Comic for Monday, August 5th, 2024

Aug06

by PastUtopia on August 6, 2024 at 6:02 am

Chapter: Chapter 18

Characters: Ila, Peter, Vium

Location: Far Side of Utopia

Comic.

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Discussion (12) ¬

EnderDDT

August 14, 2024, 2:18 pm | # | Reply

I don’t know why it took me this long, but it just came to me that the real main character of this story isn’t Peter, it is MIUM. Peter may be the guy who got headlined first, literally in the first page of the comic, but MIUM has been there every step of the way and is the more central character of the story. Most of the main characters are defined as much or more by their connection to MIUM than to Peter, and even the ones who are more connected to Peter transfer a different sort of connection to MIUM in addition to the more normal types of connections back to MIUM.

Most notably, however, is the fact that the character showing the most growth and change and facing the most character defining challenges isn’t Peter, it is MIUM. He has to deal with family, friends (even ones who are bad influences on his sister), competing motivations, ethical conundrums, a broken origin story, and more. I mean at this point he even has his own evil (good?) twin, I’m not sure how you can argue that he isn’t the main character at this point!
- ArtificialComputer
  
  August 15, 2024, 11:47 pm | # | Reply
  
  Yep, that is why we fans like this so much. It isn’t about some brilliant but nerdy guy growing up and learning to take responsibility for his technical or political gambles or anything. No, before the story started, Peter has already grown up quite a bit and taken a great deal of responsibility. His bets are made, his plans are in motion, and we are just watching them play out. Instead, the growth is in the mysterious being that he has put his bets on, the system that everyone says is both impossible and unethical, the increasingly autonomous self-modifying artifical intelligence. And we are watching Peter slowly release Muim into the world, watch him and his trusted team guide Muim in ethical matters to protect rather than destroy, to negotiate and maneuver rather than force or oppress. And increasingly, we get to watch Muim go his own way, and his own ambitions and ideas of the life he wants to live.
Sandman366

August 8, 2024, 2:26 am | # | Reply

Does Peter ignore suggestions at this point as a matter of habit, or just being contrarian? Like yes, those all sound like very interesting questions with fascinating potential details and consequences and all that. Instead, a hole. (Which, considering there IS a crack in “reality’, considering the complete utter *lack* of “reality”, bizarrely makes it an improvement….)
Just_IDD

August 6, 2024, 11:57 pm | # | Reply

I love the quotes around ‘help.’ Miss Sister always represents a variable quantity.

If I remember correctly blue hair was spun up to to allow the hardware interface between MYM and Ila
- EmperorArthur
  
  August 8, 2024, 2:07 pm | # | Reply
  
  Vium was a possibly not quite accident from where Ila almost died, and asked Mium to save her friend. Specifically, he had to adapt a prototype software meant to “backup” Miko to let him control Ila’s body temporarily.
  
  He is a partial copy of Mium without the processing power and without the restrictions. Keep in mind Mium does like to troll people, but he’s far more subtle about it. So siblings is a good description. Plus him being Mium’s “brother” likely does allow for Mium to do some major things to protect him.
  - Tgape
    
    August 14, 2024, 5:15 am | # | Reply
    
    I’m under the impression Vium was originally software made to facilitate interfacing between Miko and Mium, which was then altered to run on Ila’s system, then altered further by running on Ila’s system. He’s some parts of Mium, some of Miko, and some of Ila.
    
    Which of course definitely makes him family. “brother” is a convenient tag, since the chassis appears to be an appropriate age for that role, given the appearances of the other chassis.
    
    To be clear, you might be right. There’s a lot of complexity here and it’s been ages since I’ve done a proper archive dive. Most of the time I just do pointed searches, so miss a fair amount of ancillary content. I know what I said is right according to interlude 6 page 5, but in a body of work this complex there could also be something that says you’re right. Also I’m relying on Vium for my answer and Vium is probably not going to be 100% reliable when talking about himself, not even when talking with Miko.
Jindra34

August 6, 2024, 8:23 pm | # | Reply

I was wondering if she had completed her tasks with her ‘cousin’ and this answers the question.
Jim

August 6, 2024, 3:57 pm | # | Reply

Hmmm … first comment has disappeared so trying again:

I reacted the same way as Peter to Vium’s “quite weak” comment until I scrolled down further. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Our favorite adorable little homicidal maniac is back and she is hungry as usual. Let’s see how she reacts to finding out she has another “brother”.
- Tgape
  
  August 14, 2024, 5:16 am | # | Reply
  
  Happy Happy Joy joy joy! Are you feeling happy enough? I don’t think so, let’s sing it again!
Blakkur Sverrir

August 6, 2024, 3:28 pm | # | Reply

Uhm first? First! Yeay!
Great that we get to see Mrs. Sister again. I kinda missed her overvthe last few panels
- Jim
  
  August 7, 2024, 1:17 am | # | Reply
  
  Yes, I posted a comment earlier but it disappeared. That was my first comment attempt. The comment currently was/is my 2nd attempt. Actually, I read the comic not long after it was posted but wasn’t clear headed enough at 3:30am to try a post.
- Just_IDD
  
  August 12, 2024, 6:25 pm | # | Reply
  
  No one gives two rusty robot nuts if someidiot posts first, it makes every successive comment seem like witty prose in its place.