Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2013-10-11
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2013-10-11

by shaenon on October 11, 2013 at 12:01 am
Chapter: My Brother Sam Is Dead
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Discussion (44) ¬

  1. Norman
    October 11, 2013, 12:20 am | # | Reply

    So we’re not letting Bubbles go anywhere near the helipad, and hoping that Nick’s sensor suite can’t see into the building, and hoping that U.N.I.T.Y. doesn’t spill the beans.
    I can’t wait to find out how Nick finds out ^_^

    • pcj
      October 11, 2013, 12:29 am | # | Reply

      but after words, will Nick will teach the water cooler to play D&D?

    • oneuniverse2
      October 11, 2013, 1:26 am | # | Reply

      I wanted Bubbles to be Nick’s playmate 🙁

  2. Manifesta
    October 11, 2013, 12:28 am | # | Reply

    New theory: It’s not that Bubbles can’t use her arms, it’s that she’s using them to keep her bodice up.

    • Tetra Valent
      October 11, 2013, 12:49 am | # | Reply

      I don’t know why a water cooler would care, but I like that idea. Now we just have to figure out what she’s doing with her feet.

      Is she actually moving about or have the Skin Horse staff been carrying her from place to place?

      • Manifesta
        October 11, 2013, 4:52 am | # | Reply

        Her feet look like that because she’s been rehearsing Nijinsky’s choreography for Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Quite the æsthete, is our Bubbles.

      • Ian Thompson
        October 11, 2013, 6:45 am | # | Reply

        Bubbles would care because bubbles is smart enough to realize there is a nudity taboo and doesn’t want to upset anyone.

        • Katrika
          October 11, 2013, 12:52 pm | # | Reply

          To be fair, it’s not really about smarts in this case. Bubbles has only been exposed to one small aspect of society, office life in a very unconventional office. Sweetheart doesn’t wear clothes, and to an AI the difference between a talking dog and a talking plains ape might not be very apparent when it comes to fine social mores.

          But if ‘she’ knew, I don’t really know why she wouldn’t care. After all, why upset the people who helped her get her nifty new body?

          • Tetra Valent
            October 11, 2013, 2:11 pm | #

            Also, the full difference between the talking animals and the talking appliances – none of which wears clothes, including Bubbles herself until now – might not be clear. Perhaps whoever gave her the dress clued her in at that time.

          • Ian Thompson
            October 11, 2013, 5:38 pm | #

            True Katrikah,But bubbles definitely looks human, and all the humans are generally wearing clothing in an office building.

  3. Dave
    October 11, 2013, 12:44 am | # | Reply

    Does Sapient mean the same thing as Sentient?

    • Myles Adams
      October 11, 2013, 12:50 am | # | Reply

      Sentience is consciousness, observing, interacting, basically anything animal qualifies at minimum.

      Sapience has to do with reasoning, wisdom, etc.

      • Norman
        October 11, 2013, 8:12 am | # | Reply

        I like Piper’s definition fromLittle Fuzzy: Able to think consciously, able to know that it is thinking, and therefore able to think about thinking.

    • Norman
      October 11, 2013, 8:10 am | # | Reply

      I like Piper’s definition, from Little Fuzzy Capable of conscious thought; able to know that it is thinking, and therefore of thinking about thinking.

      • Cara
        October 11, 2013, 10:23 pm | # | Reply

        Fellow Piper fan? 😀

  4. WuseMajor
    October 11, 2013, 12:59 am | # | Reply

    ….Is it actually sapient? …..I’m also suddenly curious what happened to Sweetdaddy Jupiter Velvet.

    • Ian Thompson
      October 11, 2013, 8:04 am | # | Reply

      Barring bubbles giving consent through some kind of robot speech, which humans can’t recognize with their sensory input, sexual assault at the very minimum. If not Jeff and Shannon should be more careful with where they put their discretion shots.

      • Dave Harmon
        October 11, 2013, 9:00 am | # | Reply

        Well if you consider, there was also an “indiscretion ‘bubble'” in there. Which also implies it is in fact at least capable of having opinions about things.

        • Ian Thompson
          October 11, 2013, 12:25 pm | # | Reply

          Yes, but there was no Clear indication that bubbles was agreeing to whatever the robots equivalent of getting busy Is. That’s what’s bugging me, Hasn’t bubbles been through enough? That’s one reason I like this arc throw the water cooler a bone already,No innuendo intended.

          • Katrika
            October 11, 2013, 12:53 pm | #

            I think you’re reading a little too much into the Sweetdaddy/Bubbles fling. Both are AI, and might have been able to communicate non-verbally.

          • Katrika
            October 11, 2013, 12:54 pm | #

            Basically, both Shaenon and Jeff have too much class to make a joke out of sexual assault, so I have to assume consent was somehow communicated.

          • commodorejohn
            October 11, 2013, 1:58 pm | #

            There are other ways to communicate consent than formal written notice signed and notarized in triplicate, y’know. Machines in particular probably have more reliable nonverbal communication than humans.

            Or in other words: you lay off my man Sweetdaddy Jupiter, y’hear? Or do I have to bust out a synthesizer and lay down the funk on you? Don’t make me. I’ll do it. I got a patch right here with your name on it, boy.

          • Ian Thompson
            October 11, 2013, 5:35 pm | #

            1.The Harkness test guide clearly indicates that nonverbal communication is a slippery slope. 2.I didn’t take it as a joke, although it was in a space traditionally reserved for punchlines. 3. Bubbles used to not have any appendages or facial features, pray tell, what forms of Nonverbal communication Did they Have access to? We need some word of God on this one.

          • Shaenon
            October 11, 2013, 8:46 pm | #

            I’m sorry, are you saying that you need me to come in and tell you there are no rapes happening off-panel in this comic strip?

