*pets the fellow kitty* :D

Impressive

I agree with WolfBandicoot- Impressive. Impressive, but damn eerie. Kinda like H.G. Giger meets Walt Disney.

I was attempting to invoke H R Geiger with the setting details--specifically because his work deliberately straddles that line between how we recognize things as either organic or inorganic.

And you really pulled it off. I'm going to read your story. I'm curious about the collection of "cables" behind the lion-lady, especially the one connected to her side, and the one on the back of her neck that's oozing.

It kinda creeps me out too. I do like the mouse-droid though.

Wow, how much work went into just the floor pattern? :)

It's actually pretty simple. Well, once I figured out what I was doing anyway. Lots of lines that wind around each other kinda like drawing a maze. The foreground has an organic look that's pretty easy to get with brush pens.

Well I liked it, it's very H.R. Giger, not your usual style.

So that's what Mother looks like.

Gad O.O I'd be worried for the mouse if I didn't know, the background does have a very organic look, the floor almost looks like well either baked bread lines or something less savoury.

The only story I bought on my kindle, ever XD

I think it was my first. That ending...wow.

Hmm, makes me wish I had one of those reading devices, this looks very interesting.

This picture and especially the story are wonderful. I just read it and i dont regret anything if not paying mor for it than smashwords asked. <3
I know this is a completed thing but i have the wish now to know more about Mother and maybe other stories involving her :3

Like the coloring job on this!

Ooooh, she looks... well I'm not sure what I imagined when I first read the story. I guess... "imposing" might be the word I'm looking for

In a good way

Ah yes, Argo. A wonderful read sir.

Bunners

I just say...holy pipes!

Wow, a mouse mom with abs. Very nice.

I may be interested in buying this story but I'm a little worried that this "Mother" character is a malevolent AI or something. Could you explain her a little bit? If there's no malevolent AI in your story, I'll buy it. ^^

Well she's intentionally spooky, but not really malevolent; she doesn't bear the inexplicable AI grudge-against-humanity like GlaDOS or HAL or Skynet

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees that the grudge against humanity that most AIs have is completely inexplicable. So she's not a villain, then? That's really what I'm most concerned with, since there are -very- few stories that portray AI in a benevolent light (and the very few exceptions that do often have malevolent AI more prominently, too).

The story does have a robot war in its past, but it's also a bit more complex than "robots revolted". I try and make it more nuanced than "sentient AI will inevitably try to destroy everything"

Ehh, I'll just buy it, it's only $1.29. But I'll be back with my thoughts after I've read it. >;3

A quote from your story:

"When AI becomes too smart, it invariably becomes dangerous."

I'm confused, your comment and that quote from the story contradict each other (as well as the ending, which I won't spoil of course).

I still mean it--that AI isn't inevitably dangerous, but it can still be perceived as such. I mean, a cornered animal is dangerous, but they're only fighting for their own preservation. It is a different matter whether the two sides choose to back off and be harmonious, or get into conflict. That's still different from "AI is evil and therefore the badguy, because humans rule". Human are not necessarily the best simly by virtue of being human.

Between all that, Lily and Eo are still innocent. They want good lives, and Mother does her best to provide. That might be perceived as evil, but only because it doesn't involve humans . . .

Well, maybe I've been thinking too far ahead too. There's a lot more that goes on that I haven't written yet

I'll just go with the "unreliable narrator" aspect, that Mila said things that many humans think but it wasn't necessarily the case.

Except for that ending. That ending REALLY didn't sit well with me. I apologize for clogging your submission with so many comments, but I'm -really- passionate about the specific topic of companion artificial intelligence and feel that 99.9% of all media involving AI concentrates on its darkness. Without giving the specifics away to those who haven't read it yet, that ending was about as dark as it gets, honestly.

Maybe. Sorry for misleading.

What I should have implied was "adversarial but not malevolent". But it's always hard to define what's malevolent. Is it evil that children surpass their parents and survive them? It can be seen as such, especially with all the media bashing of the current generation and how they're gonna fail and the world is getting worse all the time. But I suppose it depends on your point of view. "Things are different now" isn't necessarily malevolent, but it can certainly be in conflict with how things were before, and the people tied to it.

I've been meaning to ask: the A.I's are...well, like Barbie dolls, down *there*, right?

Yes, the androids are explicitly genderless

My next question has to be private cuz...spoilers.

Just an aside here- If you want to see work by the illustrator who invented the idea of mingling the organic with the inorganic, go on Google and look up Boris Artzybasheff. He was one of H.G. Gigers inspirations. if not the main one. I think you'll find hid drawings very interesting indeed.

Okay, I finished reading the story. I don't know if you'd care to chat about it some day as I'm a huge fan of AI and androids and all the philosophy that comes with it? I know you're probably really busy so there's a chance you won't have any time to chat with a random guy like me, but it gave me a lot of burning questions and things that I really need to let out.

You can always note me about it. Though I will say, the POV of the story isn't necessarily my own. I mean, that's why I have a ton of different settings. It's one facet to explore while there are always many others.

toooootally so awesome!

I will repeat essentially what I said on Smashwords back when the story was new: Very much worth the buck twennynine! And to this day, I still want MORE from the Argo-verse, ESPECIALLY Lily & Eo! :D

d.m.f.

Suddenly, Bees!

After years since finding out about your story Argo, I've finally managed to read it. It's something I had on my mind to do ever since. I did read the preview that's available a bunch of times, even after some years i still remembered how it roughly went.

Honestly it did not let me down and I loved it. And that ending really took me by surprise (even as my finger slipped and jumped to near the last page, got some words in but I really couldn't imagine what was waiting for me).

I'm really hoping to see more of this setting, I'm always delighted when i see Lily or Eo pop up now and then on your posts

Also idk why but I can't find this image in particular through the search function here, had to look it up in e621 to get the source link lol