There's not a whole lot to do out here on Dirtball.
Transcript
Talita: Not right now, though, please.Gillie: (ASL) Now we have more excuses to visit you.
Idrisah: (ASL) It’s important we remaining residents stick together!
Talita: Yeah… It can get pretty lonely out here.
Inset Panel: The barren surface of Dirtball.
Gillie: (ASL) Are you two more interested in the bug ferret soap opera now that the TV is muted?
Idrisah: (ASL) The audio is only part of the problem!
The TV screen shows The Dragon victorious, the subtitles reading "I'm very pleased to claw this victory away from Claws..."
Time passes, the lights-out chime sounds out at 20:00.
SFX: BIIIIING BOOONG
28 thoughts on “Runaway to the Stars: Page 55”
notanocelot
Hopefully working at dirtball gives some good vacation days. Can’t imagine working in such an isolated environment for multiple years at a time.
Blorboson
The Dragon deserves a medal just for that winning speech tbh.
dokki
I failed to consider that there wouldn’t be much recreation on Dirtball. Especially given the low population of long-term residents, things like game nights would be difficult to organize if you weren’t best friends with half the population.
Curona
In the background of several panels we can see what appear to be 3D printers of some kind (not to mention the 7 Benchys on this page alone). What are the capabilities of 3D printing in this time? Can they make basically anything as long as the correct materials are provided (a la Star Trek replicator), or are there still hard limits that cannot be crossed? Can the resources harvested from the scrapyard be converted into 3D printing materials? How much of the recycling station’s resources need to be imported and how much can be made onsite using the harvested supplies?
Can Dirtball residents buy or otherwise obtain these raw materials for their own use?
Lots of questions to ask: Did Talita design and make her own furniture that can accommodate her large frame, or was she forced to import them from off-site?
Nadg
The author said that meat can be printed with specialized equipment (like today but with much higher resolution), but no living things. I’d assume recycling materials is easy and common on dirtball (that’s what the scrapyard is for) but how much is imported is unkown.
rdm
I was going to say it is funny to see IKEA is still the default furniture for apartment living.
Then I realised that what I am probably seeing is convergent evolution. IKEA have gotten pretty good at transport volume and mass minimisation. It is likely that anything being shipped out there is going to end up looking similar, because of similar constraints.
Spinland
I like this take.
0xabad1dea
not sure what’s funnier – that people still use benchy boats to calibrate their 3D printers, or that they still turn into wiry messes 1/7th of the time
Redacted
Guys it’s Bing Bong again!
Chrysalis
How is it already Bing Bong again?
evileeyore
BING BONG already? But I’m not sleepy yet!
waterfan2
So I don’t watch wrestling shows. Is that a typical line? Because it’s so terrible it deserves its spot in the record books involving ‘It was a dark and stormy night.’
Also I was rooting for ‘Claws.’ Oh well.
Mark
I’ve seen some pro wrestling and I can say that yes, this is pretty par for the course, and it can get way, way cornier than this
RavenWorks
transcript error; “longterm residents” vs “remaining residents”
AnormalADN
The Dragon being cheeky haha
Gyro
I LOVE YOU TALITA I LOVE YOUUUUUU
Comito
What’s that gadget on the right side of the entertainment center?
SIGSTKFLT
Plugged in to the TV? Stick PC, visible on page 48.
Comito
No, to the right of that.
Tumorhead
I think it’s an internet modem / wifi router / node thing
Claire
Are those boxes of dry goods above her fridge?
I wonder what kinds of dry goods an obligate carnivore keeps…
hal9000
probably vitamin/mineral supplements for nutrition. jay also mentioned she sometimes eats chalk for her bones and antler growth
Claire
Oh man, good taste. I love eating chalk
Amanda/OwlBear
love the whole load of little ships, are they 3d printer test print ships? they kinda look like the ones i see on 3d printer youtube
SIGSTKFLT
Benchy! We talked about them in the comments a few pages ago. By the time of RTTS that model is, like, ancient history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3DBenchy
whirly
shoutout to talita’s fucked up benchy in the corner of shame away from the other benchies
Peter Jensen
Some failures are spectacular enough to be worth holding on to. A colleague of mine has a piece from a cheese mold press conveyor system on his desk. It’s a hefty chunk of stainless steel bent in a rather tortured way. A good reminder of the forces involved and why you don’t get in the way of them.
evileeyore
I have similar “souvenirs” from working in a steel yard, but mine are all scars. Scars are good though, it means you were lucky enough to be able to walk away when something went wrong.