Q: How can I contact you?
Q: Will you [insert verb] something for me?
A: I’m generally too busy to do requests, but at any time you can go to the About Me page and order a commission. I predominantly accept payments via PayPal, but depending upon the situation, we may be able to work something out.
Q: What happened to the Enpitsudo Dojo?
A: To put it plainly, I got tired of it. The original concept was a teenage whim from high school and I’ve finally seen the need to do something a bit more professional. Granted, it’s not a huge step forward, but it’s something. More than anything, this is a massive reorganization.
Q: What’s up with the color scheme? It’s kind of weird...
A: You’re probably just used to the Dojo’s earth tones, or the simplicity of black-on-white/white-on-black that most websites use. I wanted a design that was easy on the eyes, which is why everything is in cool colors.
Q: What will happen to all the cool projects you had going?
A: Original content, particularly artwork, will be taking a greater role. But as you can see by the site navigation, A Ninja in 20XX and my DBZ fanfiction will remain important projects. Assorted other features will be grouped together and put aside, if not ended outright. The ultimate goal is to prioritize what I spend my time on.
Q: How come you never finish anything!? Stop having new ideas and get some work done dammit!
A: As much as I'd like to, I'm just too ambitious for my own good. It's a self-destructive tendency of mine.
Q: May I link to you? Will you link to me? Want to be affiliates?
A: Yes, maybe, doubtful. If you want to link to me, feel free to take a button from the Links page and put it on your site. When it comes to linking, it depends on whether or not I think you have something on your site worth the effort. As for affiliates, I’m not really interested. It usually results in little more than a bunch of buttons taking up space on my pages and I don’t see the benefits.
Q: Where did the moniker ‘Son Goharotto’ come from?
A: If you're asking this, you must not be a Dragon Ball Z fan. The name is a combination of Gohan and Goku's Saiyajin name of Kakarotto. During the Buu Saga, Goku decides to use the Potara earrings with Gohan, but his doofus of a son misses the catch. Anyhoo, that name comes from "what if Goku and Gohan really did fuse?" Sadly, I wasn’t blessed with childhood friends who thought up clever nicknames for each other.
Q: How did you get so good at [insert verb]?
A: ‘Good’ is an awfully subjective term, but whatever skill I may have developed is the result of study and practice. I make a point of learning from other artists and adapting my own style as necessary.
Q: What’s the difference between Apprentice, Kaiteihan, and Homeland?
A: Apprentice is the old first story arc of ANi20XX. The 16-bit sprites were ugly, the plot was recycled, and I used a lot of the cliché fancomic conventions. Homeland saw a switch to prettier 32-bit sprites and a new, complex plot. Kaiteihan is a revision of the first arc using better sprites and story, which will become the canon. Apprentice remains archived for the sake of my early fans.
Q: Can my character be in your comic?
A: Depends on if there's a place for it. Your sprite bittage and history have to be flexible enough to work into my story. I’ll occasionally have a casting call when I need for cameos, most of which are for one-shot characters who fill a short role, so there’s less I have to sprite myself. Worst comes to worst, just send me your character and I'll let you know.
Q: Can I use [insert character] in my comic?
A: Most likely, the answer is no. However, I have loaned out Kagemaru in the past to appear in comics where he fits in and can be a useful character. Once again, tell me about your comic and I'll let you know.
Q: What are the Laws of Robotics?
A: The Laws of Robotics are a series of behavioral rules that apply to robots just as humans have laws. For the purpose of my comic, it's not hard-wired into robots, but does act as a guideline for how they should act (with certain exceptions) in order to preserve a safe and productive relationship between humans and robots.
The Laws are as follows: (1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. (2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. (3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. There is a theoretical "Zeroth Law" that is extrapolated from the three laws and modifies them which states: "A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm."
Q: What are Nanites?
A: Nanite is the short-hand term for nanomachine. In layman's terms, they are extremely small robots programmed to act with a hive mind, much like ants or bees. They have no central processor to speak of and are guided by a very specific signal transmitted only by the host machine. Nanites are so small that they can work with raw elements and assemble materials at the molecular level.
Q: What is the International Robotics Commission?
A: The IRC is a multi-national association which sets regulations for the burgeoning industry of semi-autonomous robots. The central council is comprised of thirteen commissioners from different countries, chosen for their respective expertise in the various fields of robotics, that lead their fellow scientist across the globe. The council operates democratically and candidates are elected to position based solely upon credentials. The IRC does not have the power to enforce its own laws and instead relies on cooperation from the United Nations and other national governments.
Q: What is the Satellite Teleportation Network?
A: A network of satellites encompassing the planet set up in the mid-21st century for the sole purpose of near- instantaneous global transportation via the dematerialization of matter at one location into an electronic signal and subsequent rematerialization in another location. The satellites are operated by interior super computers in conjunction with a terrestrial access network. No "sending" or "receiving" platform is necessary. However, it was quickly proven that this process is too dangerous for organic lifeforms. The IRC picked up this project from its originators to be farmed out so its members could use it for teleporting robots. However complex a robot like Megaman is, he is infinitely less complex than a human and can be teleported safely. The STN is restricted from public access, but a private industry license may be granted.
Q: What are the Cybernetic Bondsman Guidelines?
A: The CBG is a treaty co-drafted by the IRC and the United Nations that effectively releases robotic bounty hunters from certain legal constraints in the interest of expediting their work, but every applicant must pass a rigorous screening. Kagemaru isn't the only robot given this freedom. Megaman is also signed for the CBG, but he places a high value on all life. To kill would go against his personality, not just his programming. Kagemaru has no such qualms.
Q: What is Tripitaka Incorporated?
