Artifice Page 14

*boom*

Winona and I loved reading all your speculation about that last page. We kept checking into the comments all week—lots of fun. (Honestly, they were really well-thought out accounts and I still think the “Trinity” comment by Iiro H. should be canon…) There were a bunch of theories: alien parasite attack, android berserker massacre, a firefight the androids got caught in the crossfire of, the androids are the rescue team, the androids are the killers… Good stuff.

So, what are folks thinking now? We’d love to hear more.

Oh, and if you get a chance, please click on the ads I’ve put up below the comic pages. I don’t get paid per click or anything—advertisers rent the space by time—but they are helping to make this comic possible in a really big way, so it’d be great if we could show them some love. And most of the time the ads are for other webcomics, which are just kind of cool to check out anyway, IMHO…

(Special thanks to Kristina K. for the generous donation this week! )

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Sascha Möbus

Another beautiful page.

Whoever designed the androids needs an update in creativity. Seriously. What kind of scientist creates androids that look exactly the same? (Let’s all sing the cloning blues…)

Another thought. Is that uncouncious guy “bleeding” white… stuff?
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you very much!
  
  Those androids do look all alike, so it’s certainly plausible to think the designer(s) might have been suffering from a lack of creativity (or budget—good design is expensive!). But I think @google-5ae8381a94f894aaeff84774ff6b51be:disqus might be onto something…
  
  And yep, the unconscious one is indeed “bleeding white stuff”.
Iiro Huuhtanen

Ghee, obviosly someone likes to bang androids.

*giggle*

Im absolutely loving this comic so far and eagerly waiting for more o/
Looking forward for pages including discussion between the protagonist android and shrink.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I like the cut of your jib, Mister! (And the explanation you give for the fact all the androids look the same. )
  
  I’m also glad you’re enjoying the pages with Maven. I’ve been a little nervous about those (Would anyone be interested?). Glad to hear that they are fun for you.
Rocket

Oohh… Now It’s starting to make sense to me. Looks like they were on an assassination mission kinda? If not, then I’m lost again >< It reminds me of Star Wars XD

Oh! Oh! I think I know what happens! The guy with the pretty hair is gonna get tricked, and then *jumps like a little kid* And then! The people are gonna spy on him or something by containing Deacon and sending a different android to catch/kill him, but Deacon will save the day!

…orsomethinglikethat….

Btw, the android in the first panel has a cute ass :3
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hehe. I like your thoughts about what’s going to happen. The white stuff is android bodily fluid (android “blood”, in a sense).
  
  And yes, that android in the first panel does have a cute butt.
Henrithe9th

Sooooo sure that “life form” is male, has long hair and ofcourse…is gay
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  There might indeed be a male with long-hair who we might see soon….
http://twitter.com/togainunochi judi

Explosion to cover evidence? mawhahahaha really enjoying it.
- http://amidstdancers.blogspot.com/ Shard Aerliss
  
  Explosion? I thought it looked like he was jumping down a big hole.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I like your explanation! Interesting…
  
  And very glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-Harvey/100000484832525 Jessica Harvey

I’m thinking that plane/starship outside the building just went kaboom, which says to me either sabotage or a human survivor trying to take out the androids.

Loving the perspective work on this! It’s immediately clear who is who through multiple angles, even though everyone looks the same.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I think you might be on to something, Jessica…
  
  And yes, I also think Winona did a great job keeping everyone clear here. That was really important to me and not an easy task.
snager

:U i have to stick to my previous assumption that the androids killed everyone.

and i think the final survivor just blew up the androids, but. this kinda confuses my other theory that the last human survivor and the last android survivor are gonna hook up.

actually, i need to stop thinking about this. i have a policy of never speculating on plot lines, because if i do, i can usually guess them.

which is why i read so many gay comics, i guess. XD less easy to guess on, probably because the authors are smarter.*

*totally not brown-nosing

okay, i thought about it again. i think THESE are a rescue team of androids and the BAD androids killed everyone and the android with the android blood got attacked because a human was scared of him and the explosion is a similar incident.
this is why i shouldn’t speculate. >o< now i'm sure this is it.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hehe. I’m really enjoying your speculation actually…
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/QHRUML5XFH7AMSWH63TQH7F7E4 MalikTous

Hawkwind did a great tune ‘Robot’, and tales like Rossum’s Universal Robots and Fondly Fahrenheit and The HORARS of War already set the theme for this. Great artwork and hope this continues and takes off!
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you—glad you’re enjoying it!
Vaan_Lohengrin

dont know why but every image on this site is refusing to load… makes me sad cause i can’t figure out why
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hmm. That’s no good.
  
