Bip is a shoes-off household.
Transcript
Talita looks around the airlock chamber, bewildered, as the interior hatch opens.
Talita: Is this gas mix breathable?
Bip: Yep! I pinched some O₂ from the electrolysis plant.
Talita starts to walk out of the chamber, but the swarm of worms frantically rears up, grabbing her feet.
Bip: HEY HEY HEY! Suit off! I don’t want you tracking regolith in here!
Talita rolls her eyes and unclips the oxygen lines off her helmet so she can remove it.
Talita: Sigh… this better not kill me.
Bip: Trust me, I have no interest in dragging more bodies out of here with the worms.
Talita finishes pulling her helmet and pauses in stunned horror, considering the implications. Slowly her shock condenses into sadness as she takes off the rest of her suit, leaving it in the airlock chamber. She steps out of the interior airlock door into the large, cross-shaped docking module room.
Talita: You... could have asked for my help.
Bip: Furniture removal is one thing, but I felt undertaker services was a bit too far.
Talita: But doing it alone seems so—
She looks at the overhead surface of the room and stops, staring. Bip's avatar climbs around the edge of the opening between the docking module and the habitat like a moving painting on the wall. The worms crawl through the opening and the avatar points for her to follow them, where lights are turning on and hatches are opening in sequence down the long elevator shaft of the spine.
Bip: This way. Watch your step!
Talita: ...Alright.
110 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 204”
bonescaro
well… that answers that question. i had been wondering if there had been anyone onboard still, or if they’d all gotten spaced. Sorry, Bip 😔
Tumorhead
not the centaur beds :'(
Jordan Aster
I’m playing the Silent Hill 2 remake on this all-around jumbo ship screen. It’s ~*immersive*~
JoB
It’s all fun and giggles until someone superimposes SFX imagery of a hull breach over it.
Sabella
Tsk tsk Ms. Dirtypaws, didn’t your father teach you anything about not tracking moondust anywhere?
SF
… so I guess Bip is doing the AI-version of dissociating tf away from having to deal with what happened, huh?
Wasn’t there a kid on board as well for a few years? In Bip’s stead I would have lost it by now.
Cugz Arui
bip may have lost it already
Origamigryphon
Talita in socks is so cute
Filiya
I’m not sure, is there a screen on the wall? Is Bip’s avatar projected on the wall by robot worms? Or is that just a convention?
Origamigryphon
The walls are mostly made of a kind of LCD screen where Bip can move around. Kind of like how they were in Talita’s wall clock earlier
Filiya
So, you can watch cartoons from any wall and change the room’s wallpaper every five minutes? Sounds pretty expensive, but cool. On the other hand, in the visually impoverished environment of a spaceship, it might be a justifiable expense to keep from going crazy.
Kataratakaran
I mean, you cant exactly compromise the hull by nailing a picture on the wall, and I wouldn’t trust no space-command-hooks (I barely trust them in a gravity rich environment) xD
Filiya
It would be interesting to see how different characters decorate such spaces.
Napkinkat
Is there a reason the bodies didn’t get removed when the ship went to the scrapyard???? I feel like the families of the centaurs might want the bodies back. (Granted Bip has implied they were doing very illegal things so maybe they didn’t have records of who to go back to.)
e
because of the way clans structures work, this was the whole family
Bryn
If I had to guess, I’d say it has to do with the nature of talita’s job – bip and crew were assumedly scooped up by some galactic tow service/clean up service then deposited straight to dirtball for processing past running plates. Talita was the first to look in the hull and discover the phones even, Im going to assume that means she was the first to inspect inside probably. Bip as a ship basically read as an abandoned car to authorities, dirtball is essentially a junkyard and legally no bodies should end up there. of course bip and crew were not legal! ….the impetus would be on bip to expose themselves and risk, who knows what, to bring the centaur families closure…… tbh theres no saying bip /hasnt/ passed the information on to the familes at least, if not the remains. but….. chances are they havent or cant maybe…… much to think about
Cammie
Considering the bounty of cell phones and Bip calling themselves a “pirate ship”, the crew was likely an all-worker-female bandit clan. Not sure if any other centaurs would even be looking for them…
Bryn
Thats probably true, the entirety of the centaur family clan was probably aboard! theres also maybe reasons they left their homeplanet, so who knows what extended relations remain at home for the bip clan members… Maybe none of them wanted to be found as badly as Bip doesnt want to be found, and the wishes were to remain secret. I was also speculating a bit last night that the bodies couldnt have been obvious on first inspection as the reason they werent immediately found – if they had been in the airlock this would be a different story. Maybe they were in the emergency ship, strapped in but they didnt escape on time…. It’s hard to say. As far as Talita not having explored inside at first when she discovered the phones – the mechanics of the doors werent working before so all talita could discover were the phones. so maybe it was just because there was no way inside to the main compartments without power and repair (or being dismantled by heavy equipment).
