Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-10-29

It's good to smel… see you again.

Good to see you, too. As for the graveyard, I wanted you to see some of our traditions.

There are a few changes compared to earth. For instance, Pan de los Muertos, Bread of the Dead, Is made from lichen instead of wheat.

I… really hope that smells good to humans.

Uhm, no. In fact, during the first few years, it was thought the bakers were trying to encourage cannibalism rather than prevent it.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-01

Lichen bread! Are you going to eat that?

Here. All yours.

Thanks. Once you acquire the taste, it's really quite good. My family loves the stuff.

Honey, bring over our seven chubby kids! They're giving away lichen bread!

And thus we see evolution in action.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-03

Another tradition. Two passes to Don Juan Tenorio.

Did you know a welding robot tried for the role of Doña Inés this year? The programmer did such a good job, they almost considered it for the part.

Why didn't they?

It had a plasma arc instead of lips. Their insurance wouldn't cover the love scene.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-05

I thought this smart paper would ring or vibrate when I got close to an Ecosystem Unlimited employee.

Apparently the default setting is Origami.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-08

The guy we're looking for. Friend of yours?

No. He's an Ecosystems Unlimited employee. I've never met him before.

An unstable situation has developed with the robots. I want to make sure they don't stabilize things in a destructive manner.

Which is a nice way of saying “I need to talk to someone before they break the planet”.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-10

That's him.

Thank you. I always have a hard time identifying someone from a photograph.

Good evening. May I please speak with you for a moment?

What the. Hey! You're one of ours, aren't you?

Yes. Bowman's Wolf. I'm Florence Ambrose.

Well, always happy to meet a satisfied customer. You are satisfied, right? Because I can't accept returns without a receipt.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-12

Actually, she's the one who wanted to talk to you.

Oops. Sorry, I have to take this.

My problem is more people want my attention than I have attention to give.

I guess you can say I suffer from attention deficit disorder.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-15

Sorry about that. Now, What did you want to say?

The robots from factory one, four and five are using Dr. Bowmans's neural architecture.

That design was for making colonists. They're undergoing a neural pruning around the age of twenty that brings them up to full human consciousness.

No worries. We have the situation under control.

I've seen your control. that's what has me worried.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-17

All we're doing is a small tweak in the neural pruning program. Mr Ishiguro tells me it will help robots focus better on their jobs.

May I speak to Mr Ishiguro? The program I saw was more than a tweak.

He's currently in space helping to move the new moon into orbit. Mr. Kornada is handling his department until he gets back.

Have you met Mr. Kornada?

Yes. Hmm. Yes. It is possible we have a problem here.

Color by George Peterson

Day of the dead
[!0.987]2010-11-19

Mr. Raibert. You're next!

This really isn't a good place to talk. Can you come by my office tomorrow at ten?

I can do that.

Excellent. You have my card. Need to go. Nice to have met you two. No worries, we'll get this sorted out. Bye.

Sam's methods keep working better than mine. I wonder if it's all right to be this happy while having a crisis of faith?

Color by George Peterson