FREE SCI-FI COMICS: DESCENDER
Ten years ago they came: nine gigantic, mysterious robots, one for each of the nine planets of the United Galactic Council (UGC). Without warning these human colonies were attacked and many people died. And then, just as inexplicably as they had arrived, the monstrous machines (dubbed 'Harvesters') vanished.
In the wake of this disaster there followed a cull of all robots as people feared that there might be some connection between their own mechanical servants and the enigmatic invaders who had brought so much death and destruction to their worlds.
A decade later robots have gone into hiding and are hunted by mercenary "scrappers". Set against them is the robot resistance known as the Hardwire who operate from a secret base to rescue their fellow cybernetic fugitives from annihilation.
The UGC military has an interest in one particular robot called Tim-21, a life-like, fully emotional child companion model obtained for the young son of miners on a remote outpost. It turns out that the "codex" of Tim-21 is similar to that of the Harvesters and may hold clues as to how to defend against them should they ever return.
General Nagoki, leader of the UGC, sends Dr Quon, who created Tim-21, to salvage the robot. Accompanying him is Nagoki's daughter Telsa. When they arrive at the mining colony they find Tim-21 plus two other robots: the pet droid Bandit (also known as 'yappy bot') and the hulking, intellectually stunted mining droid Driller. Tim-21's adoptive 'family' died during the Harvester attack, with the exception of his 'brother' Andy who was evacuated. Now a young adult, Andy has become a scrapper. Things get a little complicated when Andy is given a new contract... to eliminate Tim-21.
Descender by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen is an engaging tale with many twists and turns and some unique imagery. Here we are delving into the world of artificial intelligence and the questions of the definitions and rights of cybernetic life. The UGC's robots are all sentient, even the most menial of models, but are nevertheless worked to destruction by their human owners without a moment's consideration. Does that constitute slavery? And murder?
Tim-21 is not human in the physical sense, but emotionally he is exactly like a young boy and evokes the reader's sympathies accordingly. Each character has a distinct personality: Telsa is forthright, grim and gritty, determined to prove herself on her own terms despite her privilege, Quon is a cowardly fraud, Tim-21 is terrified and traumatised but brave and resourceful.
The worldbuilding here is excellent: the 'humans' are not all fully human, the inhabitants of each world have adapted physically to its environment and some of them look very strange indeed. Nguyen's style is loose and easy with a manga-like feel, rendered with soft washes of paint on textured watercolour paper. This creates a very fresh look, even when reading the comic in a screen. Clouds of pink, blue and purple blend into each other beautifully, especially where a spacecraft is travelling through shiftspace.
Descender is a very fleshed-out story with plenty of action and drama set in a wonderfully detailed universe. The themes are the familiar, timeless ones, however: the battle for freedom from oppression, the essential question of personhood, the consequences of pride, arrogance, betrayal and the delivery of judgement upon those who have committed the most terrible of all crimes: callousness.
It's easy to feel empathy for something that looks and acts like a ten year old human boy, but if a mechanical digger can think, feel and suffer pain will you a shed a tear if falls apart?
Zak Webber
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