I’m a little on the fence about the motivations. Jeph is portraying it like Corpse Witch is guilty of a great crime, when she did what Bubbles asked her to do. Bubbles probably even told her at the time, “I won’t remember how bad these memories are, so don’t give them back, even if I ask.” I get that Corpse Witch is using the memories as a hold over Bubbles, but they’re only leverage because Bubbles has changed her mind now that she no longer has the memories, and I guess I’m not convinced that Bubbles is unshakably right in wanting them back.
And yes, I think Jeph could have gotten Emily into Bubbles’s mind without the need for a devil-figure to drop in. This verges on introducing magic.
The great crime is the exploitation. CW didn’t do this out of the goodness of her heart. She made a deal with Bubbles. She would engage in illegal and immoral activity in messing around with someone’s brain, in exchange for personal slavery for 10 years. Even the Super-AI here calls it so dangerous that they don’t want to directly handle it.
Corpse Witch is basically a back alley doctor who does illegal operations on patients, and then chooses personal slavery as their payment. Yes, Bubbles only went to her because the system failed her and wouldn’t deal with her PTSD the right way. But it doesn’t make Corpse Witch not a exploitative asshole who used unethical means in order to secure free labor.
She’s also a mafia boss, basically, threatening to end people who cross her, and with contacts in the police department paid to look the other way. It’s not as if she’s been set up as a sympathetic character.
That said, I do take issue with how the exploitation works. It doesn’t really make that much sense why Bubbles wouldn’t just leave as soon as CW did her. She said she remembers what happened. So why would CW think that would be enough to keep Bubbles with her? I don’t know a single PTSD sufferer who wouldn’t make the trade that Bubbles is unwilling to make.
Heck, she’s not that far from the goal of real PTSD treatment. She knows what happened, but lacks the emotional reaction.
Still, that aside, CW is still evil for exploiting her, even if we have to suspend disbelief on how the exploitation works. It’s still exploitation to basically get a personal slave. And doing risky brain surgery, taking advantage of someone with a severe mental disorder.
As for “SpookySuit” (as some fans have dubbed the new character), while I don’t like how they were introduced, I think they are necessary for believability. You need some Super-AI that can actually handle the encryption. I’m not believing Emily could somehow crack the encryption without something going wrong.
Though, admittedly, he could have just had Station be that Super-AI, with Emily just giving him an idea, that he then sets up all this. But I’m pretty sure Jeph is setting up a new antagonist. This is an amoral Super-AI that is smarter than our biggest ally. They have no problems drugging people without their permission, and apparently operate above the law like Corpse Witch–while being a whole lot smarter.
One final thing: in case it’s unclear, SpookySuit’s use of “we” indicates consciousness. “I think therefore I am,” and all that. Consciousness only requires that you have an experience of a self that is aware of its surroundings.
I figured Emily was a Supergenius, which was the explanation for her often bizarre behavior. “A program to let satellites make FRIENDS with each other!”
I like to think she could have dealt with the technology in Bubbles’s head without Spookysuit needing to point her in the right direction.
Yeah, you’d think someone who casually makes a collapsible sweater with technology that gets seized by the government could make more of a showing than “Put giant key in giant lock”. But I guess she ain’t out yet so maybe she’ll get a chance to shine.
I take your point, and maybe we just see the degrees of wrongdoing differently. I wouldn’t say that Corpse Witch got Bubbles’ labor for free. She performed a rare and tricky service that Bubbles asked for and demanded compensation in return; service was all Bubbles had to offer. That said, while I don’t remember everything we’ve seen Bubbles doing, I agree with you that CW has presumably abused the arrangement as far as the specific stuff she has demanded of Bubbles.
You’re probably right about needing the Devil AI, and maybe it is just the manner of introduction that bothers me. I guess I assume that they’ll get something in return for doing this.
And I guess I’m ambivalent about the current surgery. If the previous brain surgery was unethical and risky, I’m not sure why the current operation is any better.
Well, their jacket is buttoned in the “female” direction, FWIW.
And yes, it’s a sort of anticlimactic denouement. Emily being chosen for the probe can be probably a matter of AIiB knowing her mind works in ways that make for just-go-with-it ease of interface vs the pugnacious or obsessive minds of others, and that being a human mind she would not be vulnerable to malware. But Jeph could have given us a page or two of build-up.
As for the “damn, nothing to see here, so long…” the AIiB probably seek to minimize contact when not actually doing their work. With their parting words they point out to her she has real friends to care for her, which is the best anyone can hope for.
So, now that it’s been established that the memories are gone (unless Super-AI lied about that), is there any reason why Bubbles can’t leave Corpse Witch’s employment?
I’ve hated this storyline since it began. It’s been clumsily written from start to finish. Hopefully, this is the end of it and I can pretend it never happened.