  What happens when you try to refresh the page?
  
  If that doesn’t work, try clearing your browser’s cache and then reloading the page. Does that help?
  - Vaan_Lohengrin
    
    Nope
    - http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
      
      Hmm. Baffling. :/
      
      OK. Would you mind trying to see if you can access this site on another computer? Let’s see if maybe that’s the problem…
      
      (And if you’re ok with it, let’s transfer this discussion over to email. Please use the Email Alex link at the top.)
      
      I’m sure we’ll figure this out!
Stormhawk

I think the human retrieval squad has just arrived and took out the android’s shuttle. But somehow I don’t think the author wants his main character to be a sociopath, so sticking with my theory the androids weren’t involved with the shoot out at the De Vinci Coral.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Well reasoned. (And good on you for remembering the retrieval squad.) But just for the record, I hear the author is a total nutball, so I’d say all bets are off.
ZombieCrow

I’ve just read all 14 pages and well, I’m excited about what happens next! Also, the artwork is gorgeous.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  That’s great to hear! Thank you!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ODTYRNLPDTIZWUVMJBCDAFY27E DivaLady

I’m a new reader and I can’t donate, but I followed a link on the Starfighter page here and I’m REALLY interested to see where this goes. I also really liked your commentary of how you thought up Deacon. I also plan on checking out HoneySyn, since the art in the ad looks interesting. :3 See you next update!
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the comic and that you’re finding my little commentaries interesting. That makes me happy to hear.
  
  (And thank you for supporting our advertisers! I actually bought the first book of Honeydew Syndrome at NYCC and really enjoyed it actually. So, good pick!)Look forward to hearing from you next time!
dyeitblue

I’ve been reading this on my iPhone every week, and ow realise how dumb that was – to get the full impact of the artwork, it’s so much better on a computer screen.

I’ve been excited about this since a while back when I first got the first Artifice Pencils sent through my yaoi911 email, waaay back when, before we even had Tough! Man, those times seem so distant now.

Anywhoo, I’m so pleased it’s on the road at last, and it’s just so damn good! I knew the endless Twitter commenting, page refreshing, and frantic hoping would pay off!
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Yay! A long-term Yaoi911er!
  
  And yes, I’ve deliberately made these pages larger than your typical webcomic because the printed book will be larger (8.5″ x 11″) and I wanted folks to get the full impact. So, reading on a full-sized computer screen is ideal.
  
  I’m really glad after all this waiting you’re liking it!
Yaminox

Am I the only one disturbed by the fact that all the androids look exactly the same?
how they call them? they have some kind of serial number? a tag with said serial number written on it? doesn’t this kind of….add to the de-humanization (or something) of the androids? I think it does.
is Deacon the only android who develops a personality? or is that “ability” latent in every android? maybe there’ll be some kind of android rebels, if that’s true?
as for the scene…The Androids did it, alright. And the “fallen” Android? probably got caught in the crossfire.
Makes me wonder why the Androids were ordered to kill all that people. Were they some kind of threat? Can Androids be sociopaths? they do have an equivalent of a brain, right?
oh god, so many questions…
Would you get offended if I told you I completely forgot this was supposed to be a Yaoi/gay comic? got so caught in the plot…
And given the name of the page….it’s kind of dumb (but since I found the link to the comic by accident…)
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I think you’re onto something by noting that their identical appearance contributes to their dehumanization. I’d also say, yes it does.
  
  Most if not all of your questions will be answered in the upcoming pages.
  
  And I’m totally not offended that you got caught up in the plot and forgot about how to label this comic—that’s, of course, just what a writer dreams of! Even though, I’m calling this a “Gay Sci-Fi Webcomic”, ultimately I’m just wanting to tell a good story that includes a romance with same-sex heroes. It’s what I’ve craved seeing since I was a little kid.
  
  Npw, I think Artifice will especially appeal to people like me—those who enjoy the thought of two guys getting together—and so I think it’s fine to advertise it as “gay”, but that can’t be the whole of what’s fun and interesting about the story. Or at least, I wouldn’t want it to be. Even from a “political” point of view, I think it’s a much more powerful statement to show that gay romance (and even gay erotic scenes!) can be an essential part of a solid “not-necessarily-gay” story.
  
