Well, unless he deleted himself, he has to be here somewhere. The problem is that in a VR realm “somewhere” leaves open a heck of a lot. He might not even be incarnated.
How in the VR world could Baron be found via surveillance cameras? Talk about “hiding in plain sight”! Unless he’s in Noble Steed guise of course…
Only Aimee knows him well enough to pick up on subtle clues. And I am proud that the ruler of this world considers even the NPCs to be “people” (which the august representative of The Daughters of the Air clearly does not).
Could Lovelace be trying to mislead our heroes? She did suggest the high roller club in the first place…
Calling them clones isn’t quite correct. It’s just that all Whimsy unicorns look exactly alike. They’re kind of like gerbils. So he’s not necessarily creeping on his sister (or brother). Of course, that means it’s also hard to be sure that he’s not creeping on his brother (or sister).
I think he is just doing what he thinks a real Mob Boss would do. Baron thinks a Mob Boss would have restroom cams, so his Mob Boss “code-clone” have restroom cams.
Dr. “Langley” was a Mad; that’s why HAL went off. In 2010 it was revealed that HAL had been USG misprogrammed; fortunately his later instructor, who was NOT named for the CIA’s home town, was able to fix him… and I shed some happy tears in the theater…
2001 movie: “My first instructor was Mr. Langley.” I got the honorific wrong. Obviously Mr. Langley, of the HAL plant in Urbana IL, is not the same person as Dr. Chandra; he was probably in charge of inserting backdoors for fun, profit, and intelligence services…
It’s not a symptom of madness. It’s a trait of an AI. Recall how many times Helen told Dave not to assume that Lovelace would respond to stimuli the way a human would, just because she was sapient. Even Aimee can be assumed only to have empathy toward the beings inside the server because they’re her subjects and not because she’s somehow exceptional as an AI.
Yeah, but with the exception of these three here, everyone else in the Baron’s little bubble has the exact same problem. So I doubt those restrooms get much action.
Supposedly that’s why Pavel Chekov and Khan Noonien Singh appear to know each other in _Wrath_ despite Chekov not being a regular cast member yet when Khan first appeared in TOS.
As a fully virtual knock-off of a meat-based person, she may be more sensitive to the notion of software entities, even not very bright ones, being casually erased.
It’s am autonomous program that exists within the boundaries of the territory over which she rules. In other words, it’s her subject and as such deserves her consideration.
A very intriguing question! Boss Baron’ was well enough informed to know about Nick’s swear filter, yet autonomous enough to prefer mimosas over bloody marys.
Apparently they have the potential to evolve. Which Aimee recognizes. And I’m sure the arrival of our heroes has injected an element of novelty which hastens their development.
“Apparently they have the potential to evolve. Which Aimee recognizes. And I’m sure the arrival of our heroes has injected an element of novelty which hastens their development.”
So you’re saying that, when it comes to this mystery, the Barons are acting as their Whimsey takes them?
I believe Lovelace is sincere in her desire to track down Baron…
I’m just gonna skip ahead and guess that Baron isn’t even in the virtual reality.
Well, unless he deleted himself, he has to be here somewhere. The problem is that in a VR realm “somewhere” leaves open a heck of a lot. He might not even be incarnated.
Plot twist: he IS that security monitor wall. Why do you think those cameras are looking where they do…?
Hmmm… Lovelace’s pose feels vaguely familiar. Did Lupin Madblood ever stand like that? It’s interesting to imagine her mimicking her father.
I’ve a feeling you’re right, but it’s not on the TVTropes page for Reverse Arm-Fold.
Of course, the existence of that page suggests that there are all kinds of other reasons it could feel familiar.
It strikes me as being far more reminiscent of Helen, when she’s trying to be serious and dramatic.
