Exit procedure
[!0.987]2014-11-26

[!1.3]AIRLOCK

Opening the airlock door. I have your new remote. Please don't make me use it.

I'm hoping we can work together. We both want the same thing.

Namely, to get you off my base so you become somebody else's problem.

I might not have phrased it like that, but it's good to know we have a common goal.

Color by George Peterson

Exit procedure
[!0.987]2014-11-28

My identity card. I am authorized to give you direct orders. Am I recognized?

Yes, though I promise I will follow your directions without the need for direct orders as long as they're not harmful.

Procedures. You are an unauthorized A.I. inside a secure facility. If all the steps on the checklist aren't performed and signed for, I won't be able to release you.

Direct orders let us do things the easy way. The hard way is removal and deep scan of all your components capable of data storage.

The easy way. I'm more than happy to cooperate and do things the easy way.

Color by George Peterson

Exit procedure
[!0.987]2014-12-01

Everyone here is wearing glasses. Is that something I should be doing?

You can put your paws down. And no. You don't trigger the same response as humans do.

Doctor Bowman gets out sometimes. He considers a direct stare a threat and immediately attacks. Keeping our eyes covered gives us time to talk.

Given the chance, Doctor Bowman does seem to try to be reasonable.

Trust me, not having a berserk chimp trying to bite your face off fosters reasonableness on both sides of the conversation.

Color by George Peterson

Well, it doesn't say that the glasses are mirrored, but by logic and pattern they should be. (KALDYH)
It's not the mirror ones. Although, as far as I know, this only applies to gorillas. The male gorilla is provoked by direct eye contact. It's a challenge to fight for pack leadership. The mirror also counts as an outsider. And cameras. :) So mirror glasses are just as bad. Chimpanzees are not affected by this. They're just evil. There will be no prouphs. I'm not a zoologist, but a link to articles for young naturalists and soap.ru – not solidly :) (Wergil) P.S. And yes, the author is tired of the puns..

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-03

The police chief called looking for you. I checked him out. Under the current state of emergency, I can turn you over to him if you're not trying to steal information.

Showers

Once we get through the showers, I'll ask a few questions and get a blood sample, then I can get you off my base.

We?

CARDS

Smart dust. If you're contaminated, I'm contaminated. Let's go.

I'm being treated the same as a human and yet I'm still profoundly uncomfortable.

[=0.92]One Way No Exit

Color by George Peterson

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-05

My pajamas have limited self cleaning. When the butterflies are gone, it's time for a real wash.

All I know is the pattern has changed. I don't trust them. Into the bin.

You keep looking up. Is there something interesting on
the ceiling?

“The Creation of Adam”, only with Doctor Bowman and a robot.

Darn it! I don't know how he's doing it, but he's getting out again!

Color by George Peterson

The creation of Adam – fresco by Michelangelo, 1511. It has been parodied in countless works, both paintings and cinematography and other pop culture legacies. (Mityai)

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-08

Ah. That's how Doctor Bowman is doing it. See that shadow outside the shower?

Not really. I mean, I see it, and… I don't see it.

Guys, come on out. Maintenance bots carrying panels covered with Vantablack. We'll need to program our cameras to look for especially dark areas as well as patterns.

And I shouldn't have disturbed them. Now they're going to be running all over the decontamination area.

He must have run out of panels. That one is carrying a lamp shade.

Color by George Peterson

Wordplay: panel – a set of comic strip frames; lampshading – a way of presenting a situation that is equally unbelievable to the audience and the characters.
Vantablack – the blackest known material, consists of carbon nanotubes clustered perpendicular to the surface of the plate. Normally, we see reflected light from any object, but Vantablack reflects virtually no light, so it's perceived by humans as a frightening emptiness, and without the frame it would be virtually invisible to machine vision. Recently, Vantablack 2 has appeared, even blacker.

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-10

We have cameras throughout the whole complex. In the areas like showers, the records can't be released without my say so. Here we can speak in private.

Doctor Bowman is my friend, as much as he understands the term. Now that he knows you're on the planet, he's going to want to see you again. I do not want to see him get hurt.

You got me naked in the shower with you so you could ask if my intentions towards Doctor Bowman are honorable?

Doctor Bowman is not wise in the ways of the world. Someone has to look out for him.

Color by George Peterson

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-12

I assure you my intentions towards Doctor Bowman are strictly honorable.

Besides, he's human. That brings a lot of safeguards into play.

Why do you think Doctor Bowman is human?

He reads. He writes and programs. He's aware of himself and others. Why do you think he's not?

Color by George Peterson

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-15

Doctor Bowman is a chimp.

Pan Troglodytes Sapiens is as valid a human as Homo Sapiens. How long have you been taking care of Doctor Bowman?

My dad and I have been taking care of him ever since Dad got him away from the military. We also fought so he'd get compensation for his work and so he could have as much freedom as possible, given the circumstances.

GIMU! That's why he set it up so A.I.'s see him as human! He's paying a debt!

Debt? No, he's good and we only made that mistake once. You think his impulse control is bad with people? Give him a credit card and access to on line shopping.

Color by George Peterson

“Gimu” (яп. ぎむ 【義務】) – Literally “duty, obligation, commitment”. Mark alludes to the Samurai code of honour? (Mityai)
As a reminder to readers, the credit card allows you to buy on credit (KALDYH)

Now I really feel contaminated
[!0.987]2014-12-17

It's not about money. Grossly simplified, Gimu is a debt you owe to the people who raised you. It's an obligation to act honorably and take care of those people.

For A.I.'s, our creation is a Gimu debt. It's a debt that can never be repaid. By our seeing Doctor Bowman as human, the debt will carry on after his passing. It's a way of making sure humans are safe from A.I.'s without all those onerous safeguards!

You don't like your safeguards?

Oh. Uhm… can I skip that question? For me, there's no right answer.

Color by George Peterson