Ooooh dear, do service robots not recognize requests emitted by other robots?
And is it also because she’s a robot that she pronounced that perfectly? Is that what we’re supposed to understand here?
Yeah, I meant that the robot is recognizing her as a robot, not that it can’t hear or understand her. (Well, maybe that too… can robots perceive each other? Can a robot tell another robot to get out of the way and can the other orbot understand that?) (other makes than Sulla, obviously)
But the other robots in the comic seem to understand her just fine. Chances are, Sulla is just getting nervous because she thinks the robot will tell everyone her secret.
Who knows, it may just be a cash-register and shes talking to a non-talking bot, or it might just be calculating her total cost.
What? No, she was just self conscious about saying the drink properly, so now she’s doing it wrong on purpose. And the service robot is confused by “broth”.
Think less “robots” and more “teenage girl wanting to fit in.” (okay maybe a side of “not wanting to be caught out as a robot” but still, probably more the former.)
She’s “passing for human” in front of that robot. Who knows what it is thinking behind that poker face? We know all robots start with the seed of a human mind. Does this one envy her chassis?
I thought she *could* process organic food…? I thought the Fructose Wafer things were only ‘the most efficient’ fuel… Honestly if I were a posthuman at that point, I’d opt for organic food too.
Synthetic-appropriate food is limited to a few key ingredients, most of them easily digestible sugars. Most are content with less realistic looking fare, but you can get more complex foods from certain groceries and restaurants. Attempting to digest certain things, say, proteins, can give a synthetic person a lot of problems.
Heres a bit of advice, Sulla: Hot to Drought method. A.K.A: How to get out of an unwanted dinner oarty:
1: Readily take food, this shows the host that you are being polite.
2: When you get the bowl, feel it and remark in a good natured way that it feels very hot.
3: While waiting for it to cool, carry on am exciting conversation while other guests eat.
4: Take a bite once you feel the food has cooled long enough, but only a bit. If needed, rubface with a naokin and discard the bit in your mouth, regarding at once more as a littleto hot. This shows the host that you did try the food like a normal human.
5: After the meal, have your food ‘To Go’ and take it home with you and eat at your own risk once your human friends are out of sight.
Hmm, well when we last saw Al (soooo long ago) he was sitting down at a human restaurant and about to order hot sauce and human food too so I don’t think Sulla will have any trouble with the eating. However, Al has experience with the, um, elimination process while Sulla never has so this could be another new experience for her that other Synthetics would not be able to relate to.
Wait what? The last time we saw Al, he was in a clearing staring at a robot. Unless I missed a strip? Earlier in the series he had been lamenting the fact that he would never be able to have spicy food again.
Normally, I just read the comic and enjoy it (because it’s awesome), but I wanted to weigh in on the chè ba màu as a Vietnamese reader! I’m sure you looked it up, have experience with it, or consulted someone already, but I’m really confused at the characters calling it a drink. It consists of mostly solid things–you’d have one hell of time trying to slurp it through a straw. Even if you did, you’d run out of liquids within about 5 seconds. I think most people would just call it a dessert and eat it with a spoon, like they would a parfait or sundae.
I totally get where you’re coming from. The one I usually get from my favorite place comes in a drinking glass and has a good amount of coconut cream and ice cubes in it, so I could see someone interpreting it as a drink if that’s the variety that they’re used to.
I once heard a lecture by Peter Hunt in which he postulated that food and eating in children’s literature took the place that sex and romance occupy in adult stories(he was followed by Gahan Wilson, who related that to the meal we had just eaten so well that we all died laughing). Ever since then, I have noticed how rare it is for characters in fiction to eat. The amount of food eaten by these characters is just one more thing about this comic that is A+.
My favorite street food here is Pho Ga and Banh mi ga nuong. Thanks to you I will be on the lookout for that tree-colored drink. Thanks! Where did you learn this?
Why do I have the feeling the robot knows who Sulla is? They all seem to know Al so it seems only natural they would all know Sulla and maybe be a bit protective over her.
I think I could stand being a robot, but I don’t know about being a robot that looks like a floor lamp. I’d have glued a mustache on the front or bought a hat.
One of the things this reminds me of a bit is C.L. Moore’s NO WOMAN BORN, in which a badly-burned star is set into a robotic body. The face is an abstract mask with no features, and the body neutral, and yet it is obviously and amazingly still the great Deirdre dancing and singing. She can’t taste or smell and has little tactile sense, but her joy in life is still huge and transcends her new shell.
Ooooh dear, do service robots not recognize requests emitted by other robots?
And is it also because she’s a robot that she pronounced that perfectly? Is that what we’re supposed to understand here?
I think it’s more the service robot might be confused because she’s a robot ordering human food.
Yeah, I think the pronunciation is a robot thing. Who knows how many languages she has programmed.
Yeah, I meant that the robot is recognizing her as a robot, not that it can’t hear or understand her. (Well, maybe that too… can robots perceive each other? Can a robot tell another robot to get out of the way and can the other orbot understand that?) (other makes than Sulla, obviously)
But the other robots in the comic seem to understand her just fine. Chances are, Sulla is just getting nervous because she thinks the robot will tell everyone her secret.
Who knows, it may just be a cash-register and shes talking to a non-talking bot, or it might just be calculating her total cost.
