Let's Burn Some Muscle!! p143
Added 2015-12-19 06:11:55 +0000 UTC
Comments
I think it's a manifested root firmware that was established when Dr. Jules became WE with the nanites, since she willingly wished to become one with them. I'm only going off the dialogue in the third and forth page.
Mason Dunne
2015-12-24 20:40:27 +0000 UTCI think we view “Appocalipse in Blue” quite differently. To me it looks like AI there have CHOSEN not to destroy unwilling hosts. For some reason voluntary transformation is valued higher than forced assimilation. The exact reason for that is unclear (and we have no idea if it'll ever be explicitly explained) but this is what “singularity optimists” are counting on. Except, well, without all the “blueberry bloating” effects, but that's why I've called “Appocalipse in Blue” a parody, LOL.
Khimru
2015-12-24 19:35:44 +0000 UTCJust observing, singularity in Apoc in Blue seems to be an isolated incident that is dependent on "picking up the random USB stick from a convention and trying it out" propagation (which seems to only go as far as the next willing person to try in order for it to continue it, it probably keeps the dissemination rate in check <a href="https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165647&i=181955">https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165647&i=181955</a> and place a guise of benevolence) than a runaway effect of rampantly out of control nanomachines as "explained" by Julesberry. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165643&i=181954">https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165643&i=181954</a> The AI in Apoc in Blue are entirely dependent on the curiosity and nature of man to try something they don't know about willingly <a href="https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165647&i=181955">https://www.patreon.com/file?h=3165647&i=181955</a> rather than consume the potential new host (save for one "forced" new instance of WE)
Mason Dunne
2015-12-24 15:03:45 +0000 UTCThough im sure this is a simplistic example to boil this rather wonderful argument worthy of a "Discover" or "National Geographic" article, I think that CAPI could be more described in motivation and intelligence level of R2 vs Chappie in terms of motivation. Though it's probably a gross understatement.
Mason Dunne
2015-12-24 14:37:43 +0000 UTCLOL. That's about what I've said about “Prois Fitness” security (which missed successful kidnapping right under their eyes in chapter one). One bad turn deserves another, I guess.
Khimru
2015-12-24 05:51:27 +0000 UTCI have to agree that Than got unrealistically overconfident in letting her computer systems get hacked so quickly and easily.Does Annabel ever do anything useful,or is she there just to slink around and make sultry comments?You'd think that a woman as intelligent as Than would have a security team to keep her sovereignty over Patagon more secure!
CZealot
2015-12-24 01:11:39 +0000 UTCThe fact that we have no “strong AI” just yet and only have various types of “applied AI” does not mean that we couldn't think about how AI would look like. Leonardo da Vinci worked hundreds of years before Wright brothers—yet he was able to correctly predict how helicopters and parachutes would look and work. The same with AI: yes, we don't know “precisely” how “strong AI” would work and act but have enough “applied AIs” around to see common patterns. Similarly to how humans have four appendages because their non-sentient ancestors had four legs “strong AIs” would carry with them properties of the “applied AIs” which preceded them. “With all being software there is no hardwired stuff in an AI”… is this a joke? How much software have you actually written? People know that software could be easily COPIED and thus naively think it could be easily CHANGED. Nothing could be father from the thurth. Software os EXTREMELY rigid and hard to change. Think about it: your phone uses 25 YEARS old archictecture! ARM. Why? Because all other newer architectures (e.g. Itanium) have failed! Why? Because noone could change the underlaying software. There are literally millions of man-years of work embedded in the software of your measly phone—and C.A.P.I. or P.C.A.I. would be significantly more complicated. C.A.P.I. or P.C.A.I. couldn't just suddenly change all that layers and subsets. Now, if there would be a an “AI takeoff” ( <a href="http://goo.gl/AkXI5H" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/AkXI5H</a> ) then AIs would look radically different from contemporary “applied AIs”, but LBSM does not look to be a post-takeoff world (world of “Appocalipse in Blue” is some kind of parody on the post-takeoff world, LBSM is clearly pre-takeoff world). P.S. But then all that discussion is kind of pointless when you take a look on “Adventures in Cyberspace with CAPI”. The one thing AIs will not have (or if they'll have it it'll be in very different form) are instincts of Self-Preservation and Procreation: they are essentially a software thus are easily copied and even if they would care about propagation they wouldn't care much about sex because procreation for IAs is mostly “copying with arbitrary modifications”, there are no need to have “an IA and it's partner” set for that. Since humans care about sex A LOT (that's something hardwired REALLY deep into them) AIs could, most likely, fake in interest in it, but when left alone… nope that part of LBSM is not realistic at all. Which is probably a good thing: I doubt realistic description of an attack of an AI on AI would be all that entertaining.
