But I’ll bet Nick is just playing along and he either hacked his safeties so all the passphrase does is deactivate his swear filter or Viginia restored his free will…
I think this isn’t Ira. I think “I should’ve taken him from the start” is some hijacker referring to Ira’s body- because Ira is a huge data leak if you can port in at the right time.
If Ira was smart, he’d delete whatever files he needs gone before he takes off. It shouldn’t take long if he knows what he’s doing, and it could be a while before anyone misses Nick or Ira.
If he takes off first, by contrast, someone is bound to hear him, and success becomes less certain from then on.
At the very least, there might be a _very_ secure backup in the form of Aimee. For some reason I’d thought it had been said that she was a complete copy of Nick, with a few post-copy tweaks, but the only place I thought that occurred (http://skin-horse.com/comic/he-heard/) didn’t say it quite that way. Still… here’s hoping.
Aimee is a separate AI based on Nick. So it’s doubtful she has any of his memories since he was developed into a helicopter, since that’s when they would have scanned his brain. And certainly not memories of the scanned files, since they happened after she was developed.
No, Aimee was created by Whimsy, so the scan will have happened when Nick started working for them. I still don’t think she would have the files though, it’s much more likely that they are in his computer systems rather than his brain.
Gavotte didn’t seem very happy at all when Nick was “given” to Skin Horse, so I don’t know that she was hiding him from anything or anyone. Plus, as far as we know, she’s been out of the picture since the fire. And given that Mr. Green – aka Goldbug – aka Violet Bee – etc. – was the one who broke Nick out of the homunculus program, precipitating his transfer to Skin Horse, it seems that it was his plan all along to have Nick there and available (and loaded up with all of SH’s files – detailing ALL of the non-humans they’ve EVER worked with) when the time was right.
Of course, we’re still not sure if Gavotte was working for or against Mr. Green, so we still don’t know why she had been collecting the fusion reactors. Then again, she IS a swarm of bees, which goes along with the names Goldbug and Violet Bee, so she and Ira may be working together after all.
Oh, dear… I just realized I missed the word “in” up there in that comment. So my first two sentences kinda don’t make any sense any more. Still, I do wonder about Gavotte being in cahoots with Ira.
An excellent observation! Mr. Green could be operating an IRA drone – I hope. That would leave an opportunity for the real Ira to team up with Dr. Lee and save Nick’s chestnuts…
But it brings up an interesting question… Since Nick employed Ira to deliver his “Secret Santa” gift to Virginia, he obviously knew about Ira’s military past, so it stands to reason that Nick has full detailed records on Ira’s past and present — including any network traffic, phone records, etc., while he was at Annex One. And yet Nick has never reported him for any questionable activity. So why would Ira need to shut him down? Nick might have been willing to help him, since Nick hates pretty much everyone anyway. The only reason I can think of is to prevent Nick from knowing where they are going. Sort of the equivalent of chloroforming a human.
I hate to break it to you, but the Violet drone made the same sound when Virginia shut her down. The difference is that Violet was being operated remotely, so it was only a machine that was being shut down. Nick has an organic brain inside the machine, so it is still possible that his brain is fine. And I hope that it is also possible that his brain can restart the machine — preferably after having removed the shutdown phrase from his command structure. (Of course, if he can manage that, he’ll probably also remove the swear filter, so if he starts swearing in a minute, that should be a good sign.)
“What the Font” is a web resource for designers which scans images to identify what fonts were used in them and where they can be purchased or downloaded.
Probably more a matter of laziness than intentional. The Violet drone, Nick, and even Unity all are using the same tech that was developed by Dr. Lee, so it would have taken a little effort (very little, but hey… effort is effort) to change the codes.
And Virginia knew that they were lazy. That’s why she hung up the phone with Nick and told Unity to cover her ears before she used the code to shut down Violet Bee.
Aw man, I *liked* Ira. It’s all very well having the kindly old man turn out to be the villain all along, but it’s a kick in the balls when he was so beloved.
….frell.
SHIIIIIII
Hoooo-leeeeee…
Well, font.
Bodes well, this does not!
But I’ll bet Nick is just playing along and he either hacked his safeties so all the passphrase does is deactivate his swear filter or Viginia restored his free will…
This is both rather inevitable and highly thrilling.
And it seems he’s Number 1. Does that mean the Narboniverse has its own version of the Village?
I do believe that’s the Annex One logo, but I’d have to review the archives to be sure of that.
You’re probably right; I’m simply not used to seeing Ira from the back.
you can’t check the archives:
they just flew away.
to self destruct?
Let’s hope not. Virginia would be terribly upset.
…and when does she make her entrance I wonder.
Hells bells.
I think this isn’t Ira. I think “I should’ve taken him from the start” is some hijacker referring to Ira’s body- because Ira is a huge data leak if you can port in at the right time.
Or “him” is *Nick*. Who is also a massive data leak as he has a full copy of their files onboard.
Nick would probably have been compliant if Ira had just asked nicely.
What was in those files?
Oh no. Oh NO…..
Wow… Ten points for him waiting this long to blow his cover and cooling everyone by acting like a loon.
If Ira was smart, he’d delete whatever files he needs gone before he takes off. It shouldn’t take long if he knows what he’s doing, and it could be a while before anyone misses Nick or Ira.
If he takes off first, by contrast, someone is bound to hear him, and success becomes less certain from then on.
