Page 20. Together.
I will be tabling at VanCAF in Vancouver, BC on Saturday and Sunday, and will be traveling around for a couple days afterwards. The next page will go up Monday June 2nd. I look forward to seeing some of you this weekend!
O Human Star
by Blue Delliquanti
MORE OF BLUE’S STUFF
Oh Al. Making your partner happy doesn’t always equal making yourself happy, eh…?
Yeah, it kind of looks like what he meant was “I hope YOU feel like working on the emulator for another two years… because I don’t.”
Although it’s certainly possible that his expression changed in response to what Bendan says in the last panel. Perhaps he doubts that he WILL be around that long, but doesn’t want to spoil Brendan’s mood.
Or probably is because the Military is interested in having Al work for them (like, going in person to the meetings and stuff) but they’re not interested in Brendan at all (?).
Is it just me, or is anyone else thinking “no, Brendan, he won’t be there with you: you’ll be there with him”.
blue made it a point to word it just that way.
“and you’ll be there with me.”
yes, there are a few different ways to interpret its connotation and intent.. ..but i easily apprehend how one might interpret that to signify that brendan now believes He is the (original) senpai — not the other way around
(i just learned this: kouhai is the nut topping to the ice cream of senpai)
A huge step forward in the progress of the human spirit, and they get paid as well?
The copy of Al didn’t know how he died. This does not necessarily mean the original didn’t, Al and copy of Al are not the same person. Al might have an idea he won’t be there to see the fruition of his work.
One gripe bout Brendan: The wider his eyes go, the less he seems to see Al standing right in front of him as he floats off into his own self absorption. The two of them could not possibly be on different wavelengths: Al wants to be left alone with someone to love privately, Brendan seeks the spotlight and wants public recognition and acclaim.
Having known a few ‘Brendan’ types in my life, It’s hard to love someone who is always the center of their own inner drama club, no matter how smart they think they are. Being in a relationship with such a person is like taking a number and getting in line every time you want to talk to them, you will never be first in their affection or attention. Screw that.
CFT, we don’t love someone because of what they do for us, or how well they reciprocate our love(although I’ve been damn lucky there). In the end, Ted Sturgeon was right: we love where the lightning strikes, and not where we choose.
As to Brendan, he has grown a lot since Al’s death. It’s all about Sulla now, not himself.
It almost looks like Al is looking through the fourth wall in panel 7.
Mysterious!
Oh, the dramatic irony.
Oh dear. THOSE EYES
It may just be me, but I feel like some of the commenters are being a bit hard on Brendan… Everyone’s reading is absolutely valid, but I haven’t seen him doing anything worse than just being a more extroverted, high-energy (and maybe yes, attention-seeking) person than Al.
From a business perspective, Al and Brendan’s difference is essential because they can fill different roles which will both move the endeavor forward. Not to say that this personality friction can’t cause problems in their relationship, but (unless I am missing details from previous flashbacks, I’m too sleepy to go search the archives) Brendan hasn’t categorically overstepped any boundaries or caused drama. Even framing a situation you are part of around yourself (in conversation!) is pretty natural. And there is nothing /inherently/ wrong with wanting attention or recognition. It’s just another way to be.
We know they’re going to break up/fight but neither of them has to be “the villain” who causes the breakup. The story is too nuanced and sympathetic towards all the characters to do that.
These are just some thoughts that I had and wanted to throw out there, in an extremely friendly (and sleepy!) spirit. This is a fantastic comic that has a lot of depth to generate different readings and opinions of the stuff in it, and I am always up for talking about it because none of my IRL friends have read it yet!
Al knows he’s going to die. The business won’t have his face in the future, because Al won’t be there. He can’t be there with Brendan because Al won’t be there.
Hence, the future Al, made by Al himself. Why it took so long to self-activate, though… that’s a mystery.
Made by Al, or put together by his robots? I can see this as a possibility, that Al’s helpers decided First Law required them to assemble as much of their Creator as possible and return his favor. Maybe they edited and interpolated and estimated until they had an emulation of him that passed the Turing test, and then turned him loose?
I think I know what Al is thinking on the last pannel, because if it were I, I would be watching Brendan jump up and down, while remembering the Colonel say “They need to see that’s being made by a guy just like them. Miss Villas and your little spokesman are very… charming, but you’ve got the perfect face for this.”
I would be thinking: “What mess did I get myself into ?”
I think the odd look in Al’s eyes is about the word ‘together.’ Whatever is in Al’s past that makes him so hesitant about his sexuality, it didn’t end well. He’s afraid of commitment or involvement. He’s afraid he’s going to hurt Brendan.
Could Al have worked on that tiny dancer so much that its emulator was full of his dreams? Could combining that with the ambulance emulation have made the difference? I think the robots need Al again, need him desperately to bring them the rest of the way into being.
I kinda think the pensive look on Al’s face is about “together.” He’s thinking “No, I’ll screw this up somehow.” Whatever happened to burn him so badly about sexuality must have hit him really hard.
Also, I love that “Al” and “AI” are almost the same.
In these scenarios, I always like to ask “where does the money go?” How does a team of two people spend 20 million to build robots in their garage?
But in this case, it seems to make sense. So many specialized machine parts have to be purchased. Science fictional ferrofluids, weird alloys, computers for emulating trillions or quadrillions of neural connections, really any price tag could be justified.
And yet I just want Al to have squeezed them for an extra five million just because he thought he could get away with it. Maybe he’ll spend it on hats.