Locked in - Exclusive Patreon comic
A lot of ideas intersected in this one!
The Fermi Paradox of course: where is everyone in the universe?
The problem with light speed: in that once you start going faster than light the possibility of time travel exists, something which isn't covered in science fiction as often as you might think, although there are some excellent takes by the likes of Stross and MacLeod that do.
And finally, there was another way of dealing with time paradoxes that I was keen to put into play: keeping them local, rather than restarting the entire universe, or causing branches in the universal timeline.
Anyway, that was fun to think about. Hope you enjoyed my take on space war, and apologies for the complete lack of laser beams!
Comments (19)
Please make more implications of FTL comics. This one is absolutely mind blowing
Wow, very doctor who time war vibes here! Really amazing stuff
Thanks Ella! I do love a time war. Next comic going to include time hijinks as well!
Wow! Took me a while to read this one but damn if it wasn't worth the wait. This must be my favorite one yet in terms of concept. Tremendous work!
This may be your best yet. "a rat king of churning space time" is a wonderful line
Thanks Caleb! I feel like theres lots more I can do with this concept in the future too. FTL causality is such an interesting problem!
I really loved this one. Tangentially related, have you played 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel (real game btw)? This reminded me of it.
What? No? What? 🤣 Looking this up now!
Great new strip. Instantly goes into my top five BSCs! Bring on the book club./chat.
Yay - ok, will sort out how this Patreon chat business works then
We would do just that, wouldn’t we? I’m a Warhammer 40K fan and can’t help thinking that every time a human vessel makes a Warp jump it’s leaving a hole behind… More practical example might be deep-sea mining for rare earth metals. We seek to reap the benefits before contemplating the impact — we’re learning that chemosynthesis quietly and passively performed by these rare earths being left where they are is what keeps the ocean floor oxygenated to begin with. Take them away and we’re cutting off the ocean food chain at its base. I have to wonder if at the rate we’re going we’ll be seeing a drop in the biosphere’s oxygen production. Hell, Trump just ordered the destruction of two satellites monitoring atmospheric CO2, willfully blinding ourselves because there are short-term profits to be had through ignoring climate change. He’ll be dead and gone by the time the worst of it starts to hit, but he’ll be slightly richer, and that’s all that matters.
Ugh yeah, I just read that he’s ordered the destruction of those NASA satellites. Tbh I’ve been reading science fiction about the end of the world for my whole life, and I think as a result a lot of current events come as no surprise, but the one part I really didn’t expect, was just how truly farcical it would be. It’s like we’re on the clown car version of The Road.
Fantastically brilliant, and once again the dose of dread I need first thing in the morning :D
Haha, sorry about that!
Awesome. 👏🏻
A thought-provoking set of events in this comic. No lasers required! 😉
Im so used to the trope that I almost felt guilty not including any 🤣
Absolutely fantastic, as always. It made me think of "This Is How You Lose The Time War" along with episodes of the Outer Limits.
Oo ive heard that’s a good read! It keeps coming up on my recommended list!