Khimru
2015-12-23 15:45:19 +0000 UTCYeah, what that even MEANS? What's the difference between chimp and ELIZA ( <a href="http://goo.gl/Q23466" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/Q23466</a> ) ? It's very hard to describe that in formal terms. Usually some variation of Turing test is used ( <a href="http://goo.gl/wjHtJk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/wjHtJk</a> ) as you know—but how this quite specialized task will help AI to drive the pATAgon network and crack it? I brought Siri into the discussion to show how different AIs intellect is from human one. Think about it: how hard is it to run? As compared to, I don't know, create a prof of a mathematical theorem? Every dumb but relatively normal person knows how to run, thus is should be easy, right? Nope: that's incredibly hard. AIs are still unable to do that. We are slowly, but surely are moving there—but we are not there yet. Yet mathematical proofs? They are easy. In fact a lot of math in last 10-to-20 years is done by computers with some assistance from humans, not the other way around! All human intellects are alike: they are made to live in the wilderness, thus they are very precisely tuned for the tasks important for survival. This “deep” layer is similar in chimp and human and even dog is not that far behind. You could run easily because there are significant percentage of you brain HARDWIRED to help you to move your body (it's not specifically tuned to help you run, but it's wast neuron network which traces positions of limbs, pressures and so on). Another part is HARDWIRED to immediately notice when moving object (== potential predator) is spotted. Then you add some “conscience” on top of that and you get all the range of NI: from “dumbest of the dumb” to “once-a-100-years-genius”. All AIs are born different. They solve different tasks, they have different structure and so on. If you add a “conscience”, “self-awareness” on top of that… why would they suddenly become similar? They would still be good at what's hardwired into them and bad in areas which were not their area of expertise. Sure, they could learn anything (just like humans could do, too), but “hardwired” tasks would still be performed ten, thousand, million, or maybe even billion times more efficiently then “learned” tasks.
Khimru
2015-12-22 08:06:49 +0000 UTCPrograms which could do a minor programming jobs on their own? These either don't exist or they are mundane tools used since forever—depending on what you are talking about. If you are talking about genetic programming ( <a href="http://goo.gl/bJrJSq" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/bJrJSq</a> ) then it's pretty mundane technique by now. Google search uses it (but it's not really based upon it), Siri uses it, heck, by now, most likely, you camera is using it. It's just one technique among many and it does not change the fact that AIs remain highly-specialized things. They become better at doing things not related to their primary function, too (that's how C.A.P.I. was able to make slender man do a happy dance: he just did the thing which was supposed to make Miriam smile), but for their primary function they STILL remain millions, billions times more capable! It's not clear why creation of “strong AI” would change that. I mean: “applied AI” is already more than millions times more capable than human (in their area of expertise, of course), why wouldn't “strong AI” be suddenly stronger than “applied AI” in their “area of expertise”? The only possible reason is Singularity (where AI develops AI so fast that it quickly becomes superhuman in all areas)—but then it'll not be LBSM world, it'll be “Appocalipse in Blue” world where the first AI to go beyond human capabilities would also be last (and only!). Completely different scenario! Singularity clearly didn't happen in LBSM world for one reason or another thus we could still apply the knowledge we have about real-world AIs to LBSM world.
Khimru
2015-12-22 03:37:12 +0000 UTCIf you are basing your idea about AI in SciFI then you are missing the mark completely. I'm looking on the whole phenomenon from the other side, LOL. What they try to pass for AI in SciFi are “kinda-sorta weird human”, not AI. Real AI is different. Siri may not be as intelligent as ant in general but SOME tasks it does better than, e.g. 10 year old. Google search is less capable than your 10 year old but it could talk to hundreds of millions people simulatneously. And this is now when the most powerful AI is less capable than an ant! Now, what happens if you'll start making these systems more and more intelligent? Will they become more human-like? Nope. They would still remain just as unbalanced. At some point “strong AI” will become as good as typical human in most areas. That's definition of “strong AI”. But it would be millions, billions times more capable than human in SOME areas. And these areas would be different. C.A.P.I. would be billions of time more capable at cracking. Patagon's AI would be really good at company planning. And so on. But since these areas are DIFFERENT there wouldn't be two classes “humans” and “AI”, no. There would be dozens of classes—extreme case scenario each AI would be in class of it's own! Well, that'll be true till one of these AIs will not jumpstart singularity and become an onwer of the planet… but that haven't happened in LBSM so that's another [possible] future.
