Comic #48

Narrator: The Genetics Quest, as it was lovingly referred to, was eventually sanctioned by the Galactic council, who mainly wanted to avoid any embarrassment associated with not having the biggest dudes in their army.

For a time, several of the largest corporations continued to duke it out with the Council, though one by one their projects all lost funding and stopped.

You see, the biggest problem wasn't that they couldn't make people really strong and fast. That was easy. It's just that the stronger and faster they made them, the less intelligent they became.

Narrator: It was several years before someone realized that even giant grunts need at least a modicum of brain activity.

Scientist: He's stopped breathing again.

Comic #47

Narrator: Humans have always been obsessed with self-improvement. This only got worse when they took to the stars.

During the course of their wars with the Aliens, they decided that their bodies were neither strong enough or fast enough to make it in the intergalactic world. It was only the ingenuity and self-sacrifice of a few that allowed them to win.

Once they had rid the galaxy of any threat, they began to modify their own genes, attempting to create the perfect human.

Narrator: Because, you know, the insatiable desire for perfection is always a good thing.

Giant Dude: (beating up some scientists) More please!

Narrator: Right?

Comic #46

Kid: So how do you get around the galaxy if you don't have a wormhole drive?

Eddie: You grew up on a corporate planet, didn't you?

Kid: Yeah, Earth. Why?

Eddie: (sigh)

Eddie: All right, make yourself comfortable. The narrator's gonna tell us a story.

Comic #45

Kid: Okay, so I'm very impressed with the boosters. But that's only good for interplanetary at best. What about the wormhole drive?

Eddie: Oh, we don't use that crap on Eclipse.

Pause

Kid: but that's the most efficient form of interstellar travel.

Eddie: Don't tell that to the Bender. She'll stab you with her knitting needles.

Comic #44

Eddie: If we're honest, we don't leave them running all the time. If we turn those collectors on full and then pass within a few hundred kilometers of a star, that will give us enough hydrogen to last for a good while.

Kid: Wait, within a few hundred kilometers? Not a few thousand?

Eddie: The closer the better.

Pause

Kid: Did I say I wanted to be the pilot? I think I must have been joking.

Eddie: What, you get burned out already?

Comic #43

Eddie: The advantage to this system is we get really solid thrust without having to lug around the mass of our fuel. One type R booster would make us fast. Three makes us uncatchable.

Kid: I assume there's a downside.

Eddie: Just take a look at the energy field cross-section of our ship.

Pause

Kid: So that's why they're called Bussards.

Eddie: I know, right?

Comic #42

Eddie: So let me explain what we've got here.

Eddie: The ship runs on three type R fusion based boosters. Our primary reactant is Hydrogen, with some helium, in it's plasma state.

Kid: You didn't mention anything during the tour about fuel storage, and the ship's pretty small. Where do you keep it?

Eddie: We don't. We gather it actively as we fly with three Bussard collectors on the front of each engine.

Pause

Kid: Aren't Bussards things you wear to make your hips really fat?

Eddie: I think that's where the name comes from, historically.

Comic #41

Eddie: So I hear you ruffled Pex's feathers a bit.

Kid: To listen to him, you'd think I ripped them all out.

Eddie: Well, don't think you're just making enemies here.

Eddie: The Boss doesn't care as long as infighting doesn't break out, and Keith will treat you the same either way.

Eddie: And me and Jackman... Honestly, getting on Pex's bad side is actually kinda endearing.

Kid: Right. Endearing. I can't see a thing.

Eddie: Pansy.

Comic #40

Kid: (to boss) I've actually flown fast freight cargo ships for a few years now.

Boss: That's good pay. Why'd you quit?

Kid: Honestly, I was bored out of my mind.

Boss: Well, that's good, then. Those ships are pretty similar to this one to fly.

Kid: yeah, that's why I was interested in the job.

Boss: Makes sense. When someone dies, we'll take a look at it. Till then, you go learn some engines with Eddie.

Comic #39

Pex: Here, why don't you take a crack at it.

Kid: Suits me just fine.

Kid Flies around wildly, making Pex float around the cabin for a bit.

Pex: (as he sails overhead) Let me guess. You've done this before.

Comic #38

Pex: There's also an active inertial dampening system, so you can change direction as fast as you like.

Pex powers forward on the controls, kid floats into the air.

Pex pulls up and the kid hits the floor.

Pex: Oh, I may have forgotten to mention that it only works at half power around the pilots station so you can feel how you're piloting.

Kid: Oh, I can feel it.

Comic #37

Pex: Well, listen up kid. We're gonna cover the rest of this quick, and then I'll give you a demo.

Pex: You control your velocity here, and your direction with this stick. The steering thruster layout is meant to mimic an atmospheric vehicle, so it's pretty intuitive.

Pex: The computer that runs this whole operation also has some automatic obstacle detection. It's not one of those AI's, though.

Pex: We generally frown on intelligence here.

Kid: Yeah, I'm getting that.