Example comic – not quite the strip I had in mind, but I knew where to find this one in the archives without spending hours digging:
http://narbonic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/060128.jpg
Actually… I take it back… she DOES seem to be channeling some Madblood in the second panel! I was focused more on her third panel dramatic turn, but…
http://narbonic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2003/07/030705.jpg
Other examples, from both back and front.
http://narbonic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2003/03/030303.jpg
http://narbonic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2003/03/030310.jpg
How in the VR world could Baron be found via surveillance cameras? Talk about “hiding in plain sight”! Unless he’s in Noble Steed guise of course…
Only Aimee knows him well enough to pick up on subtle clues. And I am proud that the ruler of this world considers even the NPCs to be “people” (which the august representative of The Daughters of the Air clearly does not).
Could Lovelace be trying to mislead our heroes? She did suggest the high roller club in the first place…
Tuned to restroom cams…. in a world where normally everyone is a Baron clone. Um, dude….?
Calling them clones isn’t quite correct. It’s just that all Whimsy unicorns look exactly alike. They’re kind of like gerbils. So he’s not necessarily creeping on his sister (or brother). Of course, that means it’s also hard to be sure that he’s not creeping on his brother (or sister).
I think he is just doing what he thinks a real Mob Boss would do. Baron thinks a Mob Boss would have restroom cams, so his Mob Boss “code-clone” have restroom cams.
Lovelace is being very ruthless and logical here. Nick and Aimee may have to rein in her inner madgirl before she causes permanent damage.
Can an AI even go Mad?
Ask Dave about HAL.
Hold up, he was a Dave?!
Well, that would explain a lot…
Dr. “Langley” was a Mad; that’s why HAL went off. In 2010 it was revealed that HAL had been USG misprogrammed; fortunately his later instructor, who was NOT named for the CIA’s home town, was able to fix him… and I shed some happy tears in the theater…
Thought it was Dr. Chandra. Or was that just the books and sequel?
2001 movie: “My first instructor was Mr. Langley.” I got the honorific wrong. Obviously Mr. Langley, of the HAL plant in Urbana IL, is not the same person as Dr. Chandra; he was probably in charge of inserting backdoors for fun, profit, and intelligence services…
It’s not a symptom of madness. It’s a trait of an AI. Recall how many times Helen told Dave not to assume that Lovelace would respond to stimuli the way a human would, just because she was sapient. Even Aimee can be assumed only to have empathy toward the beings inside the server because they’re her subjects and not because she’s somehow exceptional as an AI.
Probably just envy. Being an animatronic creation, the Baron has probably had to hold it for a pretty long time.
Yeah, but with the exception of these three here, everyone else in the Baron’s little bubble has the exact same problem. So I doubt those restrooms get much action.
Well, the crew of the Enterprise had to deal. Five years is an awful long time.
Supposedly that’s why Pavel Chekov and Khan Noonien Singh appear to know each other in _Wrath_ despite Chekov not being a regular cast member yet when Khan first appeared in TOS.
I was just looking at the skin horse logo,
doesn’t that look like the Baron?
No, it looks like the Skin Horse. Those are ears on top of its head, not a horn.
You’ve read / heard of / watched The Velveteen Rabbit, I assume?
You mean it’s NOT a disgruntled one-eyed clown?
Always looked like it would make a nice gold or silver pin.
Or a pendant.
Oh! I should’a remembered!
We were saying yesterday that “boss baron” didn’t count as a person, but here is she-nick counting him as a person
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”
As a fully virtual knock-off of a meat-based person, she may be more sensitive to the notion of software entities, even not very bright ones, being casually erased.
It’s am autonomous program that exists within the boundaries of the territory over which she rules. In other words, it’s her subject and as such deserves her consideration.
this brings up the question of… how sapient are the baron copies…
A very intriguing question! Boss Baron’ was well enough informed to know about Nick’s swear filter, yet autonomous enough to prefer mimosas over bloody marys.
Apparently they have the potential to evolve. Which Aimee recognizes. And I’m sure the arrival of our heroes has injected an element of novelty which hastens their development.
“Apparently they have the potential to evolve. Which Aimee recognizes. And I’m sure the arrival of our heroes has injected an element of novelty which hastens their development.”
So you’re saying that, when it comes to this mystery, the Barons are acting as their Whimsey takes them?
*Applause*
Gosh I love how creepy Lovelace is.