Nick, my boy… sometimes pacifism really isn’t the answer.
War may be an ugly business, but when the legions of evil force your hand, and that hand happens to be attached to a giant walking building, you use that hand to flatten them.
That has most often been attributed to Edmund Burke (JFK used that quote more than once, and he always attributed it to Burke), from a letter he supposedly wrote in 1795.
No one has been able to produce any document actually proving that, however.
Burke did write, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” Which while addressing similar themes, it is different enough to be its own idea. The earliest really similar expression to Landis’s quote was by John Stuart Mill, during an 1867 graduation address at the University of St. Andrews: ” Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
Are you saying, Nick, the robots are somehow “less real” people?
Admittedly, your POV deserves extra weight. But I must say your sympathy with the aggressors surprises me. Unless you are privy to more complete knowledge of the situation?
I could see the Lone Ranger siding initially with the rancher whose water supply was being blown up by Indians – until he learned said rancher had dammed up the only river in the region for his exclusive use…
I I think it was Virginia’s referring to a deadly battle with a fairy-tale analogy that he objected to. Nick has always been clear that the machines weren’t just people, they were *his* people. Virginia was dehumanizing the A-sig shock troopers. As someone else said, Nick objects to her enthusiasm.
This.^ I suspect Nick would also prefer a solution that didn’t involve actually killing the enemy, if at all possible. Disabling their tech would almost certainly at least greatly reduce the A-sig’s troops’ efficacy, and most would probably surrender or retreat at that point, thus minimizing casualties.
Assuming Nick at some point admits to himself that he loves Virginia, he will also have to accept that she is, technically, evil, and decide if he really wants to be with her after all.
You’re right. I remember now when Nick made that declaration. Considering he has AI doppelgangers as well as a cybernetic nature his ability to empathize with both life forms is the embodiment of chivalry.
Ginny knows Nick is too good for her. Nick views Ginny as far above him in every respect. They’re both right!
I would suggest that he meant physically-present sapients rather than the remote-controlled drones that were brought up as a possibility. The latter would have been more like the body that would go on to be Bubbles’s was before it had Bubbles in it than an actual person, but these are not.
Now, I have semi-terrifying visions of Marcie and Aimee doing a makeover to the Baron’s mechanical carcass. He will probably scream when he gets back in his own body and sees what it was done to it. Actually that makes it much less terrifying.
Dr. Jones is all that is needed for the cloning part. No doubt using her Clone-o-Mat to clone a female version of Nick’s body for Aimee would be child’s play for Dr. Jones.
I’m wondering why on earth an HR director is participating in an attack on a bunch of domestic appliances anyway. It seems like a very odd role to have “participate in strike team” as one of its duties. Is A-Sig that close to running out of people, that they lay down their bosses’ lives?
Of necessity A-Sig has always been short on personnel just for the sake of secrecy.
If this is indeed a max effort even the HR Director, being just as brainwashed as the rest, will feel obligated to join in.
Of course if Mr. Green is like any Bond villain he has a whole other organization as a backup, although it may need a little tuning up.
Nick, my boy… sometimes pacifism really isn’t the answer.
War may be an ugly business, but when the legions of evil force your hand, and that hand happens to be attached to a giant walking building, you use that hand to flatten them.
What’s that SM Stirling quote? “If nobody fights the bad guys, they *win*”, or something like that?
I don’t recall if this is Stirling or not, but “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
That has most often been attributed to Edmund Burke (JFK used that quote more than once, and he always attributed it to Burke), from a letter he supposedly wrote in 1795.
No one has been able to produce any document actually proving that, however.
Burke did write, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” Which while addressing similar themes, it is different enough to be its own idea. The earliest really similar expression to Landis’s quote was by John Stuart Mill, during an 1867 graduation address at the University of St. Andrews: ” Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
Then again, “[it’s an] ugly business” is basically the extent of what he is saying. He’s protesting against the enthusiasm, not the battle.
Are you saying, Nick, the robots are somehow “less real” people?
Admittedly, your POV deserves extra weight. But I must say your sympathy with the aggressors surprises me. Unless you are privy to more complete knowledge of the situation?
I could see the Lone Ranger siding initially with the rancher whose water supply was being blown up by Indians – until he learned said rancher had dammed up the only river in the region for his exclusive use…
I I think it was Virginia’s referring to a deadly battle with a fairy-tale analogy that he objected to. Nick has always been clear that the machines weren’t just people, they were *his* people. Virginia was dehumanizing the A-sig shock troopers. As someone else said, Nick objects to her enthusiasm.
This.^ I suspect Nick would also prefer a solution that didn’t involve actually killing the enemy, if at all possible. Disabling their tech would almost certainly at least greatly reduce the A-sig’s troops’ efficacy, and most would probably surrender or retreat at that point, thus minimizing casualties.
Assuming Nick at some point admits to himself that he loves Virginia, he will also have to accept that she is, technically, evil, and decide if he really wants to be with her after all.
You’re right. I remember now when Nick made that declaration. Considering he has AI doppelgangers as well as a cybernetic nature his ability to empathize with both life forms is the embodiment of chivalry.
Ginny knows Nick is too good for her. Nick views Ginny as far above him in every respect. They’re both right!
I would suggest that he meant physically-present sapients rather than the remote-controlled drones that were brought up as a possibility. The latter would have been more like the body that would go on to be Bubbles’s was before it had Bubbles in it than an actual person, but these are not.
Is Pacifist Nick acknowledging that it would be gratifying to see Karma come around to visit some of his old co-workers?
Ah, yes. The jerk knight did indeed deserve some serious shin-kicking.
I dunno, the punch line of today’s comic seems a little off-color given what happened with Virginia Beach recently.
What? No, I’m not calling Virginia that!
Well, maybe I am, just a little.
She can’t help that, anymore than you can help using Ken as a handle. Give my regards to Barbie.
I wonder what Marcie and Aimee-in-Baron-M’s-carcass are talking about. Probably Nick?
Now, I have semi-terrifying visions of Marcie and Aimee doing a makeover to the Baron’s mechanical carcass. He will probably scream when he gets back in his own body and sees what it was done to it. Actually that makes it much less terrifying.
If Dr. Lee and Dr. Jones join the conversation, they might be cloning Aimee a meatbody all her own.
Dr. Jones is all that is needed for the cloning part. No doubt using her Clone-o-Mat to clone a female version of Nick’s body for Aimee would be child’s play for Dr. Jones.
I’m wondering why on earth an HR director is participating in an attack on a bunch of domestic appliances anyway. It seems like a very odd role to have “participate in strike team” as one of its duties. Is A-Sig that close to running out of people, that they lay down their bosses’ lives?
Of necessity A-Sig has always been short on personnel just for the sake of secrecy.
If this is indeed a max effort even the HR Director, being just as brainwashed as the rest, will feel obligated to join in.
Of course if Mr. Green is like any Bond villain he has a whole other organization as a backup, although it may need a little tuning up.
It always pays, when being hired, to get some detail on the “other duties as required” clause of the job description…
I’d have no problem seeing a few of my former HR directors being ground under a building.
If their HR department has become involved, and if their HR department is a typical one, we may safely assume that Anasigma will soon be losing.
I mean, at least Nick’s perspective here seems to suggest that the A-Sig goons are losing badly now?
Probably what perspective he gets from being up on Annex One’s roof—must look different at ground level.
Flatter – for example.
When did she get the new short ‘do? And when does Toto pull the curtain back?
They chopped her hair off when they were about to extract her brain for “permanent extirpation”.