  I write my comics with a broad audience of straight, bisexual and gay readers in mind and my greatest hope is that, in reading my work, my readers will have the opportunity to forget all about labels and instead will have the experience of just getting caught up in a story where cute guys get it on.
  - Yaminox
    
    try to imagine the situation. You have a bunch of guys who look the same and act the same. People will associate the appearance, not with a name or a personality (because it’s something they lack, the people behind this project won’t go through the trouble of naming each one of them, because it’s unnecessary, since they’re not supposed to feel or have a sense of individuality) but with what they do, as in…acting like a tool for the people they work for. Even more if there are previous models that are even less human-like.
    there would be trouble if they start to be conscious of what they do, and if they start developing a sense of self.
    but since they’re androids that /obviously/ can’t happen, right?
    and now I’m rambling, sorry.
    
    ejem…
    
    the thing is: this is an interesting story. It’ll be gay, alright. but even now when the romance sub-plot is not even introduced it’s still interesting to read (and theorize about).
    the fact that two guys get together is not the major point that makes the story interesting.
    I kind of feel bad for people who won’t read a story like this because two guys get it on. Shame.
    - http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
      
      Very nice thought experiment. And yes, I think you have the right idea.
      
      As for those who won’t read a story because it has two guys getting it on, well… as far as I’m concerned, to each their own. We all have our squicks, I guess.
      
      But I do agree that it’s a shame if it stops someone from enjoying a story they would otherwise really like. As I’ve written elsewhere on here, I have enough empathy for my fellow human beings that I can certainly get into a story with a heterosexual romance (and even root for the characters to get together!) even though I’m 100% gay. And that allows me to enjoy a bunch of really great stories out there. But then, I haven’t been raised to hate heterosexuals the way a lot folks have been raised to hate gays. I know it’s going to be a different experience for them.
      
      I can just hope that one day, gay or straight, we all can root for consensual love to triumph, even for those who fall in love differently than we do. And that is a big motivator for why I started creating these comics in the first place.
Patrick Bremhorst

ok so we know the majority of people in the colony are dead

whats going on here I think is more complex then just what’s being shown at the moment.

the last 2 panels show Deacon as facing away from the group which means he may have some idea that the ship is going to explode in the first place.

I say may cause at the moment I can’t be sure of whether or not I assume more evidence of what is going will be shown as the story continues
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Yes, there will definitely be more evidence forthcoming, but I enjoy the speculation.
http://profiles.google.com/ninelegyak Alan Williams

His outfit looks like a one-piece. Either (a) my clothes are on and I’m a worker-bot, or (b) my clothes are off and I’m a sex-machine. Simplifies things. =D
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hehe. I like the way you think.
devil_woman_24

This comic seem very interesting ^^ please update soon
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you! I’ll have a new page up on Saturday.
  - devil_woman_24
    
    Mmmmm but yesterday was Saturday xd
    - http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
      
      This is true. But, God willing, there will be another Saturday, and if there is, there will be another page.
      
      I hope to see you then!
Niveous

If I had to guess, the androids sent to kill the colonists because they opposed whatever faction their corporation works for (or being weapons, /currently/ was working for). Deacon picked up a human on his device, on the other side of the building, and turned around with the intent of finishing the job.

Said last human then blows up his buddies. Deacon pursues, but the guys in the plane only see him running away and presume that the explosion is his fault–since the likelihood of any human surviving day three of the AP purge ought to be nil. In fact, there’s probably a report that was sent to verify before pickup.

And well, once the guys from the plane started to fire on him, Deacon had to give up and protect corporate property. Naturally, he’s worth a bit more than a couple humans. Possibly the colonist took the diversion to create further mishaps, but meh, we’ll find out.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I assume the “guys in the plane” are the Retrieval Team? An interesting story you’re weaving there, my friend.
Rozhinkes

Uh-oh, looks like someone rigged that escape pod! D: Good thing Deacon (?) got that alert on his GPS… thingamabob.

And yikes, that’s some nasty explosion! And this is just a small detail, but I’m curious because of Deacon’s expression – are the androids programmed to feel pain? That would be a bit of a disadvantage in a combat situation! Though I suppose it would be vital that such an expensive piece of technology would have some sort of self-preservation mechanism. I’m curious to know more about these “artificial people.”

And to Winona, if she doesn’t mind my asking – which mediums is she using to produce this amazing art? The line art seems similar to what I get with Pitt Artist’s Inking Pens (traditional media), but I’m curious about the colouring. Markers? Photoshop?

