The Far Side of Utopia

I said I was going to get up by Wednesday, so we are just going to call this Wednesday, deal with it. 😀

So… this is obviously a bit of odd page. It’s actually a 2/3 page or so, but with only three panels. This was sort of a compromise I figured I’d try. I knew that this conversation was going to go on a lot, and while more panels helps a lot in terms of layout (this is a mess to read) and expressions, I just thought it wasn’t worth it to make this two updates, and the big panel approach let me do this in one page. I could, of course, have condensed the dialogue vastly, but there’s things here that are relevant, both in detail and in the relationship between Mir and Miko.

This page took while because it’s not the page I originally planned to do here in the outline, so some tweaks were made (this is being brought earlier), it’s sort of two combined pages while still being less than a page, and I’m having some computer trouble with editing the comics. I’ve put off updating my computer too long, and it’s beginning to have some serious performance issues with image editing and things (the comic files are saved a stupid resolution, I can probably get around this be downsizing them before i do the bubbling and stuff, but… changing the process would probably end up taking longer than just putting up with the problems in it).

I will say that Miko is wrong that lab five was the oldest instance of Query/MYM, she just doesn’t probably know something that readers might be able to guess.

Typically when Mium shuts down, he wipes himself off a machine to prevent his code form being discovered while he’s inactive to protect it from attempts at breaching his code, transferring to other machines in his network. Part of why Miko is correct to be upset is that since Lab Five wasn’t connected to the rest of MYM at the time, he may have actually lost data… that said, MYM tends to be exceedingly clever when it comes that sort of thing, more than Miko or probably anyone actually realizes. MYM does not like to lose data.

Miko makes reference to “Implosion” and “Hyper Rationalization”; these are two ways that an SMAI can die (or become insane/useless, as I believe Arron referred to it). Gridlock being another common one. Gridlock being when they develop too many interlocking restraints and priorities and become unable to function, implosion being when they get caught in a run away calculation that devolves inward losing objectiveness and starting to infinitely calculate something (generally trying to find a perfect answer where one cannot be found), and hyper-rationalization being the most scary sort, where they come to a conclusion that is rational only to a SMAI (sometimes involving wiping out a large chunk of humanity, themselves, or some other drastic answer). These are not the only dangers, but would generally considered the fate of most SMAI as keeping the balance between the three points is frought with peril in as system that can evolve extremely rapidly in some cases. Most SMAI have restraints set up to make them fall into Implosion or Gridlock inevitable to avoid the more drastic an unpredictable styles of meltdowns, but it can be tricky to have that as a fail safe as humans cannot fully predict an SMAIs behavior (without having more calculating power than the SMAI in the first place).

…it is far too late to be delving into side tangents like that. I’ve been awake for over 20 hours now when means my brain is probably on the path to one of those fates. Early meetings can die a fiery death. I’ve devolved into rambling at least. Let’s hope most people gave up reading this around paragraph two. That was a probably a reasonable amount of ramble.

…I’m just going to hit publish now before I get myself into more trouble typing. I’ll be back tomorrow to fix any of the inevitable spelling grammar errors.

Don’t worry, we’ll get back to what Naomi is up to, we’d just been following her for awhile, and it’s important to move along Miko’s thread before too much time passes.