Another superb episode, with great illustrations Sissitrix. Intrigue builds upon intrigue and the stakes keep,getting higher. Well done Kate and Sissitrix.
I feel Sin Street is given life. The artworks are so perfectly consistent week after week that they build a picture of life in our noir universe. Anyone like noir style jazz... maybe try this on YouTube! Intrigue and Moral Ambiguity - What a great name for a Wine Bar!
I was listening to that playlist today while writing. I often listen to piano jazz or the banjo style from Hitchhikers guide or Firefly. It’s great ambient music for writing.
Firstly, propers to Sissitrix for resurrecting the Sanford & Son pickup for use as a Sin Street vehicle! Pop & The Big Dummy would be proud! Please arrange for a limited edition die cast Matchbox or Hot Wheels version to be made of the truck and whatever Erin Mobile she uses (she needs one BTW) whenever Sin Street merch becomes a reality.
I really dig the '72 pickup/decrepit, smelly, abandoned wharf aesthetic you've got here setting up the main scenes of Episode 14. Gives this one the feel of a 1970s Charles Bronson/Michael Winner shoot-em-up crime drama with a pseudo-funk soundtrack complete w/harpsichord. Maybe even a blaxploitation flick like "Slaughter" with Jim Brown. You've both done great things with different settings over the course of this saga.
I'm loving the plot payoffs and reveals in the last few episodes--excellent stuff! Biggest surprise, and one I didn't see at all was Bliss being one of the ubiquitous (perhaps mandatory) murderers operating in Sin Street. True, I knew she was wearing thin with nervous exhaustion, and that she's ruthless and ambitious (for the record, I don't buy the "I love you" jive she's running on Erin right now--even less than I did before BTW). Candidly, I shouldn't have been shocked at her being a killer--it's a prerequisite for residence in this Universe! She's a kinkster too, which I've got no problem with at all--kinksterism and sexual adventurism/nonconformity/openness--all that--would probably lead to a less uptight society, but I digress.
Red October as an organization, rather than an individual is awesome, and I think (here I assume the prognosticator mitre) leads to more possibilities. Given their name, they have to be a terrorist/revolutionary organization of some kind--with a murder buy-in. Similar to the Mau Mau initiation in 1950s Kenya (kill an Englishman) or the Hell's Angels MC ("blood in, blood out,"--kill a man to get in, and you can only leave when you're dead). They demand fanatical obedience. There has to be some great, final, apocalyptic goal they have in mind, led by a cuckoo leader with a Messiah complex someplace, hitherto unknown, or perhaps right there among the characters we know of, or remotely situated. The Sin Street criminal orgs are a means to this ultimate political end; they seek to destroy the enterprises and expropriate the resources of the higher-ups, and kill them in grotesque ways (they've done this already in several ways)--they see the street-level crooks as deluded victims--the exploited whose consciousness needs to be raised to their true power. I think Handjob Hannah, given her proven tendency to violence, is an adherent of Red October--probably a commissar, and her girls are definitely cadres, given what they've done, and are doing--despite Erin's being involved with them. Hannah--given where she came from--would be the ideal recruit in multiple ways. Bliss fits their goals as well--she's the media, has a following, and can manipulate opinion.
Further, though the infernal machines are absent from the narrative here, it's fair to consider, given their advanced tech, Sissitrix (the character) as designer--an enigmatic figure of ambiguous intent throughout the story thus far, what role Allen and its cohorts may play in the revolutionary games (if I'm right), or if they have their own game to play against the humans, whom they've already anticipated.
So, there are my thoughts, comments, and another prophecy, given the latest twists. Far out, yes, but not totally implausible. Predictions of plot twists are the fun prerogative of pontificating fans!
Far out, yes, but not totally implausible. This is exactly why I love to read your review of each article. As you understand you influence my drawings and when I read you I secretly take a side to give you rich or wrong. What will happen to Sissitrix's technology in the next episode? (I knew you'd like this pickup.)
A few thoughts on the tech did cross my mind as I read. Allen and its cohorts have reached some level of AGI--artificial general intelligence--the "god-like" version which we've all been warned of. The self-aware, planet-enslaving, SkyNet version. Though I'm the farthest thing from a tech enthusiast (if anything, I volunteer to lead the first guerrilla attack in the War Against the Machines--where's John Connor's HQ?), I've read some books about it, pro and con, and have seen the standard film and TV "nightmare" portrayals of AI. The different scenes and settings you've both presented over the saga have been very detailed and intriguing--from a tech billionaire's mansion, the horrid hole-in-the-wall where Erin was raped and tortured, the cyberpunk/biomechanical aesthetic of the pod lab, all the way to the seedy BDSM/burlesque of the Underground Club and the gritty Elmore Leonard-style of the wharf scene from this Episode.
