Interlude 4, Page 1

Hope you guys had a happy holiday! We’re gonna finish up the Interlude this week with this classically joyful MI scene.

23 Comments

  • BittyBeans

    I really love how you can portray the atmosphere of a scene so wellp

  • Kyle

    :(

  • Avernus

    WELP my heart just broke for Bex, assuming I’m reading this correctly. All that shit Mike’s been giving her and… omg.

  • vin

    *sobs forever*

    This explains Bex’s expression when Mike’s all “Are you a good mother?” back on page 16.

    • Ben

      So…. Mike, who might be self-obsessed and lacking judgement, but is not stupid, put his finger on it after all?

      Bex is, in fact, as flawed as Mike, just in a different way. Mike tried to leave his problems behind, but brought them with him: Bex “tried to hold on to herself” as someone said earlier, but only succeeded in demonstrating that she HAD herself, with her marriage and family.

      That’s the trouble with “finding yourself”; there’s no guarantee that you will like what you find..

  • Kent

    I’m guessing she’s heading to or from the airport heading to the city with the launch site to mars. I’m curious about whether there are any parallels between Mike and Bex’s interludes. It seems like the first ones show the environments they were affected by and the second ones show the effect that had on the characters? idk

  • Emor

    Trying to place this page, three possibilities ran through my mind:
    1. The Processor has sent Bex to the surface and she’s now returning home
    2. This is an actual flashback to a previous point in time as Bex headed to Mars
    3. The Processor is inducing Bex’s memories – in order to get them Processed
    …hope this all becomes clear.

    Thanks for the wonderful storytelling, Der-Shing. It’s evident how much thought and care you’ve put into building this tale.

    • Pylgrim

      There’s no direct continuity with the previous scene. This is an interlude, which usually has been used for flashabacks to the early lives of our heroes.

      • Jac

        Flashbacks, as far as we know…

  • Well, that’s kind of a given

  • BigDogLittleCat

    Oh that sucks. I really hoped her going to Mars was a mutual, if difficult, decision between her and her husband.

  • Minando

    Oh, this is bad.
    Heartbreakingly bad.
    This alien tech thingy works with dirty tricks.

  • Ben

    I’m reading the lights of the plane, in the last panel, as this being Bex’ last attempt to contact her children before committing to the mission. She has arrived at her destination but not yet entered into the irrevocable, life-changing step..

  • T’is the season for rejection,
    Fa lala la, la, &c.

    Flog yourself for imperfection,
    Fa lala, la, la, &c.

    Wallow now in teary pressure,
    Fa lala, fa lala, la, la, la!

    Not to imply that Bex is actually wallowing, but the 3rd verse wrote itself.
    Also, 3 nights of increasingly broken sleep. Yay narcolepsy!

    • heh

      I like this

  • Tomas

    She may have ended up divorced without custody of her children, then decided “what the heck” to a mission to Mars given she’d lost everything. In which case ‘are you a good mother’ is kind of … well… rude and presumptuous and mean, to say the least.

    • Sheridan

      If the rest of Bex’s family didn’t want to go to Mars, then, since she was planning on staying, a semi-amicable divorce is probably the best option, as it allows those ‘left behind’, in particular her husband, to get on with their lives.

  • Luces

    A bad relationship between parents and children hurts like hell, often on both sides. Tragically this flaw is all too often passed on to the next generation!

  • CharlesW81

    Is it just me or is there no steering wheel?

    I’m thinking driverless cars for the future to the extend of no manual override… or the manual override pops out of the console if required or something, but a nice touch if leaving the steering wheel out was intentional.

    • shingworks

      Haha, yeah it’s driverless. I got to sit in one at the computer history museum near where I live, the interior was basically just seating and storage (and no wheel)… I really liked how clean everything looked in there.

  • Android 21 3/7

    In spite of what was said, I can’t help but wonder if the kids actually would have wanted to talk her her. The father might have chosen for them without even asking, you know. Partially out of wounded spite and partially out of the idea that it’s best to distance the kids from their mother so they could get over it faster. Not saying that’ll work, but human logic is hardly perfect.

    • Dreadogastus

      “..human logic is hardly perfect.” *snort, chuckle* Oh yeah. Applying logic to an emotionally charged situation. That always worked well for me.

    • Astronaut

      I was thinking the same.

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