Khimru
2015-12-22 03:07:05 +0000 UTCThis is flawed analogue. First: there are no such thing as “unlimited resources and knowledge”. Everything is limited in our (and LBSM) world. And C.A.P.I. is by definition a combat AI. The cracking and intelligence gathering is what it's built to do. So the closer analogue would be “genius with photographic memory and all” vs a “chess master”. Dumb chess master, but still a chess master. And you know how that works, right? If not I'll telll you: GENIUSES HAVE NO CHANCE. You could collect dozen of human chess grandmasters, give them 1000x more time than you'll give a PC—and Komodo ( <a href="http://goo.gl/4l1wTl" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/4l1wTl</a> ) will still win. That's what specialization is doing for you. It does not matter if Patagon AI is thousand times bigger or million times more capable (humans have billions of time more memory than measly PC)—if it does not incorporate military-grade subsystem specifically tailored to fight combat AIs introsions it could as be an open book to C.A.P.I. The world of AI systems (that's what many of my friends are doing today although I'm switched to other endeavors few years back) is fascinating and horrifying. Human analogues don't really work. It took 20 years to go from “look, our computer knows how to do a correct chess moves” to first victory in a human tournament. It took 20 more years to beat human champion once. And now, 20 years later humans are no longer interesting as opponents. Even to programs which work on computers 100 times slower and less capable than “Deep Blue”! If C.A.P.I. would suddenly write a world-class poem or draw a stunning painting—I would be surprised. But here it just did what it was designed to do… what's so strange about it? P.S. I have no doubt that Zdemian would draw a fascinating AiCwC story… but this would also be a first LBSM sidestory which has no relation to reality. The reality of AI systems is pretty hard to imagine, let alone draw. To draw them in a way which fascinates readers? Impossible. Tron and other such shows are great but they don't really have any relation to how REAL cyberwars are happening. Stuxnet ( <a href="http://goo.gl/JcxMys" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/JcxMys</a> ) was really quite ingenios piece of code—but could you really portray it's attack in way to facinate readers? I somehow doubt it. Keep that in mind.
Khimru
2015-12-21 12:49:06 +0000 UTCI'm not comparing humans to virus or bacteria. I'm just saying that “powerful intelligence” does not automatically equate to “well-protected system”… it could be or it could be easily broken into depending on how big percentage of resources it's designer put into it's protection. And I think you are mysticizing the “AI” term too much. Is Apple's Siri not AI? What about “Google Now”? Or heck, just the Google search itself? Once upon time what they doing was clear sign of a “strong AI”, today we are chalking it up to “just a simple algorithm”… but there are no walls between “AI” and “strong AI”… it's the road with post milestones but without delimeters. But yeah, the mystery of Miriam is quite intriguing. We only know that she has a background in some [para?]military organization and never completely retired: <a href="http://goo.gl/NyjZkU" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/NyjZkU</a> . How the hell such a scatter-brain could be involved in any such organization and the question of why such a powerful AI is in her possession and likes to play a pet is mystery… perhaps there would be a side-story? Or may be AiCwC will shed some light? But the fact that C.A.P.I. is very capable cracker is not something new and sudden: we've seen it all along, it's not something which “just happened out of blue”…
Khimru
2015-12-21 12:05:33 +0000 UTCI don't think Patagon uses really strong A.I. which is too far beyond human capabilities (a world with such a A.I. would be very different… for one: such strong AI would be in charge, not Than or Alexis). As for “there's an AI thus break-in must be very hard”… I just don't see it like this. I mean: humans are many times more intelligent than bacteriums or virii. Does it, by itself, helps us to prevent epidemics? The answer is obvious: not that much. You need to obey certain rules (mostly hygiene rules)—and then there's hope. Similarly with computer networks: 90% (or may be even more) of real-world breaches happen not because there's some deep internal flaw in the system, but because someone (executives are particularly notorious because, well, security officer couldn't just fire them, right?) forgot to do something. LBSM world is similar to our world in that regard (as we've already seen: <a href="http://goo.gl/H86ggM" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/H86ggM</a> ). I would be surprised if C.A.P.I. was able to easily break into some “top-sikrit information banks of Patagon”, but to just turn some knobs in the Than's office? When she's already IN said office? Most likely nobody felt the need to protect that particular avenue of attack all that much! It's just some peripheral auxilliary system, it's not vital for the life of Paragon (or some they thought).
