Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2014-12-29
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2014-12-29

by shaenon on December 29, 2014 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Mixed-Up Files
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Discussion (37) ¬

  1. Moor
    December 29, 2014, 12:30 am | # | Reply

    … wait, so is Nick gonna end up playing the Mad Scientist?

    Or are we gonna end up with a narcoleptic* Fake Made Scientist?

    (* Is that how narcolepsy works? I only know the Holywood version…)

    • Frank Hightower
      December 29, 2014, 4:10 am | # | Reply

      Sweetheart can still play the mad scientist. She just has to watch that time limit and “excuse” herself

      • fortheloveofowls
        December 29, 2014, 5:39 am | # | Reply

        I was going to say conking out at random times is a mild quirk for a mad scientist, but being conked out around other mad scientists? Recipe for disaster. Or awesomeness.

        • codebracker
          December 29, 2014, 3:01 pm | # | Reply

          You just wake up with marker on your face.
          Or a pair of bunny ears, depends on next to what kind if mad scientist you fall uncontious.

          • GammarayCanon
            December 29, 2014, 4:53 pm | #

            Or turned into an uplink to an orbital death satellite. This is probably about twice as likely if one is an organic being, though.

          • Kitirena
            May 19, 2016, 3:36 am | #

            I made the mistake of falling asleep in a mad scientist’s lap once, and woke up as a catgirl, nyao. How is that a bad thing?

    • ericscoles
      December 29, 2014, 7:32 pm | # | Reply

      I’m telling you, it’s Smart Unity. We just had to eliminate all the other options first. Dr. Lee will come through with a super-portable version of the brain-o-mat.

    • Gyrre
      January 12, 2015, 11:47 am | # | Reply

      Narcolepsy is one of the shockingly few bits of science Hollywood has more or less gotten right.

  2. Ron Armstrong
    December 29, 2014, 12:30 am | # | Reply

    I see Sweetheart still has her sense of humor! 🙂

    • oneuniverse2
      December 29, 2014, 2:25 pm | # | Reply

      At about the same level as the rest of us in junior high.

      • Noumena
        July 21, 2017, 12:09 am | # | Reply

        Nick’s negative reaction is *major* character development, considering that he’s practically introduced to us with a that’s what she said joke

  3. Emanate
    December 29, 2014, 12:35 am | # | Reply

    Ahaha, someone plays Shadowrun! Dump-shock was coined by that game, which describes the mental shock of being forcibly jacked-out of a virtual environment, or in this case, a drone body.
    So of course Nick would know this term. 😀

    • Darkstarr
      May 19, 2016, 3:38 am | # | Reply

      Wait a second–didn’t it come from William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, or another cyberpunk writer prior to Shadowrun? It seems to me that I’ve seen the term used in a cyberpunk novel somewhere before…

      Or was it a Shirow Masamune manga? I can’t recall for the life of me…

  4. Eddurd
    December 29, 2014, 12:50 am | # | Reply

    (TUNE: “Money (That’s What I Want)”, Gordy & Bradford)

    When with another you’re interlocked,
    Then getting dumped is an awful shock!
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      Ran out of ju-u-u-uice …
      That’s what she said! (that’s what she said!)

    She stayed online pretty long, it’s true …
    But jacking in takes it out of you!
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      Not long eno-o-o-ough …
      That’s what she said! (that’s what she said!)

    To stay connected, you must be strong!
    But Nick can keep jacking all night long!
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      He does know ja-a-a-ack!
      That’s what she said! (that’s what she said!)

    Though Sweetheart isn’t a humorist,
    Give her a straight line, she can’t resist!
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      That’s what she said! (that’s … what she said)
      ”You’re all pathe-e-e-tic!”
      That’s what he said! (That’s what Nick said!)

    • Tom Flapwell
      December 29, 2014, 12:55 pm | # | Reply

      Ed, I love it when you not only spoof a song but add multiple punchlines.

