0436 - Getting out. - 2026.02.09

Comic!

Comment:

There are a lot of things I'm not super great at, as an artist, and I admit, techy greebly environments are absolutely one of them. Please assume, when you gaze upon these panels, that a simplified visual language is being used to express the concept of a byzantine, grungy, dizzyingly high-tech, and not-optimized-for-humans environment.

Given the fact that you and I, presumably, are humans, and are thus not optimized for said environment, perhaps the inadequacy of my art skills can be read as diegetic. Lee is possibly seeing things as inaccurately translated and simplified as we are. There ya go, suspension patched.

Transcript:

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0436– 2167/07/07/13:03 - Aurora Recycling, Unit F, Automaton Self-Disassembly Chamber.
LC (electronic communication, looking up a chute): Wow, this is pretty much designed to be one-way, huh?
Nina (electronic communication): The self-disassembly process can sometimes cause malfunctions or release hazardous substances. The chute is meant to protect any human workers.
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LC (electronic communication): Okay, but there’s gotta be human access somewhere, right? A meatperson could get in here to inspect or do maintenance if they needed to?
Nina (electronic communication): Such maintenance would more likely be done by a roughly human-shaped (but not, legally, “humanoid”) general purpose automaton.
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LC (electronic communication): But in theory, though. In theory, a human being should be able to get access.
Nina (electronic communication): Possibly. If so, the location of that access has not been communicated to me.
LC (electronic communication): Right. So… if I was a human, how would I want to get out of here?
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Nina (electronic communication): You are and you do.
LC (electronic communication): Exactly! You’d think this would be easier for me!
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