Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2014-10-18
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2014-10-18

by shaenon on October 18, 2014 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Mixed-Up Files
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Discussion (39) ¬

  1. jbevan70
    October 18, 2014, 12:05 am | # | Reply

    Awww… poor M was just left there all alone.

  2. Anson
    October 18, 2014, 12:41 am | # | Reply

    This is almost the saddest, most pathetic thing ever. At least he hasn’t wound down yet. Because then it would truly be the saddest, most pathetic thing ever.

    • Alphaghoul
      October 18, 2014, 12:54 am | # | Reply

      That’s a good point do one of his freinds come along every now and then and wind him back up?

    • Rex Vivat
      October 18, 2014, 11:38 am | # | Reply

      Don’t feel so bad. M is patient.

  3. Alphaghoul
    October 18, 2014, 12:52 am | # | Reply

    I always assumed M was gold in color.

    • oneuniverse2
      October 18, 2014, 1:47 am | # | Reply

      He’s outside monitoring the lawn so people don’t walk on the grass, so he rusted.

      • Andy4Hire
        October 18, 2014, 3:37 pm | # | Reply

        Looks like he might still be behind the SH reception desk, actually. That also explains why Nick is communicating with him through the intercom instead of just landing in front of him and talking … well, whatever their equivalent of “face to face” would be.

        But I had always pictured him as gold- or brass-colored, too. I was surprised when he showed up grey on the cover of Volume 4.

      • Gyrre
        October 18, 2014, 10:34 pm | # | Reply

        Gold doesn’t rust. It tarnishes, but never rusts.

        • irdburns
          October 19, 2014, 9:19 pm | # | Reply

          And even then only if it’s impure.

    • BrokenEye, the True False Prophet
      October 18, 2014, 5:07 am | # | Reply

      Maybe it’s just dark. It’s hard to see colors in the dark.

      • Moe Lane
        October 18, 2014, 7:48 am | # | Reply

        Yeah, pretty much they left him inside, and eventually the lights burned out.

    • mechageist
      October 18, 2014, 8:27 pm | # | Reply

      It makes sense that he’s grey, really. Even though he’s basically a steampunk/Victorian era automaton large/heavy machinery was still mostly made of iron and steel, usually painted black or grey, and any brass would be used for fittings or smaller components, just like with locomotives, printing presses, steam shovels, and the like.

      • Kirala
        October 18, 2014, 9:53 pm | # | Reply

        At least one steampunk robot was made of copper, and Tik-Tok of Oz bears a certain strong (and likely not coincidental) resemblance to our friend here. Then again, our Nick Chopper is made of some other metal than tin, so perhaps it’s silly to expect matching alloys.

    • Gemma
      October 18, 2014, 10:09 pm | # | Reply

      We’ve seen him in (canon) color before, in the Very Bad Day arc. On the other hand, I know that at least one fanart that was used as Sunday material depicted him as a golden bronze color.

  4. Katrika
    October 18, 2014, 1:24 am | # | Reply

    Oh my god, M!

  5. Ron Armstrong
    October 18, 2014, 1:29 am | # | Reply

    Maybe Brita is there and still winds him up?

    • oneuniverse2
      October 18, 2014, 1:47 am | # | Reply

      Service is Bubble’s only joy.

  6. Frank Hightower
    October 18, 2014, 1:30 am | # | Reply

    you know, i’m kind of wondering if Moustachio thinks Nick is a radio

    wouldn’t be entirely unplausible

  7. oneuniverse2
    October 18, 2014, 1:48 am | # | Reply

    Trimming the treetops would be a thrill for the passengers.

  8. Pygar
    October 18, 2014, 2:04 am | # | Reply

    Maybe Ira winds him up. I am reminded of the Get Smart movie, in which they found Larrabee, in the old CONTROL offices, still carrying out his last assigned duty… tend the office plants… now a jungle.

  9. --jt--
    October 18, 2014, 2:25 am | # | Reply

    This makes me sad…

    Or maybe it’s the wine I had.

  10. roberttheaddled
    October 18, 2014, 7:17 am | # | Reply

    I’m reminded vaguely of an old old non-pc joke where a guy at a bar is asked about all these different ethnic groups – he hates them all – including his own. The surprised asker then asked “well who DO you like” – the answer “my friends”.

  11. Robert Nowall
    October 18, 2014, 8:12 am | # | Reply

    I suppose if that’s the best human contact Nick can manage…

    • Michael Brewer
      October 18, 2014, 1:36 pm | # | Reply

      Dr. Lee must have her phone off.