creetur
The amount of trust she’s putting in Bip right now is a lot, glad to see they’re friends :]
And Bip having to see the bodies is.. I’m sorry little dude, no one should ever have to go through that
Tentament
“You… could have asked for my help”
I’m sorry Talita but I don’t think you’re mentally prepared for that.
anon
I like talita’s capri pants, they’re cute
bonescaro
Talita is just cute in general 🥰 i love seeing her in new outfits
Sol
Since the crew died from a hull breech in space, their bodies would have been a nightmare to look at. Boiled and frozen, and the deaths wouldn’t have been instant. It had to be a horrifying thing for Bip to see AS THE SHIP THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM. Dealing with the bodies alone had to have been difficult but there’s no way something that private could have been done around an alien of the same species who would have her own struggles from seeing the corpses of a race she feels so distant from. This was definitely the least stressful and emotional option
hessian
yeaaah. like this would have been a psychological nightmare for bip. but with talita’s body/species dysmorphia, seeing warped contorted corpses as some of the few in-person instances of bodies that look like her? god fucking knows if she’d ever recover from that. it sucks that the desicion was made for her, in a way. but i think it was the right thing to do.
Smooti
I love how Bip always immediately changing the subject when it comes to the previous crew says so much without saying anything at all.
Also I think this might be the first time Talita is entering a space designed with centaurs in mind. Wonder how she’s going to feel about it!
Gar G
Ngl, at first I thought he was making a joke implying that he killed people who came snooping around
But then I remembered what happened to this ship…
JoB
Somewhere between the last page’s final panel and Talita walking out the airlock here, she and Bip must’ve changed from radio comms to normal speech (atmospheric sound). I see Talitas speech bubbles losing the spikes (= radio static?), but Bips seem mostly unchanged. Granted, Bips “normal speech” is still getting transmitted from someplace else in the ship, but should that be audible (= for us, visible) … ?
Jay Eaton
Idk, I’m just using the spikes to represent speech coming from a mechanical source. AI speech is always coming from a speaker (spikes), and sounds faintly to very artificial (square box). Just kind of vibes based.
JoB
Fair enough, thanks. Thinking some more about it, in a universe where even main characters have ninute tells in their pronunciation (not to mention Idrisahs … equipment), why would AIs make much of an effort to sound “perfectly natural” in the first place … well, unless they’re running the (phone services of an) administration of a mostly-single-species planet maybe …
Jay Eaton
It varies depending on the AI, as well. Calcery had a pretty realistic voice with lower “flexibility” when it came to naturalistic interjections and tone changes. Bip’s voice is much more obviously artificial but has way more tone freedom and spontaneity.
ShadowW
Huh. I consider that for Bip, as an AI, having to handle/dispose of / take apart(???) their previous crew’s bodies might not be as emotionally difficult as it would be for an organic being. Bip’s sense of self is physically transferrable- they can inhabit any body their programming is compatible with. So, they could have a strong innate sense that one’s “code” is independent of one’s “chassis.” I’m sure they’re sad about losing their crew, their friends and companions. But disposing of their crew’s empty bodies? It’s just another task to do.
theplushfrog
Bip repeatedly has been blowing off emotional moments for jokes or straight up ignoring offers of empathy, except for, perhaps, the moment they asked about the escape pod, which still seemed like Bip holding back. While I’m sure that some AI in this setting take on the kind of view you’re talking about, I honestly doubt Bip feels that way, or at least they have made it extremely difficult to tell. With how much they’re pushing Talita to move on from the topic, I feel like they did find body removal upsetting. I think they just don’t like being emotionally vulnerable in front of someone who they’re still getting to know, even if she isn’t a complete stranger anymore.
tyrone
Much better Bip handled that, than Talita having to go full “CSS Hunley” after the first sinking.