What struck me about these was how unique they were, almost personalized. The concept of simulation theory leapt to mind. It's actually a serious issue of current philosophical discourse--the notion that our entire reality--every aspect of human existence down to the smallest detail--is simply an infinitely complex simulation run by an unknown intelligence for an unknown reason. Now if you were to take the techie-sounding terms out and make this sound less clinical, you basically get a bare-bones statement of rudimentary theistic metaphysics. In short, this is a "Matrix" scenario, but given the storyline, I got the vibe of a sort of theme park totally devoted to moral depravity and hedonism, but minus the genteel veneer you have in the HBO version of "Westworld," for instance. More like a hybrid of the hedonistic debauchery of "Westworld" and the violence and high-tech intrigue and paranoia of "Mad Max," "Blade Runner," and the first "Matrix" film--the sequels were total trash, cash grabs, and wastes of time. And as I mentioned in my general review and comments on Red October as being a possible revolutionary organization with the big-picture agenda such groups usually have--those movements often seek to impose a "simulated" version of objective reality upon a world in procrustean fashion--an imposition which often results in the deaths of millions and untold pain, suffering, and sorrow.
So, some random post-script thoughts on this pretty-damn-near-the-Autumnal-Equinoctial Sunday evening.
Hi John, I only came across this comment by luck. For some reason, I can't find it in my notifications. I find AI fascinating, particularly how it's being used in my market sector. We have the technology to create slaughter bots capable of flying through the streets we walk, monitoring social media, judging when a person is guilty of a prescribed crime (prescribed by whom?), finding that person using facial recognition and attacking them in a swarm of tiny drones carrying small shaped charges. They say the technologies haven't been assembled together for that purpose yet but I wonder how close we are to that.
Self-aware defense network computers! Cyborg assassins! Incidentally, I'm familiar with the drone tech you describe--saw a documentary about next gen weapons on one of the "military history" channel-type things. One that I found nifty and effective was a miniaturized high-explosive assault drone--disguised as a bee, wasp--indistinguishable from the real thing, down to the buzz--targeted to a specific mark--you launch it where the target is--it acquires, then attacks, attaches, burrows in and explodes with mega-force, and no one's the wiser. Same can be done for surveillance tech as well. In the pop culture world, I did see a pretty kickass fusion of old-school with this stuff in Season 3 of "Westworld." Sniper rifle which launched 4 drones as targeting devices--these things flew at high speeds into a building, marked the targets for Delores (the cyborg heroine), then flew back to her. On firing, each round was guided to every mark with a head shot--really wild! They probably have something like that now, I'd imagine. A pretty good book out there is "The Pentagon's Brain" by Annie Jacobsen--a history of DARPA, who come up with all this stuff. And "The Terminator" wasn't the first self-aware defense network computer that took over either. For that one, in film, it was "Colossus: The Forbin Project," which was a 1970 effort--a pretty good movie, though for some reason, when the ruckus about AI broke sometime last year, the movie got wiped from Netflix and stuff-it may have been restored by now, and there's tons about it on YouTube--it was based on a sci-fi trilogy by a British author (the trilogy's out-of-print, but I own copies of each book--I acquire stuff that I'm interested in, pricey though it be) in the late '60s. The facial rec software is causing a lot of problems due to civil liberties concerns. Over Christmastime in New York, there was a dust-up at Radio City--a woman was escorting her daughter's school group to the Rockettes Christmas show. The woman was kicked out of the venue by security, since the facial recognition software they had in place recognized her as an attorney for the firm engaged in litigation against the owner of Radio City--they had a policy of "no admittance" toward anyone involved in legal proceedings against them. She wasn't even on the case, but just being with the firm was enough! So it's not just government, but private industry that's becoming "militarized" in this dangerous, slippery slope way. Creepy developments indeed!
I think social scoring might be a great Sin Street plot arc for the future. I see algorithms being developed at Universities with the single intent of gathering human behavioral data and converting it into risk assessed actionable insights. Minority Report, here we come.
China already has a Social Scoring system in place--an excellent thing for totalitarian regimes to use--better tech and AI mean less overhead for the secret police, which frees up revenue and human resources for military R&D for global footprint expansion, and expansion of intelligence collection assets to advance existing tech, grow the global profile, increase the innovation, customer base, and revolutionary advantage! Yes, that's right--I've been around lots of corporate communications rah-rah types who LOVE buzzwords and slogans--does it show much?
Another superb episode, with great illustrations Sissitrix. Intrigue builds upon intrigue and the stakes keep,getting higher. Well done Kate and Sissitrix.
Hi Martin. I feel as though our Sin City is coming alive. The artwork and words combined build such a fabulous picture in the mind.
Martin what a pleasure it is to read your joy one episode after another.
