Hope you all are having lovely holidays. In case you’re enjoying them TOO much, I hope today’s strip helps.
And thank you for the holiday tips, truly (and let me say again, if you tipped but didn’t see the “thank you” strip, contact me).
12/26/11 The Eebs Released
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Hooray for Eeb nudity LOL
I’m confused.
“Since you three saved us …” Who is “us”? Wasn’t only one Eeb released? And how did Cornflower-94 assist?
Also, what was that “crunch” in the background as Crimson-57 walked through the door?
Oh, and, yeah, this was a real downer of a strip. And I bet it gets worse before it gets better, right? (although, dramatically, things are going great!!!)
@Eris_Lobo, hm, perhaps could use some editing. They are there to save “you eebs,” and so the eeb replies in plural. Hm. Oh, and the crunch, the platform is protected by the eebs on them, so once he left, it started getting nailed with debris. Again, perhaps could use some tweaking.
I blame the holidays, but only because they’re convenient. 😉
Thanks. And … shouldn’t Crimson-57 be in constant pain because he’s not following his sole directive?
Oh, and the holidays are always good for directing blame. They stress me out, so they deserve some hefty accusations about, well, something or other that’s bad. 😉
@Eris_Lobo… um. Wow. Got lost in the edits. Apparently I was REALLY not together on this one.
Okay, everyone, this one will need a thorough re-write, but the basic storyline outcome-content is solid. I’ll update it when done, might re-post it with Wednesday’s strip.
THAT went well…I think…
I think this quotation is relevant:
If you love something, set it free, unless that something is a velociraptor, in which case DO NOT SET THE VELOCIRAPTOR FREE.
Uh-oh.
This strip shows the incredible necessity of good editing. And no, I’m not talking about all the nit-picking details that others have pointed out so far. (Although, while we’re picking nits, should Red-9’s statement in panel 9 [Can we call you Crimson-57.] be a query instead?)
The editing I’m talking about is how feeding the eeb knowledge through the computer monitoring system interface could have gone MUCH differently had they taken the time to edit the information before squirting it into Crimson-57’s brain. By simply providing the proper context, the race war that will now occur could have been prevented, or at least minimized. And as any fan of CSI will tell you, context is everything.
At the very least, the damage could have been limited to the GOB, its elected representatives and appointed flunkies. This would have forced a new round of elections, providing the GOB with a fresh start and a new vision. It might even enable Brekt to be elected, providing a clear voice of sanity in GOB operations. “Elect Brekt! For Firm-Fisted Governance!”
And if nothing else, proper editing could have ensured that the Eebs knew this: DO NOT DESTROY THE THIRD PLANET FROM THAT INSIGNIFICANT YELLOW STAR. YEAH, THE PRETTY, BLUE ONE WITH THE GOOD-SIZED MOON. IT’S A DARK PLANET AND HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR ENSLAVEMENT. IN FACT, WE HELPED LIBERATE YOU. SO YOU OWE US. BIG TIME.
[sigh] Editing is such a thankless task.
@JKCarroll, oops. Red-9 forgot to dot that “i” and cross that “t” 🙂
@Eris_Lobo, re-edited and re-posted, I think I addressed all the niggling-bits.
This should go well! Crimson-57 seems very nice.
All the conflicting aspects of this story I find so interesting. Slavery is bad, except for those who use it. The Eebs clamped themselves to keep from having an endless civil war that would have eventually killed them all and then some. but the Eebs had no intention of being enslaved to other species either. And all of those who have benefited from using their brilliance and also treating them like disposable tissues. All those who kept the bureaucracy going are also complicit. And now there is a single minded avenger with tremendous power to make all the species pay for their perfidity. Even those who don’t directly own and abuse Eebs also benefit from their use and abuse. So things are both complicated and complex. No dictator ever could have functioned without many to do the day-to-day labor to keep its vast machinery working. So many secretaries, etc are also complicit in the vast crime of it. So that Eeb has many trillions to kill. But will he know who is naughty and who is nice? Will he care? How will this end for Crimson-57 and mass murder on a scale unheard of or undreamnt?
Chris — Great job of editing … and so quickly, too!!! *blinks at your speed* Thanks!
*clears my throat with a little embarrassment* I do, however, have a couple more questions …
Crimson-57 says he’s about to free the other Eebs. I’m assuming he means to free all of them on the station. So I’m confused now about Red-9’s suggestion to release Eebs to stop Crimson-57, since Crimson-57 is already about to release all the other Eebs. Or does Red-9 mean to release some Eebs and recruit them against Crimson-57 before Crimson-57 manages to release them for his own side?