Whaaaaaaaaaaat
Ominous and darkening; much more frightening than thunder bolts and lightning!
:OOOOOOOOOO
Well, this is an incredible stroke of inevitability.
I had buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. COINCIDENCE???
Yes.
GODOT: -YES-
Hmm! Who knew?
Aaaaand I’m only just now realizing how badly Sweetheart screwed up her OPSEC.
Kind of hoping Nick’s been on the ball with multiple secure backups.
At the very least, there might be a _very_ secure backup in the form of Aimee. For some reason I’d thought it had been said that she was a complete copy of Nick, with a few post-copy tweaks, but the only place I thought that occurred (http://skin-horse.com/comic/he-heard/) didn’t say it quite that way. Still… here’s hoping.
Aimee is a separate AI based on Nick. So it’s doubtful she has any of his memories since he was developed into a helicopter, since that’s when they would have scanned his brain. And certainly not memories of the scanned files, since they happened after she was developed.
No, Aimee was created by Whimsy, so the scan will have happened when Nick started working for them. I still don’t think she would have the files though, it’s much more likely that they are in his computer systems rather than his brain.
…if it turns out Ira was named after the Irish Republican Army, I don’t know what I’ll do
…so let’s hope he’s named for the Indian Rationalist Association.
A strip without a punchline is ominous. Two consecutive strips without a punchline is ominous squared.
As someone called it, that has to be Mr. Green. And now would be a good time for Gavotte to come back – I still haven’t given up on her.
Turns out Gavotte was hiding in Nick all along. Or maybe her daughter was, and that’s how she got into the simulation when Sweetheart used the drone.
Gavotte didn’t seem very happy at all when Nick was “given” to Skin Horse, so I don’t know that she was hiding him from anything or anyone. Plus, as far as we know, she’s been out of the picture since the fire. And given that Mr. Green – aka Goldbug – aka Violet Bee – etc. – was the one who broke Nick out of the homunculus program, precipitating his transfer to Skin Horse, it seems that it was his plan all along to have Nick there and available (and loaded up with all of SH’s files – detailing ALL of the non-humans they’ve EVER worked with) when the time was right.
Of course, we’re still not sure if Gavotte was working for or against Mr. Green, so we still don’t know why she had been collecting the fusion reactors. Then again, she IS a swarm of bees, which goes along with the names Goldbug and Violet Bee, so she and Ira may be working together after all.
Oh, dear… I just realized I missed the word “in” up there in that comment. So my first two sentences kinda don’t make any sense any more. Still, I do wonder about Gavotte being in cahoots with Ira.
Y’know, this could still work out okay. Ira could just think it’s still 1989, and this is part of his plan to get rid of that horrible Madonna woman…
Nick has seen Ira before- rappelled out of him, IIRC. What did Nick detect about *this* Ira? Is he another drone? Did Ira retire and get replaced?
An excellent observation! Mr. Green could be operating an IRA drone – I hope. That would leave an opportunity for the real Ira to team up with Dr. Lee and save Nick’s chestnuts…
But it brings up an interesting question… Since Nick employed Ira to deliver his “Secret Santa” gift to Virginia, he obviously knew about Ira’s military past, so it stands to reason that Nick has full detailed records on Ira’s past and present — including any network traffic, phone records, etc., while he was at Annex One. And yet Nick has never reported him for any questionable activity. So why would Ira need to shut him down? Nick might have been willing to help him, since Nick hates pretty much everyone anyway. The only reason I can think of is to prevent Nick from knowing where they are going. Sort of the equivalent of chloroforming a human.
I hope that KLICK in the third panel wasn’t Nick’s brain being shut down…
I hate to break it to you, but the Violet drone made the same sound when Virginia shut her down. The difference is that Violet was being operated remotely, so it was only a machine that was being shut down. Nick has an organic brain inside the machine, so it is still possible that his brain is fine. And I hope that it is also possible that his brain can restart the machine — preferably after having removed the shutdown phrase from his command structure. (Of course, if he can manage that, he’ll probably also remove the swear filter, so if he starts swearing in a minute, that should be a good sign.)
I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!
Also: As a graphic designer, I appreciate the reference in panel 1.
You mean that “font” is actually a swear word?
“What the Font” is a web resource for designers which scans images to identify what fonts were used in them and where they can be purchased or downloaded.
And so, Nick was murdered.
Can he be brought back? Time will tell.
For what it’s worth, the existence of this override code was established a long, long time ago: http://skin-horse.com/comic/and-is-to-be/
What office makes lightning, and why pancakes.
On a reread and noticed something – the Violet Bee drone had the same override code: http://skin-horse.com/comic/human-smells/ Intentional or no???
Ooh, nice detail for us rereaders! Pretty sure it was intentional, yes.
Probably more a matter of laziness than intentional. The Violet drone, Nick, and even Unity all are using the same tech that was developed by Dr. Lee, so it would have taken a little effort (very little, but hey… effort is effort) to change the codes.
And Virginia knew that they were lazy. That’s why she hung up the phone with Nick and told Unity to cover her ears before she used the code to shut down Violet Bee.
When you *really* need to get some buttermilk pancakes.
Aw man, I *liked* Ira. It’s all very well having the kindly old man turn out to be the villain all along, but it’s a kick in the balls when he was so beloved.