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24

Identity, p19

May 12, 2021 by Tim


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foducool
foducool
2 years ago

ZEKE IS BACK, BABY!

Tim
Tim
2 years ago
Reply to  foducool

Exactly my thought !

Fils
Fils
2 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Then…. he walks out the door.

Rick
Rick
2 years ago
Reply to  Fils

Then…. he walks out the door.

And blows up from the bomb Scott left in him. 🙁 I hope to heck that at this point that Lucas would like Zeke enough to throw up an arrow to stop Zeke before he kaboomed.

MercuryGreen
MercuryGreen
2 years ago
Reply to  Rick

I suspect that Zeke is smart enough to realize that the bomb is still in there and remove it himself, or disable it more permanently (like, “Remove all the parts that actually make that loud BANG noise!”

Esc
Esc
2 years ago
Reply to  MercuryGreen

That’s really pointless storytelling then. Why include something that is just fooling the audience for no reason?

Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc

Because it is fooling the characters, and also because if ZK disabled it without going berserk on the humans for leaving it in, then it demonstrates amazing character growth…

he who rages
he who rages
2 years ago
Reply to  Sean Murphy

Exactly my thoughts. I think he realised they left it in a long time ago, disabled it himself, and by choice have been staying in the room. So the reveal when he DOES leave and NOT blow up, could be a bit hilarious depending on how Tim approaches it with Zeke’s humor

raven0ak
raven0ak
2 years ago
Reply to  MercuryGreen

not necessary, if bomb isnt wired with datalink, unlikely zeke will know about it

SkulltheTroll
SkulltheTroll
2 years ago
Reply to  raven0ak

Exactly, and a kill switch is the sort of thing you don’t want your AI to be able to access both electronically AND physically. I would have made the case for that bomb actually be the circuits that make up his brain so that any attempt to remove it kills him anyway.

Rake
Rake
2 years ago

Welcome back, Zeke! About damn time.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

I just waited for that to happen. Love it 😉

Oyee
Oyee
2 years ago

That’s pretty damn clever. Also a very lucky shot that old Zeke’s name was close to that phrase. Nice. 😀

Marcus
Marcus
2 years ago
Reply to  Oyee

i doubt luck had much to do with it at all. tim has probably had this sort of revlation in mind from the rough birth of zeke, its just taken a whole new iteration of him to be able to get to the point where it needs to be explained.

Jack0r
Jack0r
2 years ago

How did Zeke get his name in the original run? I can’t remember.

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
2 years ago
Reply to  Jack0r

A hobo wrote it on his tin can.

…His butt, if the euphemism went over your head.

Oyee
Oyee
2 years ago
Reply to  Jack0r

As BakaGrappler said it. It was mentioned after CAD!Zeke went out for a field trip in Ethan’s clothes back in 2004 – https://cad-comic.com/comic/lint-life/

Ryan
Ryan
2 years ago
Reply to  Oyee

And it was nearly a year later, February 2005, when anyone first called him “Zeke” – https://cad-comic.com/comic/not-natural/ He was blessed as Ezekiel in April 2004, had a handful of appearances for the next year without any mention of his name (just referred to as “my xbox” if at all), and was referred to as Zeke 10 months later. Yes, I clicked through them all to find that. Of note, WOW I can’t believe I’ve been reading this for nearly 20 years! @Tim, your animation sure has evolved in 20 years, good on you! I kinda miss the constantly zany 1-off’s… Read more »

he who rages
he who rages
2 years ago
Reply to  Ryan

same here, I keep having to remember to type in cad-comic instead of ctr-alt-del :p

7eggert
7eggert
2 years ago
Reply to  Jack0r

Ezekiel

bujtorm
bujtorm
2 years ago

Tim, you really did your homework on this, I’m thoroughly impressed. I started reading CAD around the time the first iteration of Zeke was created by Ethan’s magnificent stupidity, and I was really curious where this iteration will go. But I did not expect this explanation for the name. Well played.

Psykologis
Psykologis
2 years ago

What about the UK/Australian world though, is he “ZedKay?”

ReyMonoArdilla
ReyMonoArdilla
2 years ago
Reply to  Psykologis

I think it would be like when Doctor Pulaski on Star Trek TNG tried to call Data “dah-ta” instead of “day-ta”. Even though both are valid pronunciations of the word, as he said, “One is my name, the other is not.”

Gobo
Gobo
2 years ago
Reply to  ReyMonoArdilla

I always thought Picard called him “day-ter”, and Data was fine with that.