Khimru
2015-12-21 07:18:30 +0000 UTCOP? God mode? What ARE you talking about? Perhaps my perception as a high-load software engineer (you know: they guy who designs the networks which C.A.P.I. have supposedly bypassed) there are no big difference between what Wesley Wineberg did ( <a href="http://goo.gl/UKlrP8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/UKlrP8</a> ), what Than did in chapter one ( <a href="http://goo.gl/H86ggM" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/H86ggM</a> ) and what C.A.P.I. did here. A mean: a security breach is a security breach. You need to bypass firewall, pick up the password (if it's used) or security key (if password is not in use), somehow avoid introsion detectors, etc. 99.9% of the work is the same! Only the tiny final step is different! There's another one small difference: C.A.P.I. did all that in minutes while in real world it usually takes hours—but then again *combat* A.I. is supposed to be FAST, thus I don't see what's so strange about it. As for cheating… that's where you've lost me completely. When Than goons break into Alexis PAN network ( <a href="http://goo.gl/FsAQVi" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/FsAQVi</a> ) to prevent her escape it's not cheating, but here, where C.A.P.I. did the same to Patagon's network it's cheating??? What's the difference?
Khimru
2015-12-21 06:51:51 +0000 UTCCapi is OP. God mode is cheating. I'm all for manipulation which Than is good at. Just not blatant cheating.
Serp
2015-12-21 05:50:48 +0000 UTCNot particularly. Most enterprise firewalls in our world are not designed for the APT ( <a href="http://goo.gl/J8RWPq" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/J8RWPq</a> ), and are circumvented regularly (even military contractors are known to be breached). C.A.P.I. just does that faster than humans. And you reaction is just amusing. I mean: if Than's hacks of “Prois Fitness” security are a good sport then what's wrong with C.A.P.I.'s hacks of Patagon security? Well-deserved payback if you ask me: Than likes to hack and cheat and is usually amused when targets are complaining—well, here she have gotten a dose of her own medicine. P.S. It would be amusing if the breakage was possible somehow because of Than's carelessness (similarly to how “Prois Fitness” was hacked because of Alexis' carelessness: <a href="http://goo.gl/H86ggM" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/H86ggM</a> ). This would make the whole situation really symmetric and would be well-deserved payback.
Khimru
2015-12-20 11:06:27 +0000 UTCAll I have to say is Than has TERRIBLE firewalls letting a cheating robot get though.
Serp
2015-12-20 10:17:28 +0000 UTCAlexis looks not even close to the glass ceiling, but the big question: are building openings large enough to let her out? Or, perhaps, she did what she did (arrived empty, then filled herself up) specifically because it was impossible to move her or Than out? And, well, I've not asked these questions because somehow I'm sure Zdemian have asked himself, too—and answers would play a role in the plot. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rhea's explanation on the next page with something like “we needed Than not just smaller than Alexis, we needed her small enough to be transportable out of that building, you see… our plan worked perfectly, don't you think?”… or that could be just a wishful thinking. Anyway: Alexis is not THAT large. She's about 2.5 times heavier that Than was before the coup d'état. I'm pretty sure “moarcraft guy” would rise to the challenge. She couldn't be transported by air (way too heavy even for A380), but ground ( highly exceptional-load style, of course: <a href="http://goo.gl/9K1QRA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/9K1QRA</a> ) and boat (where said load wouldn't be even considered all that high) are still available. Heck, if Patagon is near the ocean then said load wouldn't even be considered all that high. 20'000 TONS is something one would consider “heavy” for sea transportation, not 100'000 stone ( <a href="http://goo.gl/y9Ce12" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/y9Ce12</a> ) Also: Alexis does not have that unhealthy fixation on size of her breasts. She could be just drained (fully or part-way) and then moved by a few airplanes, if needed. This looks less like travel of a person and more like engineering operation, though, not sure if Zdemian will choose that option or not.