  5. BMunro
    December 29, 2014, 1:22 am | # | Reply

    Well, since Nick is _permanently_ jacked into an artificial body, he’s _designed_ that way, so I’m not sure it’s something to boast about. Didn’t the original “Pilot” of Violet Bee keep the drone going for most of a day during the train o’ mads adventure?

    • Alphaghoul
      December 29, 2014, 1:29 am | # | Reply

      I thought it had something to do with him being a gamer.

      • BMunro
        December 29, 2014, 1:08 pm | # | Reply

        Well, is it mental or physical stress that causes drone-dumping? I’ll note that Nick no longer has a separate body to stress… 🙂

    • Robert Nowall
      December 29, 2014, 7:37 am | # | Reply

      Thought it was Nick and the drone both being products of Dr. Lee’s work.

      • Henry
        December 29, 2014, 12:43 pm | # | Reply

        No, he was selected for the project because of his high aptitude for controlling things.

        Though I think Alphaghoul is onto something with the idea that Nick’s excessive gaming lead to him being a good operator.

    • Foradain
      December 29, 2014, 10:23 am | # | Reply

      We’re not sure how many pilots were rotating through the hot seat(s) that day…

  6. The Wealthy Aardvark
    December 29, 2014, 3:33 am | # | Reply

    I’m really curious what ‘potboiler’ was.

    • oneuniverse2
      December 29, 2014, 3:29 pm | # | Reply

      I’m sure your imagination is more interesting.

  7. Daniel
    December 29, 2014, 3:48 am | # | Reply

    Wait… Did… Did Sweetheart just make a joke? I don’t think that’s ever happened before.

  8. Frank Hightower
    December 29, 2014, 4:09 am | # | Reply

    How sad is it that I had to look up “FWIW”?

    • Eddurd
      December 29, 2014, 7:28 am | # | Reply

      Frank, you’re one of today’s lucky ten thousand.
      http://xkcd.com/1053/

      • Moe Lane
        December 29, 2014, 9:07 am | # | Reply

        Thank you for reminding me of that particular life hack.

    • bergerjacques
      December 29, 2014, 8:38 am | # | Reply

      You are not alone, Frank.

  9. Pygar
    December 29, 2014, 4:20 am | # | Reply

    No one was born knowing it…

  10. Robert Nowall
    December 29, 2014, 7:41 am | # | Reply

    So much for the drone / fake mad scientist. Will Sweetheart jack in again? Will she miss those opposable thumbs? Stay tuned…

  11. Kyle Rudy
    December 29, 2014, 11:28 am | # | Reply

    In the end, what others will see as their “mad scientist” is really an elaborate collaborative effort of half a dozen disparate minds, to appear like a functional human.

    I’d say that’s as genuine as it gets.

    • GammarayCanon
      December 29, 2014, 4:55 pm | # | Reply

      Exactly.

  12. Shadowmehr
    December 29, 2014, 11:31 am | # | Reply

    Shock or not, Sweetheart making a joke indicates to me that she’s still riding the high of being able to use opposable thumbs. Furthermore a) she’s going to jack in again as soon as possible; and b) she’s going to stay in the drone as long as possible before having to get out again. This leads to all sorts of interesting possibilities when she’s in the Institute.

  13. mrtt
    December 29, 2014, 1:10 pm | # | Reply

    That assumes nick’s brain was modified for this purpose, rather then selecting a human capable of this in the first place

  14. George the Archon
    December 29, 2014, 4:42 pm | # | Reply

    Aha – and _that’s_ why Viololet ‘crashed’ part-way through hitting-on Dr. Lee!epo

  15. georgethearchon
    December 29, 2014, 4:45 pm | # | Reply

    Aha – _that’s_ why Violet ‘crashed’ half-way through hitting-on Dr. Lee!

  16. Pygar
    December 29, 2014, 4:52 pm | # | Reply

    But can she see colors, now?

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