      • Andy4Hire
        October 18, 2014, 3:45 pm | # | Reply

        That, or the awkwardness since she slept with Artie hasn’t sufficiently dissipated.

        But we’ve seen Nick show glimmers of compassion and friendship. My favorite theory is that he figured, of all the people he knew, Moustachio was the most isolated and therefore the most in need of company.

    • Frith Ra
      October 18, 2014, 5:52 pm | # | Reply

      He could ask around for another robot body to borrow for the weekend.

      • roberttheaddled
        October 18, 2014, 6:42 pm | # | Reply

        I think I’m over tired. I was just thinking he could go get another AnthroPC chassis like in Questionable Content.

        Wrong online universe.

        • oneuniverse2
          October 19, 2014, 1:47 am | # | Reply

          Crossovers happen, and Martin’s AnthroPC doesn’t have much of a swear filter.

          • roberttheaddled
            October 19, 2014, 7:33 am | #

            There are times when re-reading books or archive diving webcomics, that I genuinely have difficulties keeping fiction and reality straight. (Usually when I’ve become over-tired or am distracted.)

            Normally its regarding Tech that has been ALMOST for several years, or is a logical extension of regular tech.

            AnthroPC’s and the Machine Union work for me (mentally) provided humanity can get over the uncanny valley. Since I already talk to my cats, and argue with the TV and Radio, and swear at the computer (usually at work). I figure its a logical extension to Narboniverse style ‘everything’ is a touch alive and possibly intelligent.

          • Rex Vivat
            October 19, 2014, 4:39 pm | #

            Swearing to the computer at work is, I think, a requirement for it to work properly. It would be a little awkward if it could swear back, but only a little.

          • Max
            October 20, 2014, 3:37 am | #

            If they could swear back that might actually be an improvement over their current passive-aggressive way of hiding behind excuses to refuse to obey:

            $ shutdown
            Time needed!
            $ shutdown now
            Must be root!
            $ sudo!!
            Can’t find sudoshutdown!
            $ sudo !!
            Can’t find sudo sudoshutdown!
            $ sudo shutdown now
            Enter password: ********
            Wrong password!
            …
            AAAAAAAAARGH!!!!

  12. Shadowmehr
    October 18, 2014, 10:17 am | # | Reply

    Just because the two particulars aren’t quite human, doesn’t mean that they can’t make a human contact. Jawing, shooting the breeze, catching up on each others lives, what could be more human between friends?

    And it is a shame about Mustachio. Winding him up might have been assigned to building maintenance. They might need the office space for later, so they have keep it from crumbling completely (including the talking steampunk answering service).

    • Dorcus
      October 18, 2014, 3:08 pm | # | Reply

      It does for the clearly human-centric panopticon.

  13. Robert Nowall
    October 18, 2014, 1:57 pm | # | Reply

    Here’s a dreadful thought. Moustachio is just about to watch the “auto-matic sprinklers” turn on. And who among the now-reassigned Skin Horse staff is most associated with the use of water?

  14. kag
    October 18, 2014, 7:35 pm | # | Reply

    I thought it was just SH that was decommissioned. This looks like the whole building was cleared out. Are jetpacks no longer being suppressed?

    • Gemma
      October 18, 2014, 10:11 pm | # | Reply

      I think M is inside the SH department, though it is odd that nobody else has stopped in. Maybe the spiders work quickly.

  15. Pygar
    October 18, 2014, 8:52 pm | # | Reply

    They’re closed for renovation- meaning, most likely, that someone wanted to move into SH’s old space, and then someone wanted to move into *that* old space, and so on. The assigned spaces in the building must be something of a lashup- didn’t at least one floor have to be abandoned due to an unspecified “noodle incident” type deal involving Unity? Is anyone keeping track of what goes on there?
    Mustachio may not have been moved outside- someone may have wanted a big window in the room he was bolted into…

    Or maybe someone is preparing the return of SH, and wanted them to have more appropriate surroundings- bear in mind that one’s perceived power can derive from how spiffy their surroundings are, even for their flunkies. Agencies
    ‘duel’ in DC by replanting flower beds already planted by other agencies…

    • oneuniverse2
      October 19, 2014, 1:50 am | # | Reply

      Do the agencies also change the water coolers?

  16. Dorcus
    October 18, 2014, 10:57 pm | # | Reply

    Don’t forget there was a fire.

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