Khimru
2015-12-20 10:03:30 +0000 UTCAre we even reading the same comic? THAN WAS SURE ALEXIS WORKS ALONE. Remember that Than somehow missed the fact that she herself sent Alexis straight to Cowloon (she talked about “non-local sponsors”, she had no idea who EXACTLY they are: <a href="http://goo.gl/EGzunq" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/EGzunq</a> ), Ysabel was very careful not to reveal the fact that Than sent Alexis straight to her friend, Rhea ( <a href="http://goo.gl/M2AQmO" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/M2AQmO</a> ). Remember that it's not enough to just outgrow Than! Majority (supermajority?) of shareholders still need to accept the change! And said majority is impossible without either Than or “Moarcraft guy” approval! THAN WAS SURE SHE HAS TIME. She was sure that worst case scenario she would need to organize comeback in a period of a few days till said emergency shareholders' meeting could be organized, she had no idea that meeting is already in progress! Don't say that than had no contingency plans! She HAD them… just not enough of them… Coup d'état was carefully orchestrated. Sure, Alexis almost bombed her part (but was saved by C.A.P.I.) but that's because Than had no idea that it's real, carefully orchestrated attempt, not typical Alexis expromt. As for how and why C.A.P.I. was able to circumvent the protective measures of Patagon… looks like we'll see the side-story…
Khimru
2015-12-20 09:39:17 +0000 UTCOn a side note, I'm surprised no ones asked, will Alexis hit the actuall glass ceiling? And now I'm really intrigued on how transportation will be resolved. Will a new form of heavy lift craft be developed? Will the experimental Atlas "gloves" be a form of hand bra or a multiplexed system of anti-grav bras be jerry rigged toghether? Or is the whole building a craft of some sort, purposefully built for this? I'm just asking. We've only seen Alexis get moved around, what has Than used to shuttle herself?
Mason Dunne
2015-12-20 02:13:16 +0000 UTCExcuse me while I go cry... :( Than is still the best. I'm just happy she's not totally deflated although she's seemingly lost quite a bit of perk. Now we just need a Than training montage to one up Alexis. Maybe this setback forces her to go back to researching Boost or some other non-saline way to expand? I just don't quite get how Than let Capi and Alexis get the better of her so easily. I mean, I get it- hubris and all- but its not like Alexis had some masterful plan, she just had Deus Ex Capi to turn the tables on Than in a pretty straightforward way. You'd have thought Than would have done something with Capi before all this? But that just kind of gets to where I've never been real sure as to why Than really abducted Alexis in the first place and seemingly encouraged her to keep growing, especially if Than had no contingency plan for someone outgrowing her, thus taking over Patagon, unless we're just chalking that up to hubris too. Unless Than does have some ace in the hole and that's coming up in the next couple pages but I'm not expecting that at this point. We don't even know for sure if Alexis is done stealing away Than's boobs yet for that matter.
Guybuddy1
2015-12-19 23:37:49 +0000 UTCIt's not that easy to change the corporation charter. Sure, paragraph 8.00.8.5 could be found illegal (discrimination against males or something?) but this would still be a lengthy court process and “Moarcraft guy” could change his stance if Alexis will even try to attempt this. Remember that if he and Than act in concert they could do whatever they want. I'm pretty sure that at least short-term Alexis would need to remain biggest. Medium and long-term… we'll see, I guess…
Khimru
2015-12-19 18:14:43 +0000 UTCYeah, I'm just saying the 8.00.8.5. Clause is almost a moot point now, so Alexis has no reason to be the biggest anymore or sustain herself at such a size. Now with the feds, new lines and camps are going to be drawn and established.
Mason Dunne
2015-12-19 17:36:41 +0000 UTCPossible but unlikely. Alexis may not know how to run a city-state but Rhea is more then qualified. Of course since it's not HER city-state thus some at least short-term tension is guaranteed, but I wouldn't worry TOO much about it!
Khimru
2015-12-19 17:33:05 +0000 UTCYou've forgotten about Feds. I don't think they would just leave Alexis alone. They would want to close down the Patagon one way or another… the biggest middle-term question is: would there be two factions (Feds and Alexis+Than in a temporary truce) or three (Feds, Alexis-led faction, and Than-led faction). Both possibilities could be interesting, but they are, of course, quite different.