A plot twist within a plot twist within another plot. Kate, you and Sissitrix are just brilliant
I've said it before RyGuy. This is the most productive and gratifying collaboration I've ever enjoyed. Thank you for reading us.
I'm delighted to read your comment, stay tuned, it's not going to get any better!
I'm here for it, good, bad, ugly and psychotic
I feel Sin Street is given life. The artworks are so perfectly consistent week after week that they build a picture of life in our noir universe. Anyone like noir style jazz... maybe try this on YouTube! Intrigue and Moral Ambiguity - What a great name for a Wine Bar!
https://youtu.be/PEI2zet48Uc?si=_Wx5II9PU5BECt_H
That would be a great musical accompaniment to Sin Street.
I was listening to that playlist today while writing. I often listen to piano jazz or the banjo style from Hitchhikers guide or Firefly. It’s great ambient music for writing.
Firstly, propers to Sissitrix for resurrecting the Sanford & Son pickup for use as a Sin Street vehicle! Pop & The Big Dummy would be proud! Please arrange for a limited edition die cast Matchbox or Hot Wheels version to be made of the truck and whatever Erin Mobile she uses (she needs one BTW) whenever Sin Street merch becomes a reality.
I really dig the '72 pickup/decrepit, smelly, abandoned wharf aesthetic you've got here setting up the main scenes of Episode 14. Gives this one the feel of a 1970s Charles Bronson/Michael Winner shoot-em-up crime drama with a pseudo-funk soundtrack complete w/harpsichord. Maybe even a blaxploitation flick like "Slaughter" with Jim Brown. You've both done great things with different settings over the course of this saga.
I'm loving the plot payoffs and reveals in the last few episodes--excellent stuff! Biggest surprise, and one I didn't see at all was Bliss being one of the ubiquitous (perhaps mandatory) murderers operating in Sin Street. True, I knew she was wearing thin with nervous exhaustion, and that she's ruthless and ambitious (for the record, I don't buy the "I love you" jive she's running on Erin right now--even less than I did before BTW). Candidly, I shouldn't have been shocked at her being a killer--it's a prerequisite for residence in this Universe! She's a kinkster too, which I've got no problem with at all--kinksterism and sexual adventurism/nonconformity/openness--all that--would probably lead to a less uptight society, but I digress.
Red October as an organization, rather than an individual is awesome, and I think (here I assume the prognosticator mitre) leads to more possibilities. Given their name, they have to be a terrorist/revolutionary organization of some kind--with a murder buy-in. Similar to the Mau Mau initiation in 1950s Kenya (kill an Englishman) or the Hell's Angels MC ("blood in, blood out,"--kill a man to get in, and you can only leave when you're dead). They demand fanatical obedience. There has to be some great, final, apocalyptic goal they have in mind, led by a cuckoo leader with a Messiah complex someplace, hitherto unknown, or perhaps right there among the characters we know of, or remotely situated. The Sin Street criminal orgs are a means to this ultimate political end; they seek to destroy the enterprises and expropriate the resources of the higher-ups, and kill them in grotesque ways (they've done this already in several ways)--they see the street-level crooks as deluded victims--the exploited whose consciousness needs to be raised to their true power. I think Handjob Hannah, given her proven tendency to violence, is an adherent of Red October--probably a commissar, and her girls are definitely cadres, given what they've done, and are doing--despite Erin's being involved with them. Hannah--given where she came from--would be the ideal recruit in multiple ways. Bliss fits their goals as well--she's the media, has a following, and can manipulate opinion.
Further, though the infernal machines are absent from the narrative here, it's fair to consider, given their advanced tech, Sissitrix (the character) as designer--an enigmatic figure of ambiguous intent throughout the story thus far, what role Allen and its cohorts may play in the revolutionary games (if I'm right), or if they have their own game to play against the humans, whom they've already anticipated.
So, there are my thoughts, comments, and another prophecy, given the latest twists. Far out, yes, but not totally implausible. Predictions of plot twists are the fun prerogative of pontificating fans!
Forward to Fifteen!
Hi John. Thank you for another exciting review. More in the way soon.
Far out, yes, but not totally implausible. This is exactly why I love to read your review of each article. As you understand you influence my drawings and when I read you I secretly take a side to give you rich or wrong. What will happen to Sissitrix's technology in the next episode? (I knew you'd like this pickup.)
A few thoughts on the tech did cross my mind as I read. Allen and its cohorts have reached some level of AGI--artificial general intelligence--the "god-like" version which we've all been warned of. The self-aware, planet-enslaving, SkyNet version. Though I'm the farthest thing from a tech enthusiast (if anything, I volunteer to lead the first guerrilla attack in the War Against the Machines--where's John Connor's HQ?), I've read some books about it, pro and con, and have seen the standard film and TV "nightmare" portrayals of AI. The different scenes and settings you've both presented over the saga have been very detailed and intriguing--from a tech billionaire's mansion, the horrid hole-in-the-wall where Erin was raped and tortured, the cyberpunk/biomechanical aesthetic of the pod lab, all the way to the seedy BDSM/burlesque of the Underground Club and the gritty Elmore Leonard-style of the wharf scene from this Episode.