            No. Go in the corner and think about what you’ve done.

    • Norman
      October 11, 2013, 8:14 am | # | Reply

      If Bubbles did request to be put into the VB drone, that would seem to me to be clear evidence of sapience, even if she can only say five words ^_^. I don’t want to know if she can build a fire.

      Sorry about the double post above 🙁

    • Ian Thompson
      October 11, 2013, 5:43 pm | # | Reply

      And number four, if you’re only able to communicate that service is your only joy to someone sexually interested in you regardless of your actual intent or desires what do you think would happen? I’m not saying it was intentional,I’m not making any assumptions about Sweet Daddy Jupiter Velvet’s character but bubbles couldn’t of said no even if they wanted to

      • commodorejohn
        October 11, 2013, 7:04 pm | # | Reply

        You know, you could simply not automatically assume the worst of a situation until explicitly told otherwise. I mean, cripes, it’s a comic strip.

    • Ian Thompson
      October 11, 2013, 5:44 pm | # | Reply

      Sorry, replying to the wrong thing. And number four, if you’re only able to communicate that service is your only joy to someone sexually interested in you regardless of your actual intent or desires what do you think would happen? I’m not saying it was intentional,I’m not making any assumptions about Sweet Daddy Jupiter Velvet’s character but bubbles couldn’t of said no even if they wanted to

  5. eddurd
    October 11, 2013, 7:18 am | # | Reply

    (TUNE: “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”, Bob Dylan)

    Put the A.I. cooler in the drone now!
    Seemed the kind … thing to do …
    She no longer has to be alone now,
    She can hang with the crew!
    One night with ol’ Sweetdaddy Jupiter;
    Next day, he up ‘n’ just walked out on her!
    She needs friends now, but we all concur,
    “Don’t tell Nick; this ain’t right!”

    Telling us that service is her joy now!
    Then she’ll say … it again …
    Twisted like a chintzy plastic toy now!
    Do her arms even bend?
    In her bubbly dress, she’s standing there
    With her manic smile and vacant stare …
    Kinda creepy, she’s starting to scare!
    (Don’t tell Nick; this ain’t right!)

  6. Daibhid C
    October 11, 2013, 7:34 am | # | Reply

    (Tune: Share and Enjoy by Douglas Adams)

    Service is joy,
    Service is joy,
    This drone was a helicopter who was a boy,
    The Spirit of Whimsy,
    Before that Violet Bee,
    It started its life a sort of decoy,
    And then Skin Horse decided that it could be me,
    Though I just say five words,
    My posture is absurd,
    My grin is freaky,
    And it’s quite plain to see,
    I’m right at the heart of the uncanny valley.

    Dr Lee helped them to give it my brain,
    It makes you wonder why she’s not thought insane.

  7. Dave Harmon
    October 11, 2013, 9:11 am | # | Reply

    Given yesterday’s comment, Sweetheart sounds like she’s trying to convince herself.

  8. Glenn
    October 11, 2013, 10:34 am | # | Reply

    Frighteningly, I heard that in the requisite flattened fifth off key.

    And now I’m hearing that scene between the warbot and Marvin, with Bubbles taking Marvin’s place. It comes out the same way…

    • Rex Vivat
      October 11, 2013, 11:54 am | # | Reply

      Not me, every time I think about it my mind corrects the tune automatically (thank the Lords…)

  9. WuseMajor
    October 11, 2013, 11:18 am | # | Reply

    I like the name bubbles for her. Though now we need two transgenic plant people and a case of chemical X….

  10. Saberbeam
    October 11, 2013, 1:10 pm | # | Reply

    Well, Bubbles sure seems to be enjoying herself. Picked up facial expressions pretty quick (heck of a smile in panel 3). Maybe she wasn’t uncontented with being a water cooler, but rather just wanted to get out and see the world a bit. Time for a fish (or cooler) out of water story.

  11. Tetra Valent
    October 11, 2013, 2:16 pm | # | Reply

    Now what will the staff do when they’re thirsty? Does the remaining water cooler equipment still function?

    • Ian Thompson
      October 11, 2013, 5:50 pm | # | Reply

      Even if bubbles it isn’t Inhabiting it, it’s still a watercooler. You pull the lever and water comes out

  12. rylen
    October 11, 2013, 8:38 pm | # | Reply

    I was guessing Cooler was getting promoted to zombie service. Cooler may enjoy installing an artificial brain and having it eaten, repeatedly.

  13. BMunro
    October 12, 2013, 3:52 am | # | Reply

    What, no more Princess Nick? 🙁

  14. David DeLaney
    October 23, 2013, 5:27 am | # | Reply

    … you know the artist is nailing SOMETHING when, in the last panel, the sapient dog, the cross-dressing psychologist, the possibly-slightly-mad biocomputer expert, and the patchwork zombie with bobcat ears and nanite blood all look MORE normal than the sentient-water-cooler-possessed drone robot.

    –Dave, sentences never dreamed of before this webcomic

  15. Pharmakeusubik
    October 5, 2017, 6:38 pm | # | Reply

    So, the water cooler is pigeon toed?

  16. h4rrish4wk
    February 4, 2019, 4:55 am | # | Reply

    Need to make Drone a male droid to occasionally drive… Like – having it stored inside his cargo hold or whatever and modeled on his previous human form.

    • awgiedawgie
      February 4, 2019, 2:18 pm | # | Reply

      You’re forgetting that he hated his previous human form.

      • WJS
        July 10, 2019, 10:08 am | # | Reply

        Which is not to say he hated being human, just that as humans go his original body wasn’t a particularly impressive specimen. You have to wonder, if he did get a masculine drone body what appearance would he pick for it?

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