Great work as always, you two! I’m itching to see what happens next. The suspense is killing me! D’:
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  The androids are able to feel a lot of different things, including pain… (As for the motivations behind creating that capability, I’ll leave to your speculation for the time being.)
  
  I’ll also leave it to Winona to answer your specific art questions. (But I will say she came up with a special technique for creating the pages of Artifice.)
  
  And I’m delighted to hear that you’re wanting to see that next page! Please keep letting us know what you think!:D
- W Nelson
  
  Winona here I’m flattered that you asked (and that it doesn’t look like obvious Photoshoppery!) Here’s the whole process:
  
  I did pencil 1/4 page thumbnails of each page, then scanned and blew them up and did digital pencils. I like to do the pencils digitally because at that stage I’m still moving things around a lot and this way if I want to move a figure over an inch it doesn’t mean redrawing the whole page. I also built the sets in 3d using Sketchup, and used the models as reference for the perspective.
  
  I then printed the pencils and taped them to the back of the paper I was going to ink on. I didn’t have a big printer for the first half of the project so I was printing on two pages with the middle overlapping, hehe!
  
  The inks are Staedtler and Prisma technical pens (and a .25 Pilot Hi-Tec C for tiny details) on Borden and Riley #234 Paris Bleedproof paper for pens. The paper was trial end error, I tried Blueline boards, which are too thick for lightboxing and too rough (and they aren’t archival; they yellow over time), then regular cover stock which was thin enough to lightbox well but was too absorbent, it bled a lot. Then a friend tipped me off about the B&D paper, which is suuuper smooth, really translucent on a lightbox, and the ink doesn’t spread at all, it’s fantastic You have to cut it to size but it really is the best to ink on!
  
  Then I scan the inks and color in Photoshop. For the spots that look more painterly, like that explosion, what I’m using is a hard round brush with pressure set to opacity and the flow set to 25%. I’ve used that hard round brush forever but changing the flow never occurred to me until fairly recently, and it’s made a big difference. It just makes it feel a bit more intuitive and it’s easier to blend with. Most of the form shading is done with that brush (or a soft-edged brush for big gradients and things I want to be very smooth, like skin). The actual shadow areas are done on a separate layer set to Color Burn, all the same sort of purple-blue (no K).
  
  I’ve been subtly colorizing the inks too, which I do by making a new layer and then adding a layer mask made from the ink layer. The layer mask allows you to paint outside the line as much as you want and none of it shows up, but if you then need to make changes to the inks you can delete the layer mask and make it again from the revised inks and the color will still be there. You can get pretty much the same effect by copying the ink layer and locking the transparency and painting on it, but that method doesn’t make it so easy to make changes since you then have to make the changes in the appropriate color and it takes a bit longer.
  
  One final thought that might be interesting to you is that this is all done in CMYK because we’ve always intended to print the book. That means some colors don’t get quite as bright as RGB, but those colors aren’t printable. It also means I had to be very aware of K values sneaking in, because if you’re not picking every color with the color picker and setting the ink percentages to contain 0% K, you can end up with muddy colors when it prints. K is the only opaque ink and it’s also very slightly thick on the paper so it appears ever so slightly raised; you don’t want it anywhere but the inks and maybe some really dark shadow areas if you can help it.
  
  Hope that made some sense to you! I’ve used Photoshop for so long I can get a bit technical talking about it 0_0
  - Rozhinkes
    
    Thank you SO much for taking the time to write such an extensive reply to my silly question. I’m more of a writer, but I’m hoping some day to start working on graphic novel versions for my works, so this has been super helpful… especially since I’m completely and utterly lost when it comes to digital art! XDDD
    
    I’ll be sure to try out some of your suggestions whenever I get back to working on my little comics. It would be a shame not to, especially since you’re a wonderful artist and I’m sure that you know what you’re talking about!
    
    Again, BIG thanks! And I apologize for the super late reply. My double major has done a great job of consuming all of my time. :’(
http://profiles.google.com/tove.lundstrom Tove Lundström

I’m stoked that there’s a new page up, but unfortunately I can’t see it D: Actually, I can’t see any of the old pages at all. The top banner and the ads have loaded fine, but for some reason the comic is nowhere to be seen. I tried a different browser and a different computer (still on the same network) as well, but still no luck.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hmm. Another user has reported a similar issue and I think I now know what the problem is. I’ve started hosting the images of this comic using a Content Distribution Network. This copies all the image files to local servers around the world so they load faster for my readers (on average, it’s helping the pages load 2x faster). But for some reason, it’s not working for you (and one other reader).
  
