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9 thoughts on “540 – Trick Hello”

  1. Scarsdale

    Called it, she figured he’d do this, if by choice or by zombie voodoo. I’m sure the “friendlier” questioning will start soon, if she doesn’t just kill him out-right. Or just add him to the herd.

  2. Crazyman

    Gotcha! 😉

  3. Zombatar

    This turn of events is a surprise only to Eustace. And, maybe, Eustace’s subconscious. After all, this way he doesn’t have to actually risk actually attacking Suzie, which gives him a greater chance of survival than actually attacking her. I wonder what he was promised/threatened with?

  4. ConcordBob

    Not to nit-pick, but since sights are on target, finger should be on the trigger. Especially this close.
    The usual rule is “keep finger straight and off trigger until sights are on target”.

  5. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Not to nit-pick, but since that was current philosophies regarding trigger discipline have evolved.
    Of course, it will depend on who you get/got your training from.
    Experiments have determined that the fraction of a second to go from finger off the trigger to finger firing when appropriate is insignificant, and the risk of firing unintended is greatly reduced.

  6. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    I did the google thing and I believe I saw how you reached this conclusion … but there are two parts to it – One should not omit the second part.
    “Trigger Finger Discipline: · The practice of keeping your finger “off the trigger” until your sights are on target AND YOU ARE READY TO DISCHARGE THE FIREARM.” (Caps are my own)

  7. Crazyman

    She wants him alive so she can question him; otherwise, he’d already be dead. 💀

  8. ConcordBob

    Good discussion on trigger discipline!
    His skin is very pale / gray. Is this malnourishment, or has he been poisoned with a mind-control drug? I would have to go back and look a t all various of skin tone.

  9. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Now can we satisfy my curiosity? Colt, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, or other timeline variant?

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540 – Trick Hello
Posted on February 26, 2025 by Dawn

Suzie hearkening back to the last time Eustace was faked out. She probably regrets not being able to sneak the Lawn Ranger into the bedcovers to be the victim of the stabbing.

And with that, it's Episode 23 time! Welcome back to the Ranch, everyone!

Technological timelines…

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Clint
The start of Episode 15 comes with the reminder that The Exec is still watching, and that he (well, technically ClearStream) has a satellite. A perk you don’t often see in post-apocalyptic zombie fiction. The fact ClearSteam has access to one still in operation is a pretty big indicator of the power they wield. Of course its presence would beg several questions, such as whether there’s still some sort of space program going on somewhere. Texas certainly is no slouch on those terms in our modern era, but the easier answer I always went with is that it launched shortly before everything went to hell. This might also beg the question both of timing, and just why a communications satellite has high-resolution spy cameras on it. Or if knowledgeable people wanted to get really pedantic on me, they could point out that the maximum “life expectancy” of even a geostationary satellite is around 15-17 years… so if this particular specimen launched prior to the Zombie Wars, how is it still functioning? Sure, I’ve kept exact timelines vague, but given Suzie was born a post-war Repop and is now an adult, that’s pushing it, right? Now in theoretical response I could just say “shut up and enjoy the comic, nerd” — but being a nerd myself, I would rather weasel about until I find some answer that works, even if it working depends on making shit up. You know: the Star Trek method. This is where having your setting be in “the future” even before the apocalypse happened is a huge plus, because what we’ve seen with the camera drones alone requires a level of active camouflage, anti-gravity and long-lasting portable power that doesn’t quite exist yet (as far as we know). True, the AAVDRO units were debuted after the Wars began, but does that mean their tech wasn’t already developed in secret? Now with satellites, the operational life is measured as a matter of fuel used for repositioning, which is why those lower in the atmosphere have much shorter “lives” as they have to burn fuel from time to time just to prevent orbit decay. The higher up ones like the communication sats don’t need to do this but still need to change orientation occasionally — other than that, the lenses and electronics involved are considered to have a much longer life expectancy than a couple of decades, barring unforeseen malfunction. So hey, if you solve the fuel problem, then it would follow that with a little luck and foresight, two decades of operation isn’t so out of the question anymore. Therefore, with just a little applied phlebotinum we are back on track and I am satisfied. All of this in the background of course since in terms of the story, well… us nerds should probably just shut up and enjoy it. And yes, The Exec seems content to use this technological advantage to fiddle around with a handful of ranchers. I suppose that says a lot about him, too, doesn’t it?