Now we see Virginia Lee
Looking into Violet Bee,
Should known, robot drone
Based on work by me, see?
Anasigma stole my tech,
They’ll abuse it, sure as heck!
Twisting it to evil ends!
Gee, I thought they were my friends!
Used my neural interface
Trying to destroy this place,
What an evil plan they had,
Wipe out all the people mad!
Unity out-thought GODOT,
Mission finished, time to go!
Sneak attack, beat ’em back,
Now it’s time to have a snack!
Please do not eat the tire!
I see what you’re doing, kindly stop the chewing!
Please do not eat the tire!
Though I’m keeping calm, but still you nom and nom
And nom and nom and nom and nom …
I’m sure it means nothing to her, but if that remote were still being piloted Unity might be up for a sexual harassment complaint, given where her right hand is in the first panel. :-^)
Maybe it’s just the coffee not kicking in, but I’m having trouble dealing with the idea of a biological zombie construct sexually harrassing an explosive robot drone. Among other things, does it count if you touch something that is merely shaped LIKE a secondary erogenous zone? And does it count if what touches it isn’t technically alive? And…oh, there are so many questions that arise.
I think that the strip has missed the thing that really has to exist in such a world…if you have Mad Science, then you certainly have to have Mad Law. It would handle questions like that of whether being mind controlled absolves the controlee of guilt, or whether it counts as a second strike for the controller. Or, if you create self-replicating robots, at what generation are you no longer responsible for their actions?
Considering that sexual harassment can be verbal, you can probably make a case for harassing a drone to be harassment aimed at its operator, even if there isn’t a tactile interface involved (you *definitely* could if there is). I don’t know that Unity’s vital status has anything to do with the matter – she’s sentient and free-willed, if not particularly stable.
Mind control guilt would probably involve how thorough the control is. Some mind-control methods don’t allow you to force someone to do something that goes against their basic nature (and that’s vague enough for a whole library of papers and court precedents right there). And the last one probably depends mostly on how sentient the robots in question are and how much their actions are based off of initial programming (mindless grey goo is probably laid solely at the feet of the creator, but if they’re at human-level intelligence you’ve pretty much just created an actual species and potentially society…)
Just don’t forget: restraint is a virtue. That something is in your basic nature doesn’t mean you were going to do it anyway, so you shouldn’t be found guilty in that case.
1. The Lovelace emancipation case certainly demonstrates that the courts of the Narboniverse deal with such subjects.
2. Mad Law as such would however rather be to do to Justice what a mad-scientist can do to the laws of nature. I find myself ambivalent as to whether that would be the scariest thing ever, or simply Tuesday in Corporate America; I suppose it could be both.
I think she may as well finish it, I think the hole is too big to patch ^_^
I think the biggest thing AVOIDING misusing Unity is her personality.
The Evil Overlord list has something about not letting minions fall in love or sympathize with the captives – that would lead to betrayal.
Despite her complaints about not being allowed to rampage – I think Unity is having more fun on the side of the “Good Guys”.
I think the “Unity eats everything” gag is getting a little tyred.
Don’t let her hear you say that, it might rubber the wrong way.
And then you’d have to be careful where you tread around her.
Something something radial
I can’t pun today. 🙁
Its a Radial solution?
No worries. Not every lugnut out there can pun on demand. Besides, its a power that should be sparingly wheelded.
This joke is only gaining traction over time.
Eeeeh, you might as well just roll with it.
Rimshot!
You don’t want to put her under too much pressure…
Yeah, she might totally loose all grip on sanity.
Now some vehicle needs to be retired.
Why? We’re getting great mileage out of this one.
Such bias! Ply your humor elsewhere!
Make too many wheel puns, and the axle fall.
(TUNE: “We Didn’t Start The Fire”, Billy Joel)
Now we see Virginia Lee
Looking into Violet Bee,
Should known, robot drone
Based on work by me, see?
Anasigma stole my tech,
They’ll abuse it, sure as heck!
Twisting it to evil ends!
Gee, I thought they were my friends!
Used my neural interface
Trying to destroy this place,
What an evil plan they had,
Wipe out all the people mad!
Unity out-thought GODOT,
Mission finished, time to go!
Sneak attack, beat ’em back,
Now it’s time to have a snack!
Please do not eat the tire!
I see what you’re doing, kindly stop the chewing!
Please do not eat the tire!
Though I’m keeping calm, but still you nom and nom
And nom and nom and nom and nom …
Ed Gedeon and filking: The Axles of Evil…
I’m sure it means nothing to her, but if that remote were still being piloted Unity might be up for a sexual harassment complaint, given where her right hand is in the first panel. :-^)
Maybe it’s just the coffee not kicking in, but I’m having trouble dealing with the idea of a biological zombie construct sexually harrassing an explosive robot drone. Among other things, does it count if you touch something that is merely shaped LIKE a secondary erogenous zone? And does it count if what touches it isn’t technically alive? And…oh, there are so many questions that arise.
I think that the strip has missed the thing that really has to exist in such a world…if you have Mad Science, then you certainly have to have Mad Law. It would handle questions like that of whether being mind controlled absolves the controlee of guilt, or whether it counts as a second strike for the controller. Or, if you create self-replicating robots, at what generation are you no longer responsible for their actions?
Please indicate on this doll where His Noodley Appendage touched you.
Considering that sexual harassment can be verbal, you can probably make a case for harassing a drone to be harassment aimed at its operator, even if there isn’t a tactile interface involved (you *definitely* could if there is). I don’t know that Unity’s vital status has anything to do with the matter – she’s sentient and free-willed, if not particularly stable.
Mind control guilt would probably involve how thorough the control is. Some mind-control methods don’t allow you to force someone to do something that goes against their basic nature (and that’s vague enough for a whole library of papers and court precedents right there). And the last one probably depends mostly on how sentient the robots in question are and how much their actions are based off of initial programming (mindless grey goo is probably laid solely at the feet of the creator, but if they’re at human-level intelligence you’ve pretty much just created an actual species and potentially society…)
Just don’t forget: restraint is a virtue. That something is in your basic nature doesn’t mean you were going to do it anyway, so you shouldn’t be found guilty in that case.
Re: Mad Law.
1. The Lovelace emancipation case certainly demonstrates that the courts of the Narboniverse deal with such subjects.
2. Mad Law as such would however rather be to do to Justice what a mad-scientist can do to the laws of nature. I find myself ambivalent as to whether that would be the scariest thing ever, or simply Tuesday in Corporate America; I suppose it could be both.
Given Bee’s interactions with Dr. Lee earlier, I doubt that s/he would want to open that door.
Now Unity, it’s very impolite to eat well someone is trying to do a soliloquy. Or would this be a monologue?
Unity obviously has the potential to be misused for recycling old tires.
Would it be a good time for Dr. Lee to mention the swamp in A-Sig’s basement?
It would, but she has no idea that it has anything to do with them.
“all my projects have been adapted to new ends”
The prospect of Evil Unity is a bit more than my poor battered mind can take.
I’m rereading SH, and just realised this is such a foreshadowing to when Nick the during the grand against towards the end of Space-Bat-Angerl-Dragon