  I have a support ticket in with my CDN provider and will keep you posted. Obviously, this needs to be fixed and fast.
  
  Thank you for your interest in this comic—and your patience.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  OK. I’m closer to a solution, but I was wondering if I could get your help with troubleshooting this. If you don’t mind, could you please reach out to me via email using the Email Alex link above so we can run a couple tests?
  
  We’ll figure this out! I want you to be able to read this comic!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Caroline-Girard/1370403368 Caroline Girard

Wow… great job! First, I wanted to say that the style of drawing and coloring is very neat! I confess that at the beginning of my reading, I was expecting a very different style and finally I’m totally excited about the beginning of this story! I’ll hope to read the next page soon! Thank you for your hard work <3
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  You’re very welcome! I’m really glad you’re liking Artifice. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know!
http://twitter.com/_3_LEMONed_3_ j.azzeh ♺

OH NOEEEEEEEE!!! -makes her own sound effects- actually i like the lack of sound effects, it makes it more fun for people like me who are easily amused xD great job!

-sniffles- how do these people post their wall of text reply without rambling? I do not know how but it saddens me cuz of my usual one strip of word comment….
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hey J.I.!
  
  Glad you like the lack of sound effects. I myself tend to find written sound effects to be a distraction. I will include them if it enhances clarity (for example if there are supposed to be multiple gun shots or a BEEP BEEP BEEP), but to have a big outline of a FTOOOM over that explosion (which would be the classic choice), I think harms more than it helps. Just my tastes, but as I’m the letterer my tastes rule!
  
  But I will say, it absolutely helps if folks make sound effects in the comments. Right now, Deacon needs all the help he can get.
http://www.facebook.com/hannie3000 Hannah Koomans

People always look at me funny when I say that I like to read gay comics with a (good) story, because hardly anyone believes such a combination exists. From now on, I will forward them the URL to Yaoi911 and make them see just how wrong they are.
I am hooked already and am eagerly awaiting the next page.
Saturday seems so far away now…

P.S. The art is gorgeous. <3
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Howdy Hannah!
  
  Well, that’s an awesome compliment. I’m definitely hoping that I’m telling a good story here. Thank you! You’ve put a big smile (and blush!) on my face.
  
  (And yes, Winona is a rock star. Just wait until you get to the romantic scenes! “Gorgeous” is my word for her art too. I feel so lucky to be working with her.)
  
  Hope to see you on Saturday!
Malin Skutnabba

I must say that I really like this comic so far, the storyline is great! Keep up the good work!
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you! I hope to see you here again!
codobus

It’s been a while since I’ve read webcomics with actual story, especially gay themed ones(had to get over my emo early 20s (: ), but having been an Asimov fan as a youngster this already has me hooked. Right down my alley, looking forward to the rest of it! (:
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Thank you! I really appreciate the support and I’m glad you’re into the kind of issues Asimov liked to explore. I’m certainly no Asimov, but I find the questions of what makes us a person and how an android’s mind might differ from our own to be fascinating to think about.
  
  Please keep coming back to let me know what you think!
Stormhawk

Here you have it, “Why are they all looking at me?” look turns to the “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got the crap job” look. We’ve all been there. But bet that will teach you to put your ringtone to “silent” in your iPhone, next time, won’t it? Or considering how it ended up with the whole lone survivor thing, maybe not.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  Hehe. You totally have the right idea.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6P6O32FQEFNXCBJHA4FO5A5ADM Steve

Okay, I just now noticed there is nothing in the way of dialog when the androids decide Deacon will investigate the reading. Is it because they all think the exact same way and Deacon investigating was the obvious thing or are there communication links inside their artificial brains? If it’s the latter, how useful would THAT be? Imagine pinned down and using that connection to send a message via subspace radio or whatever you’d like to call it…
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I think it’s likely to be the latter because, as you said, having internal communications would be very useful. But, to be honest, when I wrote this scene, I was definitely thinking it was because they all thought so much alike, no words would be necessary.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6GCZ37RSN2XBLSUSUBUCWCGM3A Templar Knight

Huh. I thought he was falling down a hole on the last panel… I only realized it was an explosion during the next page.