A: Tripitaka Inc. is the world's largest mass producer of nanomachines as well as countless other products for infrastructure and industry. They also have an exclusive contract with Dr. Nobuhiro Takagi and they fund virtually all his scientific endeavors. It was established in the late-20th century by Chinese roboticist Xuanzang, who also serves on the central council of the International Robotics Commission.
Q: What is the PSIA?
A: Public Security Investigation Agency, a satellite branch of the Japanese Ministry of Defense. Established in 1952, it has 43 field offices and is tasked with enforcing the Subversive Activities Prevention Law aimed at violent activists and 'disruptive' organizations. In layman's terms, the Japanese FBI.
Q: What is the difference between robots and Reploids?
A: There are two key differences between robots and Reploids. The first difference is physical manufacture. Robots are built with the same methods as any other machine. Some are designed like industrial vehicles while others are humanoid, but all use conventional mechanical technology. Reploids are created through biomechanics--the method of crafting robotic parts to operate like human organs, but with artificial materials instead of living tissue. Due to this, Reploids can operate far more efficiently than robots, but experience fatigue and hunger as humans do. They can even bleed because of a circulatory system of operative fluids laced with nanites.
While this isn't always the case, it is the second difference between robots and Reploids that is the deciding factor, and that is psychological programming. Robots can be anywhere between controlled by a human operator to semi-autonomous. Semi-autonomous robots are programmed to emulate humans based upon a detailed personality matrix, but are also restricted to acting within that guideline. A robot programmed to act like a ten-year-old boy cannot act like anything other than a ten-year-old boy*. He can learn, but cannot mature. Conversely, Reploids have a program so complex that they possess free will. They can make their own decisions, feel their own emotions, and craft their own personalities based on their own experiences. They are not bound by any rule or law unless by choice, as humans are.
This is due to the X-factor which was discovered by Dr. Thomas Light and is the namesake for his greatest creation: Megaman X. The X-factor is the element of the human conscious that allows for sentient thought, distilled into a line of computer code. Because of its sheer complexity, the X-factor is subject to behavioral anomalies which in Reploids is called Maverickism. Just as some humans are mentally unstable, this Maverickism manifests as a loss of inhibitions to an extreme personality change, either way including a disposition to inappropriate violence. The X-factor is by no means perfect, but effectively enables what would ordinarily be a simple robot to become fully-autonomous.
* Not everyone is aware of this, but Megaman is indeed programmed to be a ten-year-old boy. Due to his efforts to combat Wily, Megaman has developed a moral understanding and tactical ability that is beyond most real-life ten-year-olds (and even most adults). You'll notice that in the comic, he still acts somewhat childish and simple-minded.
Q: What is the Inverse Ninja Law?
A: The Inverse Ninja Law states that as the number of ninja working in a group increases, their individual effectiveness decreases. Put more simply: the more ninja there are, the easier they are to defeat. I'm not sure who coined this phrase first, but I believe it first became wide spread after the debut of Ninja Scroll. More specifically, the scene where a good hundred or so ninja couldn't stop Jubei from getting to Genma's ship. This law can be seen in effect in countless anime and movies. It's really just a gag, so don't take it too seriously.
Q: What's up with all the ninja magic in a comic about robots?
A: The whole concept of Ninpo ("the ninja arts") in the comic comes from Naruto, quite possibly the best ninja manga/anime ever. Anyway, here's the short and skinny on how Ninpo works. There are three different types: Taijutsu (martial arts), Genjutsu (hypnotism, illusions, etc), and Ninjutsu (everything else; elemental spells, summoning, etc). Without going too much into the specifics (check a Naruto fansite for that), Ninpo requires seals (special hand signs) and chakra (manipulated ki) to work.
This is where the comic blurs the line between humans and robots. An ordinary robot can't focus chakra because they don't have a true life and thus no ki (life force). But ninja robots like Shadowman have an artificial Inner Coils System (chakra veins), which isn’t much different from electric power lines. Kagemaru blurs this line further, because he's biomechancial. His body is a perfect artificial copy of the organic human body, so he possesses his own true Inner Coils System even though he's still technically a robot.
Q: Since Kagemaru (mkII) and Hikari are designed to resemble human biology, does that mean they age?
A: Nope. Humans age because the cells themselves are in a constant state decay. "Growing up" is just the period when we make new cells faster than we lose them. But the older we get, the more we lose cells faster than we can make them. In the case of biomechs, particularly Kagemaru and Hikari, they are designed with artificial components that mimic living tissue. However, that only applies to organ functions. On the cellular level, they're still made of raw elements; metals and polymers and whatnot. Nanites can operate like cells to a certain degree, but they're still only machines. Therefore, biomechs do not age the same way as humans. They can wear down like any ordinary robot, though stressful activity and neglect of maintenance. But in ideal conditions, they're practically immortal.
As far as my comic is concerned, there are two central components that are absolutely necessary to a particular robot or biomech's existence: the mainframe (brain) and power core (heart). Current technology can create a power core that can last for centuries, if given proper maintenance. However, the mainframe is so advanced that it's too delicate to be tampered with after the initial setup. It's not like a hard drive that you can remove from your PC and set up elsewhere. If the mainframe is deprived of a power source, the data is essentially lost. Any attempt at recovering the robot's personality and memory programming would result in an incomplete system architecture. In addition, the best robots like Megaman and Kagemaru grow beyond their initial programming (something which is alluded to in the games). If any of that data were to be lost, what made that "person" an individual would no longer exist. So in this way, robots and biomechs are still very much mortal. Destroy the core and the mainframe becomes a useless jumble of circuits and wires.
