Strip 600 -- First Seen: 2010-12-24
Escape From Terra is updated with new pages every Monday through Friday.

Halfway there!

The Kickstarter campaign to print the next volume of Quantum Vibe: Novo Palermo - Part 1 is now halfway to our goal. We need your help getting the rest of the way there. Tell your friends, family members, and your pets to back our campaign.

Every little bit helps! The campaign ends midnight (US central time) November 18. So there's still time to get the word out, or maybe add another item to your current pledge.

Your reward for backing our campaign starts with a personalized signed copy of the perfect bound printed collection of the online strip. You may also choose the ebook edition, a PDF downloadable from DriveThruComics.

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QV on a short break

QUANTUM VIVE is taking a break for a few weeks, as we prepare for Part 2 of the Novo Palermo story, and also for a Kickstarter campaign for Part 1, which will start in September.

In the meantime, Not-Safe.Space will continue, as a murder mystery begins and the relationship between Eithne and Diana develops in unexpected directions.

Not-Safe.Space is a NSFW strip but more than half the pages are SFW so I've set those to *not* require a Patreon membership. Readers should be able to follow the story without seeing the NSFW pages. If I've done this right.

The Transcript For This Page

Panel 1
At the cafe, Pablo claps his hands, applauding Merry.
Pablo: Congratulations again, Merry.
Pablo: I said we were pack animals, to a degree.
Pablo: Luckily, to a degree we are also not pack animals.

Panel 2
Medium close-up of Pablo, about to take a bite of pie.
Pablo: We have both drives within us.
Pablo: We all have to choose which road we will travel.

Panel 3
Two-shot of Merry and Pablo at the table. You can make this a silhouette shot if you like but leave room for the extra dialog.
Pablo: Each of us has these contradictory feelings within us – a desire to have power over others, or a desire not to.
Pablo: 'Good' people eschew power over others, most of the time. 'Bad' people tilt toward control – or submission to control – most of the time.

Panel 4
Medium shot of Merry, poking at her pie slice with her fork, glancing up towards Pablo.
Merry: So I guess that makes me a 'good guy.' I don't want to control anybody but myself.
Merry: But what about the boys?


Panel 5
Pablo is about to take a sip of his coffee.
Pablo: Back in the old USA, libertarians used to say, 'anyone who wants to be President is automatically disqualified.'
Pablo: And here you are to prove them wrong – the President who does not want the job.

Panel 6
Marry looks thoughtfully into her own coffee cup.
Merry: Okay, I get it. Lawrence and Kinko have … uh … 'adopted' me as their leader, as their Alpha.
Merry: Once their debts are paid, I'll 'manumit' them.
Pablo: You're not listening. These guys are comfortable as Betas.

Panel 7
Pablo looks levelly at Merry.
Pablo: You cut them loose, they'll just find another Alpha – maybe another Morris.
Pablo: If I were you I'd try to be a benevolent dictator and lead them down the path of righteousness … and hey, someday you may want to have somebody whacked.

Panel 8
Merry looks indignant. Pablo laughs.
Merry: Pablo!
Pablo: Geez, Merry, you really have to work on your sense of humor problem.