Hint : Saw , knives and axe.
Lion
They might not have the same kind of death themselves but they still can understand how biological death works enough to be upsetting. And considering how Bip avoids the topic I suppose they were close to the crew while for Talita they were complete strangers.
That makes me wonder if Talita has to occasionaly deal with/see bodies considering the nature of her job
PhasmaFelis
I think if Bip was as unfazed as they want everyone to think they are, they wouldn’t change the subject every time someone mentions their former crew.
kaittzie
Even feathered Talita is not safe from helmet hair. Great touch!
Fallingfeather
Where did… he put the bodies….?
Light_In_The_Fog
Given the nature of their work, i wouldn’t be that surprised if Dirtball has solid precedent for body disposal. The question is, how did Bip deliver the bodies without notice?
Or maybe they just buried them idk
Corbin
Talita helping with the bodies might also pose the problem of transmissible diseases or whatnot
JoB
Talita reportedly did catch some bugs every time centaurs visited Nexus Jovia, even if she didn’t meet them directly (and they supposedly weren’t formally ill themselves).
But on the other hand, there’s lucky coincidence, the former crew died as healthy as they could be, their bodies being exposed to hard vacuum should have done some superficial disinfection at least, and corpses generally aren’t as much of a health hazard as us humans tend to believe.
If there were a notable danger of contagion to her, I’d hope that Bip would know and not let Talita open her suit inside the ship, much less haul any (contaminated) “furniture” around … not to even think of having her become new crew and live off the ship’s centaur mini-ecosystem …
Kitty
Oh poor Bip… They just explained that they can’t carry anything heavier than 25 kilos with the machines, and centaurs are probably at least 500… Those bodies couldn’t have left in one piece. How terrible. (Unless I misunderstood.)
Bip’s situation is so tragic but in a really understated way because of how they don’t really bring it up and seem so chipper despite it.
40
Oh that’s a lot worse… I was just thinking that furniture is bulky and rigid while a body is easier to maneuver through a complex environment, or that moving anything more with the worms would be too much effort and that Talita would help.
Duke1337-o
Worms together strong
JoB
New heraldic motto accepted
Enai
Now, where’s that crylaughing emoji when I need it?
JoB
> where’s that crylaughing emoji when I need it?
Over here.
Varyon
Dragging something is a lot easier than carrying something, but a lot of furniture isn’t really designed for dragging. Bip may have also been able to work each body onto something like a makeshift sled to make dragging them even easier, while that may not be as much of an option for rigid furniture. There’s also the fact that a lot of the centaur’s weight would have been water, while they’re at the end of an incidental freeze-drying (which one does by freezing something and exposing it to vacuum) – centaur mummies are going to weigh a lot less than the original corpses.
Suffice to say, while it’s certainly possible Bip had to carve up the bodies to get them out, I suspect the worms were able to drag them out more-or-less intact.
LupusAstartis
Also the bodies are probably basically freeze-dried at this point. Unsure what happens to biomass when it’s exposed to hard vacuum over a long time.
Payphone Call
Is Bip’s avatar diegetic here? or a tool for readers? Also poor poor Bip…
Teod
I think it’s intended to be diegetic, but isn’t portrayed realistically. It’s not possible to project black color onto a white surface. The only way their image could be this crisp is if every lamp is a projector.
petra
it’ll be explained later… 🙂
JoB
[pictures worms electrostatically clinging to the ceiling, carrying a 20-kg-or-less bucket of black paint and brushes] 😉
“Well, it was either this, or redecorating with MBHs!”
(… yes, I do know what e-paper is.)
