As far as I'm concerned, the most interesting part about this episode is the way that the manufacturers apparently have an enforced buy-back program for used Shinkis where they reset them to factory defaults, and how some Shinki resist that and form their own communities. From the perspective of the manufacturer, though, I can see why they'd want to reset all used Shinkis; who knows what happened with their previous master? I doubt most people looking for a used Shinki would want to wind up with one who had PTSD from a cruel master. Also, given that Shinkis seem to be popular presents for kids, there would need to be tighter control over what kind of Shinkis could wind up with them. On the other hand, though, resetting a Shinki is akin to killing it; that seems to point to Shinki rights not being as advanced as we first thought.

A few other things bugged me about the episode; first, where do they get the power to run the Shinkis in the slums? I see batteries, but they must have some way to recharge them (besides putting Shinkis on hamster wheels). Speaking of the hamster wheel, wouldn't it be more efficient to just draw the power straight from the slave's battery? Thermodynamics says hi.

Now for my crazy theory about how Shinkis work for this episode: Shinkis can apparently get thirsty. That leads me to believe that the "jelly" in jelly cans is actually some sort of consumable liquid coolant that can boil off at higher operating temperatures; while that makes it efficient at cooling, it also means that the reservoirs need to get refilled. Likely, the jelly is some sort of advanced mixture that has an expiration date; expired jelly has at least partially decayed chemically to the point where not only is it less effective, but might even result in buildup on coolant lines. This would cause the Shinki consuming it to run at a higher temperature than normal, resulting in slower, less efficient calculations and the chance of making errors. In human terms, they're drunk.

<i> I doubt most people looking for a used Shinki would want to wind up with one who had PTSD from a cruel master.</i>
I can think of a few people round here who might disagree with you. But then again, I'm biased.

As for power, I suspect that the underground city leeches the bulk of its power needs via induction loops hooked to the city mains. The treadmills and capstans are first and foremost torture devices, not power sources. Poor Mao and Hao.

Some interesting world building going on in this one. If one group of shinkis form their own community, I'm sure there's others out their too. How much effort do you think the companies make to track them down? It's much tougher to deal with stray pets when they're intelligent after all. Could go the Rats of NIMH approach with that, but considering how cheerful the universe tends to be it might be a 'so long as they arent bothering people' sort of deal.

And yeah, I figure they're probably tapping power lines for their juice. The entire 'slave' thing is more humiliation and payback against those that didnt have master issues. Considering Evil Euk had that arena all set up, I'm this isnt the first time she had death matches either. I'd be rather worried about anything bathing in wine, though. Shinkis are waterproofed, and Euk models are supposed to be amphibious to begin with, but that alchohol's not going to do anything good to the seals they have.

I dont think they really NEED the Jelly Can stuff, but it definitely helps supplement and can boost preexisting capabilities. They have to have some sort of cooling system, as they're supposed to be able to operate with just the cradle charge, but the coolant jelly would increase that for a while and let them operate for a longer period of time before needing to rest and cool down. (Which is about as good a reason to explain why tiny robots NEED to rest as anything else)

Now for my crazy theory about how Shinkis work for this episode: Shinkis can apparently get thirsty. That leads me to believe that the "jelly" in jelly cans is actually some sort of consumable liquid coolant that can boil off at higher operating temperatures

I distinctly remember seeing that the jelly canister said "Coolant" on one of the episodes.

Because one of the can types is coolant. There's also Nitro and Oil. They come with Ach and Yda.

Xehn wrote:Because one of the can types is coolant. There's also Nitro and Oil. They come with Ach and Yda.

Huh. So maybe Shinki can also imbibe lubricant and...high-octane fuel, I guess? Do Shinki thrusters even use fuel? I was under the impression they worked solely on electricity (and I have my own theory on how a thruster could run off electricity); maybe some Shinkis are multi-fuel capable and can run off Nitro for increased performance (at the cost of having to lug around liquid fuel)? Doesn't explain why Nitro cans would cause Ach to...I don't even know what term to use.

Klinkin wrote: Doesn't explain why Nitro cans would cause Ach to...I don't even know what term to use.

:"I'M GOING BERSERK!!"

her own words!

Klinkin wrote:

Xehn wrote:Because one of the can types is coolant. There's also Nitro and Oil. They come with Ach and Yda.

Huh. So maybe Shinki can also imbibe lubricant and...high-octane fuel, I guess? Do Shinki thrusters even use fuel? I was under the impression they worked solely on electricity (and I have my own theory on how a thruster could run off electricity); maybe some Shinkis are multi-fuel capable and can run off Nitro for increased performance (at the cost of having to lug around liquid fuel)? Doesn't explain why Nitro cans would cause Ach to...I don't even know what term to use.

"Nitro" is usually used as a fuel or intake air additive in high performance vehicles to cool the air charge and assist with a more dense combustion. I.E... more ummmphhh in the cylinder. The Nitro itself is non combustible, it just serves as basically an air density modifier and air coolant. Heat is the enemy of efficient combustion. A cooler air charge is more dense an contains more oxygen that aids in making the expanded air mass from the combustion in the engine cylinder greater, thus "moving" more air through the engine with each rotation..

So in a shinki, I would imagine it as a form of coolant in a lot of respects. Maybe some fight more efficiently if provided with this, as it helps prevent heat as well.. Or it could produce some hyper event.. like with what happened to ACH..

Just a thought.

MrHolister wrote:

Klinkin wrote:

Xehn wrote:Because one of the can types is coolant. There's also Nitro and Oil. They come with Ach and Yda.

Huh. So maybe Shinki can also imbibe lubricant and...high-octane fuel, I guess? Do Shinki thrusters even use fuel? I was under the impression they worked solely on electricity (and I have my own theory on how a thruster could run off electricity); maybe some Shinkis are multi-fuel capable and can run off Nitro for increased performance (at the cost of having to lug around liquid fuel)? Doesn't explain why Nitro cans would cause Ach to...I don't even know what term to use.

"Nitro" is usually used as a fuel or intake air additive in high performance vehicles to cool the air charge and assist with a more dense combustion. I.E... more ummmphhh in the cylinder. The Nitro itself is non combustible, it just serves as basically an air density modifier and air coolant. Heat is the enemy of efficient combustion. A cooler air charge is more dense an contains more oxygen that aids in making the expanded air mass from the combustion in the engine cylinder greater, thus "moving" more air through the engine with each rotation..

So in a shinki, I would imagine it as a form of coolant in a lot of respects. Maybe some fight more efficiently if provided with this, as it helps prevent heat as well.. Or it could produce some hyper event.. like with what happened to ACH..

Just a thought.

Makes sense; I don't know much about combustion engines, but I could see the nitro cans being something similar: an additive that increases the efficiency of the engine. I doubt you'd want to put that in the actual coolant lines, though; probably wouldn't do anything good for the seals.

Shinki thrusters probably DO use electricity .. check out NORTEL's plasma rockets for working electric rockets right the hell now.

As for jellycans, I'm going to quote from Choco's Advant Phisique book. "everything i draw must have a function" So when he created em HE certainly intended em to have beneficial effects on shinki performance.

For my 2c I figure that the shiki's abdominal area would have the volume to have a liquid storage system and can think of various uses for fluids. The most obvious is to alter the pressure and or friction in the various actuators and joints. a Nitro can may not actually contain Nitrous oxide, but may bne a liquid alter the density of the lubricant in the shinki's joints enabling it to move faster at the price of wearing the actuator out faster.
Then "oil" would restore the desnity back to normal.

I'm going to asusme any unused or replaced fluid is going into hammer space. Pixiv is unfortunately full of other options.