Khimru
2015-12-19 17:30:25 +0000 UTCWhat would be hilarious is that while Alexis might be more "good natured" then Than Dall it turns out that she has no clue how to manage and run what is essentially a Corporate City-State. A lot of good hard-working people might be finding themselves out of a job very soon!
Kenneth
2015-12-19 17:24:33 +0000 UTCOnly Zdemian knows—and he's not telling. NOW the story becomes really interesting again. V and VI chapters have brought story to a very tight spot where everything was predictable (even the ploy of Than would attempt to steal from Alexis and fail was actually planned well in advance as we could see now). Now, when that is behind us there are huge number of possible directions story could move on. I'm not sure if Feds could just go and throw Than to jail (if they have a solid evedence to prosecute her then why would they need this crazy coup d'état?), but they sure as hell have SOME plans. Rhea also have some plans—but we have idea what they entail precisely. Oh, and Than, most likely, have some backup plans of her own (or, at the very least, some guys who are “friends of Than” and not “friends of the biggest boobs” like the “Moarcraft guy”). IOW: there are many, MANY hidden parts behind the curtains which only Zdemian knows about—and they would surely be revealed now. We could only sit tight and wait.
Khimru
2015-12-19 17:23:26 +0000 UTCWhat fate awaits Than Dall now?Execution?Servitude?Maybe she'll just have to settle for a much smaller following of mindless slobs looking to worship her.
CZealot
2015-12-19 16:47:36 +0000 UTCThinking about it, Alexis never had a clear motivation to be the biggest. She was mostly pushed by somewhat economic reasons (Proise Fitness and related media) and simply to beat Than. She had no real personal gains to actually be the biggest, which is a step away from Than whom it manifested as a form of personal vanity and self aggrandizement. I think, Alexis may not even care to be so big. I have a feeling she would downsize. I mean she did accomplish the objective right? Why be so big anymore? Than can go frolic with Mr. Moarcraft, and Alexis can ease in to being a proper CEO with Rhea.
Mason Dunne
2015-12-19 16:47:09 +0000 UTCYou last message is a bit confusing. Are you talking about Alexis or Than there? Alexis is biggest now while Than lost that title as well as “President of Patagon” position. Alexis was my favorite character for the first couple of chapters (she was defeated and caught there, sure, but she looked like someone with good head on her shoulders, not just someone with a couple of insanely inflated tits), but then… she just gave up. Later it was revealed that she still is at level of a fitness trainer and not a CEO…: even here, few years later, she just rushed unprepared and if Than was less arrogant and more cautious she would have lost. Alexis is the biggest disappointment of LBSC to me so far: each time we met her I hope to see the confident and sophisticated image she projected initially (only this time backed with her own personality, not last-minute Rhea/Ysabel coaching) and each time she shows that she just does not understand how things work at this level. As for Than… she obviously uses her figurehead quite extensively. Recall “Black Out” ( <a href="http://goo.gl/CqXZs0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/CqXZs0</a> ) again: “senator Papageorgio” clearly had no idea that “his good friend Stan Dall” and “some woman” are one and the same. It's not clear if she consider herself and her figurehead as two separate characters or if she's living through her figurehead (as Alexis did for a time), but she's not that far from Alexis there. Even so: That would need to recall things she did few years back, that's for sure, but she's obviously not finished. “Moarcraft guy” could switch his support to Alexis, but there are extensive network of other people who would still could be counted on. “Senator Papageorgio”, e.g. :-)
Khimru
2015-12-19 13:49:55 +0000 UTCWell, dramatic “Alexis-vs-Than”-style battles have their appeal, sure, but I actually like more “mundane” pages. Something like page 79 ( <a href="http://goo.gl/EgPkwM" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/EgPkwM</a> ), page 114 ( <a href="http://goo.gl/FJbmtU" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/FJbmtU</a> ), or, heck, even “Black Out” ( <a href="http://goo.gl/CqXZs0" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/CqXZs0</a> )… pages where huge breasts are not the direct focus of the story but just “played around” in some way. “Sorry for the trek… but the upper levels weren't designed with YOU in mind”, LOL… Side-stories where Patagon citizens are acting outside of Patagon would be especially interesting (have Than ever visited conference in a “normal-sized” land while she was “the President of Patagon”, for example?). I understand that such “distractions” are, by necessity, rare—they don't really move the story forward—but, well, they help us to see how this while world is working with all these characters there…
