Originally published May 8, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
Zeb Larson reviews Descender #3…
After the shocking conclusion of issue 2, Quon and Telsa arrive at the Colony, but they may be too late to save TIM-21’s memory. Meanwhile Driller continues his rampage and TIM’S AI has a strange encounter.
This issue of Descender is an exploration of Tim’s consciousness and the extent to which he has a mind like a human’s versus a mind like a computer. While Tim lies dying and Dr. Quon works to save him, we learn a little bit about what Tim means to the Harvesters as well as to his fellow robots. This little piece of information only raises a great many more questions though, especially for his creator. I will be discussing spoilers in this review, so only read on if you’ve already read the issue or don’t mind having it spoiled.
Tim wakes up from his system to failure to find himself in a desolate wasteland, though it is inhabited by other robots. Captain Tesla reminds Quon that Tim’s link to the Harvesters also links him to the Harvesters, though he turns the tables by asking her why she was special enough for this mission. When Tesla and Quon arrive, they first subdue the mining drone and then go to work trying to save Tim. While Quon works on his body, Tim meets a robot named Eraz who was a kitchen robot destroyed by humans after the Harvester attack. Tim then meets an enormous gathering of other destroyed robots who refer to themselves as The Harvested. They implore him to find them and save them. When Tim wakes up, he remembers Dr. Quon and tells him what he saw. Dr. Quon reminds him that he cannot dream.
More and more, it seems clear that Tim is occupying an uncomfortable space between the robots and the humanoids, a hybrid between the two. Tim’s dream sequence or out-of-body experience drives this home visually. Every other robot looks exactly how you would expect a robot to look: mechanical, cold, and inhuman. By contrast, Tim appears to be organic, and his childlike appearance sets him apart from the other robots. He doesn’t even speak like them. They want Tim to be their savior, but he’s not exactly one of them. Is it because he’s more human? This should make for an interesting dynamic in subsequent issues.
Of course, learning that Tim is supposed to be some kind of messiah figure leaves us with a lot more questions than answers. How is Tim going to upset the established order, and what does the UGC hope to do with him? Tesla says at one point that the Scrappers must be Gnishys, who our appendix notes are radically anti-technology and opposed to robots. How will the death of the Scrappers in the last issue affect the balance of power between the various planets, and will Gnish really accept a Tim model being allowed to just walk around? How will Quon react to their long-term goals, which as yet he has not been privy to? And lastly, where are the Harvested and how can Tim help them?
I’m hoping that the next issue really dives into the politics again, as we’ve now spent two issues on Tim’s rescue. Tim is about to inject a hell of a lot of chaos into an already fragile system, which should make for good reading.
Zeb Larson
https://youtu.be/8HTiU_hrLms?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
