Footing The Bill

Never mind toenails, I'm still wondering why they wear underwear?

Bill Robertson

Mehhh. That's going too fast. I'd've loved this conversation after some time has passed so that we can empathize with her more. For now it feels like we were told how she feels, but not shown at all.

Okay, just went on a super obsessive search and in case anyone else was curious: It looks like all AIs had square speech bubbles to start, but between strips 1994 - 2108 Momo has round speech bubbles, as do the AIs at the Chassis Store. But Winslow and Pintsize are still square. Spaceship and the other AIs in the space birthday party arc starting in strip 2108 all have square bubbles, and when we see Mom again after that in 2167, she has square bubbles.

Esca Makes

OMG I never realized that AI's had square speech bubbles!! HOW DID I NOT NOTICE?? Since when was that a thing?

Esca Makes

So why have Spookybot's speech bubbles become the squared edge AI style kind, not the rounded ones from past strips?

quarridors

I didn't. NOW I do.

Bagge

btb, nice work on Spookybot's face in panel 3, Jeph!!

Joe

looking for the easy button, Roko?? like that's not a disaster waiting to happen. not to mention what you'd have to promise to the Spooky collective to pay for their services.

Joe

OTOH, if Spookybot would want Roko to do something for them, it would be a perfect motivator: promise to help with body integration in exchange for some services... Where the services themselves are not important, but will give Roko enough experience to fix her problem herself? Like "your body was inside you all along" and all that. Mixing omnipotence and ethics is fun!

Evgeniy Semyonov

Honestly, I would be amazed if Spookybot agreed to this. Their approach has always been to adopt a light touch with stuff like this and remember their great reluctance to dive into Bubble's head when Emily couldn't find anything. I'm not sure why Spookybot has taken such an interest in Roko but it's definitely not to help Roko with her problems.

Thomas Boys

Aren't they a group of people together?

Patrick Mac Manus

Even in Bubbles' case, when they were merely repairing existing damage, Spookybot didn't go into Bubbles' mind themself, but facilitated Emily doing so. It's nice to know that Spookybot has at least some ethical boundaries, self-imposed or not.

Dean Reilly

Can I ask a question..... is Spookybot male or female? I've always thought male but see a lot of female pronouns for them in the comments. (And doesn't really matter....just wondering.)

Gerry

Someday, you will pay for that.

Captain Button

So this is robot body dysphoria - and the impression how bad it must if you're actually asking the literal spooky to help you fix it.

Cleo Schmitz

Is anyone else getting a "You know not what you ask..." vibe from the 3rd panel?

Drew Teter

Okay, who else thought "La li lu lo" when seeing that pose in the last panel?

Noise

Wow. Thanks spookybot. You are making things so much better.

Bagge

The farce strong in these two is...

Yeah, but remember that it was also implied that she wasn't very good at her job ...

Peter Jensen

Oh, come ON, Roko, you were a cop. You know a set-up when you see one, right?

Elf Sternberg

I have a very very bad feeling about this. 😕

Denise Webber

Good point. They're trying to shore up their bad reputation perhaps? Or something TOTALLY ebil... More likely.

Oh my GAWAD... Run, Spookybot, RUN!

Think of it like Phantom Limb Syndrome. People who've lost limbs, or who never even had them to begin with, sometimes feel 'phantom' pains and sensations in the non-existent appendage. Roko had her previous body for her entire physical life, and was extremely integrated with it; if the dimensions or internals or whatever of this new one are different (which they probably are as it's a newer model), then it's all going to feel like things aren't quite where they ought to be.

Reyn Goldfur

Seems a little drastic to jump to that option so quickly. She's been in this body for all of ten minutes.

Mitchell Sealy

Considering that they fixed Bubbles problem (except for the memories that were already deleted, obviously) with relative ease, I'd feel a lot more confident in their skills. Even your short-order cook's <i>cooking</i> skills would likely fall short of Spookybot's brain-handling skills, to say nothing of the certain death that would result from allowing the cook to perform surgery on you. Bubbles already knew far better than any of us what Spookybot are, and she knew well the risks of such an invasion, and yet she was still willing to let them in. In fact, she was confident enough in them to allow Emily in under their guidance.

awgiedawgie

We still don't know why Spookybot is interested enough to visit Roko.

Chris Heg

That's the problem with presenting oneself as a god-like being. Eventually, you come across someone who wants you to actually play god...

Some Ed

And how does Bill (and his feet) have anything to do with Roko and Spookybot? I'm feeling so lost.

BobC

The QC cast of characters exceeds my ability to keep up. Now I'm wondering who Bill is, and why he needs footing. What happened to his prior feet? Did Crushbot step on them? Is this another Special Faye Job?

BobC

I am pretty that altering robot's minds is on the very short list of questionable things that Spookybot absolutely does not do. They say as much to Corpse Witch, and it makes sense. It is a form of violation to which robots are particularly vulnerable. "Oh, the robot doesn't like its situation? No problem, we will just adjust its programming."

You're just doing this for Roko, aren't you? ;)

Sleepy John

I would rather let a short-order cook perform an appendectomy on me with a backhoe than let Spookybot into my brain.

Sleepy John

I've taken to tweeting my weekly bread bakes because I'm sure there are people out there for whom they are a whole nother kind of satisfying.

Gary Walker

I... actually can't decide which idea I hate more: Toenails or No Toenails.

Kinda Squirrely

Oooooooh, no, Roko. This seems fraught. (That said, I'd be curious and ask, too, which is probably why I had an emotional reaction.)

Katrina Urmson

Yeah that's trauma all right.

R L

Domo arigato Mr. Robotoenail

Summer Sudbrink

Actually, a pedicure is care of the feet in general. It often includes care of toenails, but it doesn't have to. Maybe they just like an occasional foot bath to keep their skin soft and flexible.

awgiedawgie

"Here's my business card" *slide* *frustrated scrabbling*

Fart Captor

But be warned: if they fix you, you will no longer be able to have robot babies.

Andrew

If they don't have fingernails, they'd have trouble picking up cards and coins off flat surfaces

Fart Captor

I'm sure Pintsize could provide much information on the topic, for the curious.

Rob Vary

A literal pedi-cure: getting new resin nails set.

thefinaldegree

oh no, there HAVE to be people in your comic universe with a fetish for sucking robot toes. what have you done

Careful, Roko.

Onedavewreckingcrew