Khimru
2015-12-19 11:01:41 +0000 UTCWell, kinda. Than have outplayed herself here. She could have stopped Miriam and/or hovercopters. She could have arrested Miriam when she tried to bring “unauthorized materials”. As the head of Patagon she could have stopped this in dozens of ways. Instead she decided to experience the rush of rapid expansion and prove that Alexis couldn't do anything no matter what to sweeten her victory… and miscalculated. Alexis haven't won, Than have lost. That's what makes the whole story believeable… and sad. I REALLY have hoped that Alexis have grown over all this years as person, not just physically, but apparently she's still the same clueless fitness trainer Rhea have befriended all the years back… I fear for the fate of Patagon in her hands! Rhea could only do so much, there would be times where Alexis will need to do decisions quickly, after all…
Khimru
2015-12-19 10:10:19 +0000 UTCCome on: they both have a figureheads. Alexis one is natural-enough looking to be mistaken for a real person (remember otakon2006 confusion when it was first presented?) and this is the world where even more obviously-artificial creatures are freely roaming on the streets (remember Su-Z Q?). Alexis could be protagonist but I'm pretty sure Rhea will continue to call the shots: Alexis is VERY big gal now, but she still does not have the CEO mentality, sadly. Any Than revenge will need to wait if she still wants to see Patagon standing in a few years… well, she could just quit and go build another competitor instead but somehow it does not look likely to me: Than is no quitter! She could do that later, but at first she will try to do something here!
Khimru
2015-12-19 09:46:01 +0000 UTCCome on! It's Zdemian! More importantly: it's LBSC! Physics is still obeyed thus, of course, Alexis here has about the same size Than had couple of pages back! Well… maybe 10%-15% heavier or so (Than was able to dran Alexis part-way while Alexis drained everything she could here). About 30-35% larger and about 2.5 heavier than Than was when we've first seen her as the President of Patagon, anyway. As I've said: Alexis does want to outgrow Than (and always wanted) but she does not want to grow endlessly. She was shooting for the “just enough to overthrow Than” size, but have gotten some additional boost when she drained Than, that's all. P.S. Than here is about 3-4 times heavier (not “bigger” since she's significantly longer and wider, but not as tall) then she was in the LBSC and/or when she sent Alexis out (supposedly in slavery but as it turned out to some [relative] freedom). Which means that she probably continued to grow “naturally” (using boost or genetical modifications) till she reached size where she needed to switch to either external life-support system or to some inert material (aka implants). She have picked implants as we know.
Khimru
2015-12-19 09:18:15 +0000 UTCAlexis is now too big for protagonist-ing. Than is now protagonist, and the next six chapters will be her quest for vengeance, which will end like this only with Alexis empty and on the floor.
mr.coma
2015-12-19 08:57:07 +0000 UTCDeflated ego? :D
Munch
2015-12-19 08:08:15 +0000 UTCAmazing! These pages were someone had gone up in size have always been my favourites. I really hope that Alexis will stay at least at this size(and possibly go bigger in the future) but it's kind of difficult to see her continuing to be the main character at this size(and possibly beyond) Well anyways we shall find out soon enough.
Darth Cabbage
2015-12-19 08:07:02 +0000 UTChmm she looks larger than alexis was (prior to this) and their general lbsc sizes. i'm left wondering how much larger alexis is compared to than's max size. hard to tell ;D
Chounyuu
2015-12-19 06:40:15 +0000 UTCHoly shit, no wonder Than had that look on her face.
Curiositie
2015-12-19 06:37:38 +0000 UTCthan is big as a couple of trucks and she looks TINY
strange lights
2015-12-19 06:27:59 +0000 UTCHow does it feel to be able to sit normally again, Than?
Clark Nova
2015-12-19 06:19:55 +0000 UTCOutplayed.
Subesan
2015-12-19 06:16:48 +0000 UTCholy moly
Chumlee99
2015-12-19 06:15:10 +0000 UTCGentlemen, we have deflation. It has come to pass.
Balina
2015-12-19 06:15:07 +0000 UTCNo words. Okay, Alexis is either passed out or in a stupor. And I'm wondering if she's suspended in the air off her feet or underneath it all in some way.
Mason Dunne
2015-12-19 06:12:48 +0000 UTC