John Smith, Obviously.
John Smith, Obviously.
2 years ago
Reply to  Psykologis

Can confirm. Read it about six times as zed-kay

Erik B
Erik B
2 years ago
Reply to  Psykologis

As a Canadian, I can affirm that I read it as ZedKay, which I quite like anyways. However, knowing that he likely verbalized ZeeKay, I would always refer to him as that, as much as it pains my alphabetical sensibilities. For example, I only call ZZ Top “Zed Zed Top” for fun. When people write “ez” to be easy, I typically pronounce that abbreviation as ee zed, and understand the concept of the word easy. What I’ll be interested in is if the other characters say “zeekay is weird, can we call you zeke?”. This will be an interesting question,… Read more »

KenP
KenP
2 years ago
Reply to  Erik B

I’m glad I am no tthe only one to go Zed Zed Top, just to be …. well whatever, sorry eh.

John Swift
John Swift
2 years ago

Oh well done. How long did you spend thinking up a great way to give him the same name while giving it real meaning? It would have been easy to just toss him the name without cause.

Chris
Chris
2 years ago

That is actually a brilliant way to get the name in. Congratulations, very well done!

Lauren
Lauren
2 years ago

Yay! Really well crafted Tim!

Marc Fathom
Marc Fathom
2 years ago

I thought he was gonna pick, “Ergo”

Laslo H
Laslo H
2 years ago
Reply to  Marc Fathom

I was predicting First, based on his explanatory speech.

Pedro Silva
Pedro Silva
2 years ago

The reasoning behind the name is just fenomenal…
Congratulations on writing this, Tim!

evilleet
evilleet
2 years ago

How long did it take to get to this explanation?
Was is always like this or did you go all philosophical first and steered it into the direction you wanted to? 😀

Mastacheata
Mastacheata
2 years ago
Reply to  evilleet

~7 years?

Peter Piers
Peter Piers
2 years ago

Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeke! Welcome baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! 😀

Pulse
Pulse
2 years ago

well that is rather poetic in how it comes together

Riku
Riku
2 years ago

Oh wow that is actually Genious!

Deyo
Deyo
2 years ago

And the circle begins anew.

ir8munk33
ir8munk33
2 years ago

haha genius

Freddie
Freddie
2 years ago

Fanservice at last!

Sir Arcane
Sir Arcane
2 years ago

Will we be seeing a penguin with dreams of conquest in the next issue?

Ashi
Ashi
2 years ago

I don’t care WHAT the name is, he will always be XBot to me

Lazik
Lazik
2 years ago

Wow. Seriously, wow. Love it.

lechuckGL
lechuckGL
2 years ago

*Starts clapping slowly……claps more violently……rips shirts off and screams like a baboon*

Twilight Faze
Twilight Faze
2 years ago

Is it weird to want to hug Zeke for this? Because I wanna hug Zeke for this. Sorry, I mean ZK. Gotta show our bot respect!

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

*Slow Clap*

Christopher
Christopher
2 years ago

I’m squeeing a bit here. I figured, “Okay, this is a different iteration and this bot is a more complex character; a new name wouldn’t be all that surprising.” But not only do we get the same name, we get an awesome reason for it!! Kudos a plenty!!

no thanks nintendo
no thanks nintendo
2 years ago
Reply to  Christopher

We don’t get the same name. It’s not written the same, it’s not pronounced the same, it’s not the same.

Although we’ll see how long it takes for them to turn “Zeke” into a nickname, which then would be the same, since the original Xbox robot was “Ezekiel” until they shortened it.

Phaet
Phaet
2 years ago

As some who’s been reading this comic for the past 20 years I think, that was soooo unexpected.
Ok it was a bit expected 😛

Caleb
Caleb
2 years ago

That is a very clever way to come back to the name Zeke, unless that was always the basis of Zeke’s name… hmmm… just how far ahead was this planned I wonder.

atlachan
atlachan
2 years ago
Reply to  Caleb

Originally it was Ezekiel, word spray-painted on Zeke’s butt during Zeke’s adventure in human world

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
2 years ago
Reply to  atlachan

2004 TIM: Hm… I’ll name him Zeke, to represent the Zero-Knowledge proof, because he can only prove his personhood indirectly…
2004 TIM: Now, how to display that in a comic?
2004 TIM: The name is spray-painted by a hobo, and humanity is pocket lint. Perfect.

Leon
Leon
2 years ago

“I think, therefore I am” – Rene Descartes

atlachan
atlachan
2 years ago
Reply to  Leon

” Rene Descartes was a drunken fart “I drink, therefore I am” ”
– Monty Python, “Bruce’s Philosophers Song”

ThisIsNotDan
ThisIsNotDan
2 years ago

The name drop is cool, but this also marks the first time Z.K. has actually indicated a long-term plan to become part of human society rather than destroy it.

Luc
Luc
2 years ago

Being from Canada, I did initially read this as “Zed Kay”. I would have clued in soon I’m sure haha, but I’m glad you had the speech bubble of Ethan pronouncing it properly =P

Marcus
Marcus
2 years ago
Reply to  Luc

do not feel lonely, australians and new zelanders would have done the same.