Silly me.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  That’s interesting. I’d never thought of it that way, but I guess it could look like that! (And you aren’t the only person to think that. @aerliss had the same reaction below.)
Ewan Haggarty

I’ve gone back to this page many times, as many of the details in it made me think:

Five identical ‘Inhumans’, the one, apparently very valuable, survivor being Deacon – not Deacon 2-of-5 or anything Trekkie like that. Deacon seems an individual ‘personal’ name. What were the other four called? As Deacon is the name of a religious office, was this a result of some sort of ‘creator joke’, like IT guys name servers? Were the others named ‘Abbott’, ‘Bishop’, ‘Chaplain’ and ‘Elder’?

Looking at the way they ‘regroup’ to consider silently the implication of the sounding proximity detector, I notice they have reduced the distance between each other – they were strung out in-line before. I’m pretty certain that means there was some sort of short-range wireless communication going on between them. Militarily, this makes a lot of sense.

If the ‘Troupe’ were so linked and so intimate with each other as a result and had been since creation, the impact on Deacon of suddenly being the sole survivor would have been shocking and profound. Being ‘alone’ might not have been part of his design, however sophisticated he is. Outside his design parameters, his unique individual responses to the challenges he suddenly faced have probably surprised him as much as they have surprised his manufacturers.

I notice the way the injured ‘Inhuman’ is being carried – that’s not the most efficient way of carrying someone injured and unconscious, but it is the ‘concerned’ way, both facing in towards the injured party. This shows very eloquently the presence of ‘humanity’ in them.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  This is a very well-thought out comment.
  
  - You are right in assuming that each of the APs has a unique name. They all start with the letter “D”.
  
  - Yes, the APs are capable of sophisticated non-verbal communication. Whether that is actually using wireless radio of some sort remains to be seen.
  
  - Being alone is definitely outside of Deacon’s experience.
  
  - Yes, the injured AP is being carried with the care and concern we would carry one of our own.
  
  Good analysis.
  - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GR6CABBKS2RKY72QXHNLTA5SYI Enkidu
    
    Alright, this has literally been keeping me up at night. WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES!? >w<
    I say they're Dominic, Deacon of course, Damien because you have to have a Damien or possibly Damon, Dylon or Dillon however it's spelled, and either Dirk or Derek take your pick. Dominic is the one being carried. XD I'm dead certain about that for some reason. That's Dominic and that's what I'm calling him now.
    Although the idea of them all being named after church positions is so stupidly funny that I really think they would have been. It's just such a computer nerd/programmer thing to do! Abbot, Bishop, Chaplain and Priest would have been good.
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3U3MMFS4NAFFH5OBSPYKOO3P6U Renato Ingo
      
      Hmmm … Bishop? Didn’t I see an android bishop in last page’s comments?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GR6CABBKS2RKY72QXHNLTA5SYI Enkidu

Man, you’re lucky Alex! You’ve got some really thoughtful people commenting in here. I think it’s because the story itself is thoughtful. It attracts a certain type of people. (I’m not including myself in here BTW. I have yet to contribute anything enlightening but give me time and the RIGHT page!) It’s great to be able to read through the comments on a comic and then actually get MORE out of the comic itself by doing so.

Ewan is right though, you have to go through the old pages again to start picking up on things, like how Deacon is in the psychologist’s because he resisted being retrieved and the guard said the other guy “knew someone on retrieval”. Add to that, Deacon being surprised Jeff was still alive and you start to piece together what happened. And THEN you start REALLY looking forward to the next posts not to find out WHAT happened but to find out HOW.
It’s great.
- http://webcomics.yaoi911.com/ Alex Woolfson
  
  I actually feel tremendously lucky with the quality of comments I get on this comic. And grateful. Frankly, I think I have some of the best and smartest commenters of any webcomic I’ve read anywhere. And that includes you too, Enkidu.
  
  And you’re totally picking up on all the right things. Good close reading.
  
  People know this is a yaoi comic, so there are certain romantic expectations that are likely to be fulfilled. And I do try to drop clues as to what has happened in terms of other parts of the plot. So, ultimately, yes, I do hope that the real fun will be the finding out the “how”. I’m glad to hear that that is working for you.
http://www.facebook.com/MacPhellimey Meta Carpenter

I love that look they all exchange with complete understanding. “Yup. Your turn. We’ve got this guy.”
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OJC34SQYWEAMSF4OMVCXIPU3R4 Laura

Woah, reading this again I only just noticed that all of the (inhumans?) look the same… o_o woah ok
Saberri

This is my maybe… 7th, 8th time reading through this and I am JUST noticing that they blew up. I thought Deacon was having a flashback or something. Didn’t even connect this with the next page.

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