What? No, she was just self conscious about saying the drink properly, so now she’s doing it wrong on purpose. And the service robot is confused by “broth”.
Think less “robots” and more “teenage girl wanting to fit in.” (okay maybe a side of “not wanting to be caught out as a robot” but still, probably more the former.)
She’s “passing for human” in front of that robot. Who knows what it is thinking behind that poker face? We know all robots start with the seed of a human mind. Does this one envy her chassis?
I thought she *could* process organic food…? I thought the Fructose Wafer things were only ‘the most efficient’ fuel… Honestly if I were a posthuman at that point, I’d opt for organic food too.
Synthetic-appropriate food is limited to a few key ingredients, most of them easily digestible sugars. Most are content with less realistic looking fare, but you can get more complex foods from certain groceries and restaurants. Attempting to digest certain things, say, proteins, can give a synthetic person a lot of problems.
Okay, so in short, Sulla is gonna have a MAJOR stomach ache for this. Oh, baby.
Right, “synthetic person”, forgot about the term and was a bit uneasy at calling Sulla a “robot”. Gonna use that from now on.
Oh no babyyyy
YES! I FINALLY READ THE UODATE BEFORE ZODIAC! (Who has summer class)
Sulla, no!!! Her facial expression is perfect though!
It just looks like: I’d like to order the human food, extra food, olease.
oooh, I hope this goes well… maybe the synth will recognize sulla’s unspoken request for synth food?
I get this a lot too. When you’re white, people will get really excited about your pronunciation of things if you just don’t butcher it.
Heres a bit of advice, Sulla: Hot to Drought method. A.K.A: How to get out of an unwanted dinner oarty:
1: Readily take food, this shows the host that you are being polite.
2: When you get the bowl, feel it and remark in a good natured way that it feels very hot.
3: While waiting for it to cool, carry on am exciting conversation while other guests eat.
4: Take a bite once you feel the food has cooled long enough, but only a bit. If needed, rubface with a naokin and discard the bit in your mouth, regarding at once more as a littleto hot. This shows the host that you did try the food like a normal human.
5: After the meal, have your food ‘To Go’ and take it home with you and eat at your own risk once your human friends are out of sight.
This is *genius* ! You should write a Miss Synthetic Manners column once the emulator becomes available 5999.99 + tax at Sears.
Hmm, well when we last saw Al (soooo long ago) he was sitting down at a human restaurant and about to order hot sauce and human food too so I don’t think Sulla will have any trouble with the eating. However, Al has experience with the, um, elimination process while Sulla never has so this could be another new experience for her that other Synthetics would not be able to relate to.
Wait what? The last time we saw Al, he was in a clearing staring at a robot. Unless I missed a strip? Earlier in the series he had been lamenting the fact that he would never be able to have spicy food again.
Normally, I just read the comic and enjoy it (because it’s awesome), but I wanted to weigh in on the chè ba màu as a Vietnamese reader! I’m sure you looked it up, have experience with it, or consulted someone already, but I’m really confused at the characters calling it a drink. It consists of mostly solid things–you’d have one hell of time trying to slurp it through a straw. Even if you did, you’d run out of liquids within about 5 seconds. I think most people would just call it a dessert and eat it with a spoon, like they would a parfait or sundae.
I totally get where you’re coming from. The one I usually get from my favorite place comes in a drinking glass and has a good amount of coconut cream and ice cubes in it, so I could see someone interpreting it as a drink if that’s the variety that they’re used to.
I once heard a lecture by Peter Hunt in which he postulated that food and eating in children’s literature took the place that sex and romance occupy in adult stories(he was followed by Gahan Wilson, who related that to the meal we had just eaten so well that we all died laughing). Ever since then, I have noticed how rare it is for characters in fiction to eat. The amount of food eaten by these characters is just one more thing about this comic that is A+.
My favorite street food here is Pho Ga and Banh mi ga nuong. Thanks to you I will be on the lookout for that tree-colored drink. Thanks! Where did you learn this?
Why do I have the feeling the robot knows who Sulla is? They all seem to know Al so it seems only natural they would all know Sulla and maybe be a bit protective over her.
I think you are correct – the robots are watching them like a cat at a mousehole, waiting for Al to change the world again.
I think I could stand being a robot, but I don’t know about being a robot that looks like a floor lamp. I’d have glued a mustache on the front or bought a hat.
One of the things this reminds me of a bit is C.L. Moore’s NO WOMAN BORN, in which a badly-burned star is set into a robotic body. The face is an abstract mask with no features, and the body neutral, and yet it is obviously and amazingly still the great Deirdre dancing and singing. She can’t taste or smell and has little tactile sense, but her joy in life is still huge and transcends her new shell.
I’d make some eyebrows from post-its so that I could rearrange them in situations like this.
I don’t understand how Sulla can pronunce so well…
Is it cause of Al’s coded memories? Brendan likes it? or she just likes researching stuff?
I just noticed, no pho with beef tendon. That is the best pho, and they don’t have it. Shame on you, fictional restaurant proprietors!
It looks like an unspoken conversation is happening between Sulla, + the cooking robot:
Sulla: I’ll have the tofu with broth.
Cooking Robot: (CR’s glance says)- Do you really wanna try that?
Sulla: (Sulla’s glance says)- Please let my try + do this. Please don’t give me away.