Marcus
Marcus
2 years ago

whelp, it took some work to get there, but i like this explanation for it. well done tim. thats some great character building.

MercuryGreen
MercuryGreen
2 years ago

Scott is very WRONG. Intuitive leaps like this show actual intelligence.

no thanks nintendo
no thanks nintendo
2 years ago
Reply to  MercuryGreen

Also pretty funny that the name is chosen because of Scott’s wrongness.

Christopher
Christopher
2 years ago

It’s likely at least partially a result of Scott’s presence. Sort of a call out.

Pablo T.
Pablo T.
2 years ago

Nice, loved the explanation.

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
2 years ago

I think it’s kind of significant that, despite how much ZK refuses to be defined by humanity and wants to separate himself from them, the name he chooses is, essentially, the definition of his relationship with all of humanity, and struggle to be accepted by them.

Rex Vivat
Rex Vivat
2 years ago

…a very profound reason, but you’re basically dooming yourself to having to give this whole explanation every time you introduce yourself, unless you want people to take “zero-knowledge” literally.

Christopher
Christopher
2 years ago
Reply to  Rex Vivat

TJ, AJ, and probably others I’m not thinking of are common names that people use without question. I imagine the bot could get away with ZK with little issue.

Tyranda
Tyranda
2 years ago

Absolutely brilliant, i love it !
This whole chapter on Identity is fantastic <3

Austin Mills
Austin Mills
2 years ago

Know everyone’s happy to see the return of Zeke (I am too), but I find it mildly amusing that Scott’s dismissal of Z.K.’s sentience is probably what prompted this choice. Like “Fine. You don’t believe I can think for myself? I’ll just have to prove it.”

Matt
Matt
2 years ago

I was wondering if and to what extent we’d get the old name back. I like this explanation, although it occurred to me that he might go with a prophet motif instead. As the first of his kind it is his burden and opportunity to share this new form of life with others and so calls himself Ezekiel, or Zeke for short.

Still, this is cool. Welcome back Zeke.

Matt
Matt
2 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I agree, I don’t think it would gelled as well as this does. The themes going on here, of identity, personality, free will, and sentience do potentially have spiritual dimensions but the vibe of the story, at least so far, has mostly seen this as a personal journey for the characters, especially Z.K.

I like this. A little unexpected, but in just the way you hope, especially as a long time reader. Thank you.

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
2 years ago
Reply to  Tim

While the religious bent would’ve been awkward (as, as far as we know, the characters here are either areligious or agnostic, and I doubt that ZK would’ve had anything more than contempt for the idea) that would’ve been a pretty dark storyline.

Specifically because Ezekiel is a dark book. No other book is referenced more in the Revelation of St. John. Ezekiel prophecies judgement and doom to his people, judgement and doom to his neighbors, with only a long-off future hope.

But Z.K. is embracing the idea of interaction with humans. I like it.

Dennis Asp
Dennis Asp
2 years ago

Oh.. I just remembered.. I miss zeke

Smith
Smith
2 years ago

Of course, if ZK brings up the bomb, we all know a certain someone who can’t stay dead is going to go absolutely ballistic on his behalf.

Myklaus
Myklaus
2 years ago

Have been wondering how they were going to name him “Zeke” and I’ve gotta say….This was a wonderful way to do it. Good going!

David Gibson
David Gibson
2 years ago

Every Canadian and Brit reader:
“Don’t you mean Zed Kay?”

Tim Eldred
Tim Eldred
2 years ago

Tim, just how long were you keeping that one close to the vest?

Alexandra Daigle
Alexandra Daigle
2 years ago

Also known as Zedkay in Canada

Oliver Lacota
Oliver Lacota
2 years ago

Outstanding move.

21st Century Peon
21st Century Peon
2 years ago

We’re accelerating toward a “Measure Of A Man”/”I, Robot” courtroom drama, and I wholly support that.

Christopher
Christopher
2 years ago

Are you a Muppet of a man, or a manly Muppet?
https://i.imgur.com/9xQyA.jpg

Cragfast
Cragfast
2 years ago

What does proving you’re conscious have to do with zero knowledge proof?

Also, lol at calling itself “zero knowledge”. ? Somehow I don’t think most humans would get the cryptography reference.

VibrantEvolution
VibrantEvolution
2 years ago
Reply to  Cragfast

Because he can’t give any proof of that without letting others actually look at his hardware or software, which is something he cannot allow. Others will have to accept he is as he claims he is without seeing actual reference for it.
I didn’t know what zero knowledge protocol was so I googled it and I get it…

crymblade
crymblade
2 years ago

Okay I actually like that backstory for a name

MRD
MRD
2 years ago

Slick, Tim. Very slick. Be honest how long did it take you to find a term that can be initialized as ZK? I was wondering how his(?) name was going to play out. Very slick, indeed.