show

What does it mean for a sapient species to be obselete, and what does it mean for the individual? For non-sapient constructs, I think the basic meaning boils down to "no longer needed for a particular purpose". For humans, the "purpose for our existence" is a huge philosophical conundrum. When you're a sapient individual constructed by a corporation, can both sides apply?

Humans already have trouble with feeling like they're not needed. Maybe it's the societal link between productivity and remuneration - if nobody needs you, how are you going to make a living? But I think there's more to it than that. Even people who have all their physical needs met seek out connection with others, and people who feel like they have a purpose are supposed to be happier, right?

Is it going to be even worse for Bowman AIs, who have "serve humans" built in to their very networks? Or is it going to be the same?

[Fyraltari]

I forget, how did Niomi and Florence's first meeting go?

[Radar]

I forget, how did Niomi and Florence's first meeting go?

With Tangent (Niomi's robot helper) going Doggy! A few more awkward happenings followed. You can start from here.

[Kantaki]

With Tangent (Niomi's robot helper) going Doggy! A few more awkward happenings followed. You can start from here.

Niomi has the bigger foot in mouth moment though.

„With that system going, the toilet will work and you'll be able to drink normally.“

[theangelJean]

The comic is moving on, and Sam is into planning the next big thing.

Spoiler: Comic 4009

Show

Tell the current internet you can't do something, you might get (at best) hundreds of thousands of one-line responses.

Tell 20 451 million robots over Commnet and you'll get gigabytes of data.

[Radar]

The comic is moving on, and Sam is into planning the next big thing.

Spoiler: Comic 4009

Show

Tell the current internet you can't do something, you might get (at best) hundreds of thousands of one-line responses.

Tell 20 451 million robots over Commnet and you'll get gigabytes of data.

Even on our current internet if you cast the net on a wide enough area, you will get meticulously detailed responses with lots of data - some people are like that. The problem is, it will not be easy to check which people are right or wrong without having a solid grasp of the subject oneself.

That being said, Sam is frighteningly good at exploiting psychology quirks.

[Rockphed]

Then there are the cases where classified data gets leaked to gaming forums to settle some petty dispute or to make someone feel cool. People go to prison for that one from time to time.

[Radar]

Then there are the cases where classified data gets leaked to gaming forums to settle some petty dispute or to make someone feel cool. People go to prison for that one from time to time.

Ok, I did not expect that, but I am not surprised the least. I guess for some people being right in a dispute with random, anonymous people on the Internet is more important than anything else.

[Anarchic Fox]

I am delighted by the current arc, because Stanley himself is a technician. This part of the story will draw his decades of experience.

[Yuki Akuma]

So... am I the only one rather weirded out by how Florence has effectively become mute for the past seven comics?

[theangelJean]

So... am I the only one rather weirded out by how Florence has effectively become mute for the past seven comics?

It's odd, yes. Someone on the Freefall forums noticed early on and wondered if there was a Direct Order situation going on. I get the "listen and learn" attitude at a new job, but the conversation is extremely one-sided, with Naomi seemingly responding to questions that haven't been asked on-panel.

Actually, now that I think about it, she shouldn't be subject to Direct Orders ... except the existing NDA. I wonder if that has kicked in somehow?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I'd guess it's a purely stylistic choice to make the exposition smoother, not an indication that in-universe Florence isn't talking. Could be wrong, though!

[John Campbell]

So... am I the only one rather weirded out by how Florence has effectively become mute for the past seven comics?

You are not alone.

[theangelJean]

I wonder, is this actually the first time in the comic we've had one character explaining things to another character over several settings, in such a one-sided way? Because - without trawling through the archives - I feel like the actual style is not completely out-of-place, we might even have seen Florence be the one explaining things like this before. Could be that it's just more noticeable due to the previous history of Florence being involuntarily silenced.

Florence doesn't seem to be making a "I need to tell speak and I can't" face (although she was wearing goggles at first) but she does seem to be making hand signals, which is unusual.

[Gez]

It's odd, yes. Someone on the Freefall forums noticed early on and wondered if there was a Direct Order situation going on. I get the "listen and learn" attitude at a new job, but the conversation is extremely one-side

I'd guess it's a purely stylistic choice to make the exposition smoother, not an indication that in-universe Florence isn't talking. Could be wrong, though!

Since Freefall forums were mentioned I figured it'd be the place to go look for answer, and so in the thread for the latest update, we got this:

"Very simply, I haven't needed her to. I was leaving the conversation more one sided to show Niomi was doing most of the talking. From the flow of the comics, Florence is talking, just not "on screen"."
Mark Stanley

[John Campbell]

"Very simply, I haven't needed her to. I was leaving the conversation more one sided to show Niomi was doing most of the talking. From the flow of the comics, Florence is talking, just not "on screen"."
Mark Stanley

The thing is, she clearly does need to talk, because he's been doing that thing where the talking character begins responses by paraphrasing back what the non-verbal character isn't saying for the audience's benefit.

[Yuki Akuma]

The thing is, she clearly does need to talk, because he's been doing that thing where the talking character begins responses by paraphrasing back what the non-verbal character isn't saying for the audience's benefit.

Right, this.

If Niomi was just talking about what they were doing, and Florence was just following along, I don't think it would feel so weird. But Niomi is acting like she's having a conversation with a character who hasn't said anything for over ten strips and it's just weirdly uncomfortable.

[Anarchic Fox]

I'm reminded of the time the comic went entirely nonverbal for a couple of months.

[Rockphed]

I have been assuming that Florence is pointing at things with a quizzical look on her face, or sighing dejectedly, or some other non-verbal method of making her feelings known. When they were examining the history of the heat-exchanger she definitely made a contribution to the conversation that didn't need to be verbal.

This is not to say that interpreting it as simply skipping the bits where Florence says something is wrong, just that I'm not convinced it is necessary. I don't think any of the engineers or techs at my job go days without talking, but I think some of them could go an afternoon with less than a dozen words.

[hajo]

she clearly does need to talk

She finally explains

[Radar]

I have to admit, Sam has become very proficient in his schemes. He was always clever and pretty good at manipulating people (like the time he did not even have a scheme - just let the robots think he has one, so they would come up with a plan for him). The accounting classes he took made him far better at working on a grand scale and make sure the other side is bound by the contract.

[theangelJean]

I can only conclude from yesterday's comic that Mr De Morel lost ...

Spoiler

Show

and kept going!

[Rockphed]

I can only conclude from yesterday's comic that Mr De Morel lost ...

Spoiler

Show

and kept going!

De Morel somehow managed to make things worse for himself by forcing Sam to sign the paperwork. I suspect that things signed under duress don't hold a lot of legal weight, so he had to offer Sam more in order to get him to sign a new document. Poor, poor Mr De Morel. He really needs to drown his sorrows in something.