I’m not sure why, but your comment causes me to feel angst. Perhaps even Furcht, if “specific fear of something I can’t actually remember” counts as Furcht.
“My house is me, and I am it. My house is where I like to be, and it looks like all my dreams.” The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. An excellent book!
I have finally read through all the archives of Skin Horse. I love it! So creatively silly. And Tip is one of my favorite comic characters ever!
Any sufficiently complicated engineering organization tends to pronounce acronyms. Usually for Manuals or complex assemblies. One that immediately pops to mind is CORD. Cascading ORifice Discs. In fluids worlds this is a series of plates w/ holes in them designed to be a flow restrictor to limit noise or downstream pressure or both.
To me, the old Violet Bee was technically very pretty, but with an offputting creepiness at the edges. With Nick running her, she seems like a genuinely pretty, tomboyish teenage girl. For some reason, she makes me think of Kim in Bye, Bye Birdie (but without Ann Margaret’s nuclear bod). Chalk it up to Shaenon’s artistic genius.
Given the difference in the letter frequency distribution between the first letter of an English sentence and written English as a whole, I don’t see how this can possibly work, even if there is something affecting the employees.
Only the Plot knows where this is going. Hell, it would be really weird if the first letters of replies to your post spelled out a word, let alone a sentence.
You have to remember this isn’t the first hive mind-like entity we’ve seen in the strip. Cypress and especially Gavotte can coordinate large numbers of subunits. Something similar could be coordinating the executives to make order out of their emails.
Very good point about past hive minds in the strip, but you do have to question it a bit–I mean, bees and forests aren’t exactly known for their intellects, so it’s not like they’d be really aware of being controlled. I’d like to imagine a group of humans (even corporate executives) would be more aware than that.
Even if some of the executives don’t always react to the influence, the program can skip their emails if it’s grabbing them apparently at random. And I doubt they’d notice an effect as subtle as influencing what word you start your email with.
Yeah, that’s a point. It’s not like people spend a huge amount of mental effort on composing online communication anyway, so I guess some kind of subtle influence could reasonably go unnoticed by the people it was “riding” on.
“Hell, it would be really weird if the first letters of replies to your post spelled out a word, let alone a sentence.”
I see that the first letters of the first 5 replies to the post referred to spell “oy vey”.
That hypothesis fits very well with the wordplay obsession, but I still won’t bet on it. Rather, who/what from the Little House storyline have we still not met? As usual, I’m probably wrong.
Alternatively, a close relative. Follow me on this. It is possible that some of Dr. Collodi’s research on AIs was incorporated into G.O.D.O.T.’s design when it was first created. Collodi himself may have used similar designs to create some sort of “mother” system that underlies the main corporation’s database and is using the e-mail’s and other communications to communicate while hiding itself. The messages that Skin Horse’s personnel are receiving aren’t coming from an outside agency, but from inside the Star Chamber room itself. It really is a call for help.
I have the same question about the robot being wired in here that I have about similar scenes with Data in _Next Gen_: Couldn’t the builders afford Bluetooth?! (Yeah, I realize Nick is running the Violet Bee robot by radio link, so things could get messy in a hurry. Still…)
The android shows all the signs of something cobbled together with spare parts rather than a well executed integrated design.
I’m surprised it can pass itself off as a biological, much less use a single USB jack or Bluetooth.
Without special antennae (that would stick out like a sore thumb), most wireless has limited bandwidth compared to wired.
Also – Nick may be multitasking – interfacing with multiple different networks and/or systems. Comparable to playing multiple games of chess or watching tv, surfing the internet, and listening to the radio at the same time. Different protocols apply to each – therefore possibly different cables.
To be, or not to be eaten by whatever vaguely humanoid creature about 5 meters away from where you’re standing currently.
Try setting that up with the House of Mouse, and I expect you’ll probably get something nearer “Ph’nglui Mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”
Dreams of the Mouse House
I’m not sure why, but your comment causes me to feel angst. Perhaps even Furcht, if “specific fear of something I can’t actually remember” counts as Furcht.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dreams_in_the_Witch_House
Thank you, arqyx!
Is it just me or does it look like Nick has a data jack in his/her nose?
Shoving a cable up your nose is a standard way to connect to madtronics in the narbonverse.
It makes more sense considering that Nick’s walking body is an android anyway.
The first thing I thought of when I saw that was Dave jamming the cable up his nose.
The data jack (wasn’t it a USB port?) was mentioned in Railway Children, shortly after Doctor Lee found out Violet was a robot.
I’d like to know what goodies Dr Lee managed to get out of that….
Smellovision
“Exactly! We need to know if fire can be fitted nasally!”
(or something like that, it’s been a while since I read Hitchhiker)
“My house is me, and I am it. My house is where I like to be, and it looks like all my dreams.” The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. An excellent book!
I have finally read through all the archives of Skin Horse. I love it! So creatively silly. And Tip is one of my favorite comic characters ever!
Thank you for all these great stories.
I did not recognize the words, loved that book!
