That was my first thought, too. But Echo Bravo & Alfa Alfa or Jonah & Nera are both plausible suggestions as well.
I suspect Nick would be a little too self-possessed to break the disguise in excitement, the way the voices in panel one do. Ginny, sure, but not Nick.
I’m surprised Anasigma’s animal-robot game is this weak. They do much better with human drones & clones. Time to kidnap a better class of mad robot scientists. Perhaps they were focused on getting the scent right and weren’t too concerned about the appearance? Which might not be that bad a strategy, come to think of it.
To fool rats it’s probably more important to get the smell right than the appearance. Many, perhaps most, animals do not rely on sight as much as we humans do.
Also this is funnier.
Primates in general are sight oriented and adapted to wide open spaces.
Rats, on the other hand, are creatures of confined spaces with poor lighting conditions. Not only are they more dependent on scent, but I suspect the robot is already compromised and the rats aren’t letting on.
That’s because they also have a keen sense of hearing for the same reason.
A conspicuous outward appearance, evincing a mild contempt for everything around one, insults casually interspersed throughout the conversation…is this a robotic impostor, or just a rat pick-up artist?
I’m thinking whoever is running this mechanical rat is using the double-helmet tag-team drone operator Smart Unity built so Sweetheart and Tip could double-date Niue. Probably salvaged from Nick after Ira whisked him away. I’m reading this strip too much.
Sounds like Echo Bravo and Alfa Alfa. But it could be someone else.
…my first thought also. Bet it is.
…doofus ex machina.
This is a brilliant phrase and I will have to remember it for later use in a variety of contexts.
Romeo Charlie, perhaps?
Or it may be a separate team, Whisky, Tango, and Foxtrot.
It’s certainly a less experienced operator than Violet Bee had, anyway. I wonder if this one will tell people when it’s about to explode.
Given the professionalism, apparent budget, and that it’s not a hollowed-out *real* rat… Jonah and Nera?
It’s probably to much to hope that this rat is being piloted form inside by some dashing silverfish that we haven’t seen in far to long.
No, they’d have Italian accents.
*splash*
“oh no, i’m not waterpr*brzap*!”
That would be a major and utterly foreseeable design flaw. Which means it would be an A-Sig project, yes.
Do uplifted rats suffer from their own form of reality blindness?
I don’t think so? Coffee Rat can tell Robo Rat is bad news, but likes them anyway.
Is that a singular “them” or a plural “them”? Oh, right, the answer’s “yes”. Again.
Is that a royal “we” or a plural “we” in panel 2? Careful how you answer, Gross Monster Rat…
Can we get Nick and Ginny piloting these clanks?
At least the disguise is a little more convincing than a paper plate.
A *little*.
Hamsters are back!?
That was my first thought, too. But Echo Bravo & Alfa Alfa or Jonah & Nera are both plausible suggestions as well.
I suspect Nick would be a little too self-possessed to break the disguise in excitement, the way the voices in panel one do. Ginny, sure, but not Nick.
So I’m not the only one thinking of them! XD
I like the Nick/Ginny idea. Isn’t Alfa Alfa supposed to be hospitalized?
Said she was in the ER…didn’t say *why* she was in the ER…
I’m surprised Anasigma’s animal-robot game is this weak. They do much better with human drones & clones. Time to kidnap a better class of mad robot scientists. Perhaps they were focused on getting the scent right and weren’t too concerned about the appearance? Which might not be that bad a strategy, come to think of it.
To fool rats it’s probably more important to get the smell right than the appearance. Many, perhaps most, animals do not rely on sight as much as we humans do.
Also this is funnier.
Primates in general are sight oriented and adapted to wide open spaces.
Rats, on the other hand, are creatures of confined spaces with poor lighting conditions. Not only are they more dependent on scent, but I suspect the robot is already compromised and the rats aren’t letting on.
That’s because they also have a keen sense of hearing for the same reason.
A conspicuous outward appearance, evincing a mild contempt for everything around one, insults casually interspersed throughout the conversation…is this a robotic impostor, or just a rat pick-up artist?
I’m thinking whoever is running this mechanical rat is using the double-helmet tag-team drone operator Smart Unity built so Sweetheart and Tip could double-date Niue. Probably salvaged from Nick after Ira whisked him away. I’m reading this strip too much.
It is impossible to read this strip too much. All hail Shaneon and Jeff!
You know I just thought of something.
Maybe the reality blindness *does* affect transhumans[is that the right word?]
But only if it’s challenging to *their* reality.
Hence why they don’t see anything weird about this metallic clanking rat with two distinct voices.