Teod
Ooooh, interesting. Is it E-ink walls? That could be both technically feasible and not absurdly expensive.
Apollo235
I was thinking that, but IDK if the explanation applies to those floors. (remember, the ship is on it’s side)
founding
Or if the wall has some kind of screen implemented
Varyon
It’s described in the transcript (which if you normally don’t read is worth it as it gives prose descriptions of what’s going on) as “Bip’s avatar climbs around the edge of the opening between the docking module and the habitat like a moving painting on the wall.” So I’d say it’s what’s really going on, implying the surfaces of the walls/floors/ceilings of the ship, at least in this section of it, double as digital displays. Which is probably pretty dang useful.
Imp!
Oh damn, i guess people were right about the bodies of the previous crew still being in there…. poor Bip.
Jackie
I was wondering if the bodies would ever be mentioned after it was confirmed the previous crew didnt escape. Props for including that!
Though now one has to wonder where and how Bip disposed of them without being overly suspicious. Also did this centaur crew have any burial practices that might have been considered?
JoB
… say, Bip, how do those worms avoid “tracking regolith in” again? Solely by virtue of riding steering wheels well above Dirtball’s surface all the time?
Enai
In my headcanon, the worms have a cleaning routine much like insects do. It looks very cute. Also, maybe the Runaway possesses a vacuum cleaner or two?
theplushfrog
It didn’t look like any worms followed her from the outside, it’s possible Bip has been keeping some worms strictly for inside usage, possibly after cleaning them up themself. Kinda like having indoor shoes vs outdoor shoes, only it’s remote robot bodies.
Vinemaple
If I were Bip, I’d have a frontloader waiting outside the airlock to receive the bodies. The worms just have to Nac Mac Feegle the bodies (sorry!) through the interior. We’ve also seen Bip use robotic arms in the ship, in old short comics and the preliminary work.
Teod
I am absolutely baffled that nobody checked the ship for bodies. That’s, like, the very first thing you should do with a derelict.
The only reason I can come up with is that it’s a deliberate murder and cover-up, with the sellers involved. But if it was a rival pirate gang, they’d probably loot the valuables and there’d be no phones to find. And if they just wanted Runaway gone, not caring about profits, then they’d leave it adrift, not capture and sell.
JoB
Technically, nobody has said that the bodies were still out in the open when the salvagers came aboard the Runaway. The actual attackers stuffing them into a closet or somesuch way-back-when would also explain why Talita, rummaging through the ship while Bip was still confined to the phones, didn’t see them. Why they would want to do that instead of pushing them out into open space, never to be found again, is another question, however. Maybe they thought they knew who would find the ship, and wanted to send them a message. Or maybe they did know and Bip is who they wanted to find the remains?
And then there’s the possibility that Bip is not exactly truthful and there actually were no bodies to remove anymore …
malmo
I have to imagine the crew were hiding themselves in a last ditch effort to survive
JoB
Against hull-puncturing missiles? To cut a long and depressing train of thoughts short, their best bet would have been to board the “emergency boat”, which seems to serve the purpose of being an escape pod when needed, and thus equipped with independent life support systems. But that is still docked to one of the airlocks.
HAL9000
honestly you would absolutely hope so, but bodies have turned up in scrapyards and dumps enough times to make it plausible. theres a case where a woman was found in a car trunk 2 years after her murder after the new owner bought it from the scrapyard- having never been searched in that time. or a body found in a freezer that had been removed and transported to the dump – removals never looked inside, probably because it smelt awful. things slip through gaps all the time, through human laziness and oversight. dirtball’s shown to be poorly managed and if the original system is almost entirely automated it makes things like that easy to miss
what i’m more curious about is how Bip disposed of the bodies. i guess total incineration is really the only subtle option, presumably using some metal furnance or even Bip’s own engines
Claire
On an unrelated note, the Ag on dirtball has been doing quite well lately.
JoB
On a somewhat more related note, the Runaway has a mini centaur ecosystem to get up and running again, too. Note that Bip didn’t say that ALL of the bodies went out …
Zuorai
…Oh!
TotallySomebody
Oh, bip..