Does this mean that Whimsycorp is a hivemind/collective intelligence like Gavotte/Cyprus?
I’m betting a more subtle memetic effect, but who knows?
Well Narbonic had a sentient meme mentioned in passing, so the sky’s the limit I guess.
Makes perfect sense, a hivemind made out of corporate drones.
I was thinking that the emails come from dummy accounts generated by a cypher program
Did Nick just *pronounce* “afaik?”
I was wondering that myself.
Any sufficiently complicated engineering organization tends to pronounce acronyms. Usually for Manuals or complex assemblies. One that immediately pops to mind is CORD. Cascading ORifice Discs. In fluids worlds this is a series of plates w/ holes in them designed to be a flow restrictor to limit noise or downstream pressure or both.
Whew… been away a long time. Just caught up.
Shaenon, I am so ashamed. I missed the Kickstarter by 12 freaking hours; and that after you emailed me a like a month ago to remind me.
You may apply electric shock and leeches as you see fit.
Am I the only one who really sees Nick’s face in on Bee’s body? I mean really… I’ve seen Tip looking more girly than him there. Recently.
mnem
I heard Artie on the porch last night…
“sees Nick’s face in on Bee’s body”
No, you not the only one. Course, she’s not drawing the eyelashes anymore, either, so that may be why.
To me, the old Violet Bee was technically very pretty, but with an offputting creepiness at the edges. With Nick running her, she seems like a genuinely pretty, tomboyish teenage girl. For some reason, she makes me think of Kim in Bye, Bye Birdie (but without Ann Margaret’s nuclear bod). Chalk it up to Shaenon’s artistic genius.
Well, it appears that Unity was right after all. This IS a sentient corporation.
Given the difference in the letter frequency distribution between the first letter of an English sentence and written English as a whole, I don’t see how this can possibly work, even if there is something affecting the employees.
Only the Plot knows where this is going. Hell, it would be really weird if the first letters of replies to your post spelled out a word, let alone a sentence.
at the time that I read this thread, they spelled out O-Y V-E-Y.
Not making this up.
You have to remember this isn’t the first hive mind-like entity we’ve seen in the strip. Cypress and especially Gavotte can coordinate large numbers of subunits. Something similar could be coordinating the executives to make order out of their emails.
Very good point about past hive minds in the strip, but you do have to question it a bit–I mean, bees and forests aren’t exactly known for their intellects, so it’s not like they’d be really aware of being controlled. I’d like to imagine a group of humans (even corporate executives) would be more aware than that.
Even if some of the executives don’t always react to the influence, the program can skip their emails if it’s grabbing them apparently at random. And I doubt they’d notice an effect as subtle as influencing what word you start your email with.
Yeah, that’s a point. It’s not like people spend a huge amount of mental effort on composing online communication anyway, so I guess some kind of subtle influence could reasonably go unnoticed by the people it was “riding” on.
Taking personal experience and all the different execs I know into account…. I’d believe it. Fully. :p
Seriously? Have you ever sat in on a board meeting? Even watched an hour of CSPAN?
It’s OBVIOUS they’re ALL just single-celled organisms controlled by an outside influence.
mnem
Tofu. It’s not just for breakfast anymore.
Mnementh, I just realized how much I’ve missed you comments. Welcome back.
“Hell, it would be really weird if the first letters of replies to your post spelled out a word, let alone a sentence.”
I see that the first letters of the first 5 replies to the post referred to spell “oy vey”.
This “Whimsy” is probably actually GODOT.
I’m leaning more Anasigma. The “Whimsy” employees aren’t really working for Whimsy… they just think they are. :p
Bah, not being able to edit. “I’m leaning more” should’ve been “I’d lean more”
That hypothesis fits very well with the wordplay obsession, but I still won’t bet on it. Rather, who/what from the Little House storyline have we still not met? As usual, I’m probably wrong.
Alternatively, a close relative. Follow me on this. It is possible that some of Dr. Collodi’s research on AIs was incorporated into G.O.D.O.T.’s design when it was first created. Collodi himself may have used similar designs to create some sort of “mother” system that underlies the main corporation’s database and is using the e-mail’s and other communications to communicate while hiding itself. The messages that Skin Horse’s personnel are receiving aren’t coming from an outside agency, but from inside the Star Chamber room itself. It really is a call for help.
I have the same question about the robot being wired in here that I have about similar scenes with Data in _Next Gen_: Couldn’t the builders afford Bluetooth?! (Yeah, I realize Nick is running the Violet Bee robot by radio link, so things could get messy in a hurry. Still…)
The android shows all the signs of something cobbled together with spare parts rather than a well executed integrated design.
I’m surprised it can pass itself off as a biological, much less use a single USB jack or Bluetooth.
Without special antennae (that would stick out like a sore thumb), most wireless has limited bandwidth compared to wired.
Also – Nick may be multitasking – interfacing with multiple different networks and/or systems. Comparable to playing multiple games of chess or watching tv, surfing the internet, and listening to the radio at the same time. Different protocols apply to each – therefore possibly different cables.