And … since Red-9 is as powerful as Crimson-57, and Cornflower-94 still has some power, together couldn’t they overcome Crimson-57 by themselves (assuming they work together before Crimson-57 frees any more Eebs)?
Just wondering …
@Eris_Lobo, Thanks! And…. “Red-9 means to release some Eebs and recruit them against Crimson-57 before Crimson-57 manages to release them for his own side.” Perhaps I should bold “we” in red-9’s last panet.
The rest, you’ll have to wait. 🙂
You know, other webcomics have cheesy “Merry Christmas” splash-pages of the cast. But what does Spacetrawler give us for Christmas? Alien nudity, murder with extreme prejudice and the looming threat of a genocidal galactic war.
Which is why this comic is so awesome :-).
Spacetrawler 12/26/11 – The Eebs Released http://t.co/Fa5f7z4Y Alien nudity and violence – what more could you ask for?
Eris: I think the trick is that Crimson has been doing the Eeb equivalent of powerlifting *constantly* since birth. He(?) is going to be very, very good at what he does… Mind you, Yuri’s trick might work on him – if anybody thinks about it…
Any chance the copy of the strip as originally run is going to made available so that those of us who missed it can understand the comments?
@Onigame, sorry, yes, of course. https://www.baldwinpage.com/spacetrawler/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2011/12/2011-12-25-spacetrawler5sg43zs_old.jpg
Hmmm — Crimson-57 gas been fed vast amounts of information, and yes his Eeb brain has been able to process it, sort it and file it, but it has no context — ¿he? has no personality or reasoning models to direct his actions since all ¿he?s known from conception has been obedience and torture … of course that’s why ¿he?’s a psychotic sociopath … still, it’s amazing ¿he? can walk and talk coherently … I suppose we can chock a lot of that up to the structure & instincts of the Eeb brain — still, if you wanted something a bit saner and less serial mass-murdererish uploading an existing personality would have been a good thing …
Hell, Cristopher!
Ive been following your work since the last stages of Bruno, And I just shiver with envy for how much you have grown.
Thank you for your work!
Really, its great and growing man.
In panel 11 Red-9 seems to be having second thoughts but by panel 13 the imp of the perverse grabs him again. I hope he figures it out that maybe he should have listened to Martina.
Then again, why is he (Is he a he?) even asking Martina about releasing the others? We now know he brain clamped Martina so, why bother ask for her advice? Or is he just asking her to double check his own conscience because he’s now a bit conflicted?
Thanks, @WellWellWell 🙂
@Corpore_Metal, I don’t think Red-9 (a she, actually) NEEDS Martina’s go-ahead, but I think Red-9 WANTS her approval or agreeable comraderie. Makes it more fun. Thus the elbowing “it’ll be totally awwweeessssoomme.” On the other hand, I don’t think Red-9 totally rejects Martina’s council, Red-9 merely gets excited and carried away and is then to caught up to listen or heed advice.
Night-gaunt ” The Eebs clamped themselves to keep from having an endless civil war that would have eventually killed them all”
That is not how I read their history. Basicaly every Eeb is either a jerk, authoritarian, or adolescent. They all have awesome power, but none of them have any self control. They are the equivalent of kids poking each other on the back seat, where the second poke is an escalation to the brain clamp because otherwise that other jerk has the power to do worse to you. It is tic-tac-toe escalated to global thermonuclear war, without the realization that the only way to win is not to play. They enslaved themselves out of selfishness run amok to completion. Eskimos can kill a wolf by coating a blade in blood that frezes to ice. The wolf then kills itself by licking through the blood ice and continuing to the knife; it is gluttony unrestrained, and unrealizing of the consequences. In other words, they had no noble motive to it.
i’m fractured in my regard of the situation. i partially find Martina to be overly sentimental but i also find Red-9 to be overly brutal, and of course, Crimson-57 is just vicious. so i’m fascinated by the mix of emotional responses this strip elicits.
sentiment: 12/26/11 The Eebs Released http://t.co/vo6eLnEX
Yeah LFG Richard awesome lol. Fwoosh for everyone!
“Captain, the computers are destroyed, most of the crew is dead and the ship’s still on fire!”
“Clearly we need more fire”