What struck me about these was how unique they were, almost personalized. The concept of simulation theory leapt to mind. It's actually a serious issue of current philosophical discourse--the notion that our entire reality--every aspect of human existence down to the smallest detail--is simply an infinitely complex simulation run by an unknown intelligence for an unknown reason. Now if you were to take the techie-sounding terms out and make this sound less clinical, you basically get a bare-bones statement of rudimentary theistic metaphysics. In short, this is a "Matrix" scenario, but given the storyline, I got the vibe of a sort of theme park totally devoted to moral depravity and hedonism, but minus the genteel veneer you have in the HBO version of "Westworld," for instance. More like a hybrid of the hedonistic debauchery of "Westworld" and the violence and high-tech intrigue and paranoia of "Mad Max," "Blade Runner," and the first "Matrix" film--the sequels were total trash, cash grabs, and wastes of time. And as I mentioned in my general review and comments on Red October as being a possible revolutionary organization with the big-picture agenda such groups usually have--those movements often seek to impose a "simulated" version of objective reality upon a world in procrustean fashion--an imposition which often results in the deaths of millions and untold pain, suffering, and sorrow.
So, some random post-script thoughts on this pretty-damn-near-the-Autumnal-Equinoctial Sunday evening.
Hi John, I only came across this comment by luck. For some reason, I can't find it in my notifications. I find AI fascinating, particularly how it's being used in my market sector. We have the technology to create slaughter bots capable of flying through the streets we walk, monitoring social media, judging when a person is guilty of a prescribed crime (prescribed by whom?), finding that person using facial recognition and attacking them in a swarm of tiny drones carrying small shaped charges. They say the technologies haven't been assembled together for that purpose yet but I wonder how close we are to that.
Self-aware defense network computers! Cyborg assassins! Incidentally, I'm familiar with the drone tech you describe--saw a documentary about next gen weapons on one of the "military history" channel-type things. One that I found nifty and effective was a miniaturized high-explosive assault drone--disguised as a bee, wasp--indistinguishable from the real thing, down to the buzz--targeted to a specific mark--you launch it where the target is--it acquires, then attacks, attaches, burrows in and explodes with mega-force, and no one's the wiser. Same can be done for surveillance tech as well. In the pop culture world, I did see a pretty kickass fusion of old-school with this stuff in Season 3 of "Westworld." Sniper rifle which launched 4 drones as targeting devices--these things flew at high speeds into a building, marked the targets for Delores (the cyborg heroine), then flew back to her. On firing, each round was guided to every mark with a head shot--really wild! They probably have something like that now, I'd imagine. A pretty good book out there is "The Pentagon's Brain" by Annie Jacobsen--a history of DARPA, who come up with all this stuff. And "The Terminator" wasn't the first self-aware defense network computer that took over either. For that one, in film, it was "Colossus: The Forbin Project," which was a 1970 effort--a pretty good movie, though for some reason, when the ruckus about AI broke sometime last year, the movie got wiped from Netflix and stuff-it may have been restored by now, and there's tons about it on YouTube--it was based on a sci-fi trilogy by a British author (the trilogy's out-of-print, but I own copies of each book--I acquire stuff that I'm interested in, pricey though it be) in the late '60s. The facial rec software is causing a lot of problems due to civil liberties concerns. Over Christmastime in New York, there was a dust-up at Radio City--a woman was escorting her daughter's school group to the Rockettes Christmas show. The woman was kicked out of the venue by security, since the facial recognition software they had in place recognized her as an attorney for the firm engaged in litigation against the owner of Radio City--they had a policy of "no admittance" toward anyone involved in legal proceedings against them. She wasn't even on the case, but just being with the firm was enough! So it's not just government, but private industry that's becoming "militarized" in this dangerous, slippery slope way. Creepy developments indeed!
I think social scoring might be a great Sin Street plot arc for the future. I see algorithms being developed at Universities with the single intent of gathering human behavioral data and converting it into risk assessed actionable insights. Minority Report, here we come.
China already has a Social Scoring system in place--an excellent thing for totalitarian regimes to use--better tech and AI mean less overhead for the secret police, which frees up revenue and human resources for military R&D for global footprint expansion, and expansion of intelligence collection assets to advance existing tech, grow the global profile, increase the innovation, customer base, and revolutionary advantage! Yes, that's right--I've been around lots of corporate communications rah-rah types who LOVE buzzwords and slogans--does it show much?