Author notes

249 - The Trap

El Cid

on Aug. 30, 2018

Ah, those poor security goons, fell for the oldest trick in the book: the old stuff-the-dead-guy-with-exploding-robots trick. I'm pretty sure that was in Sun Tzu.

Also, before anyone tries to revoke my science license, I should point out that while this comic does try to stay within the realm of plausible science when it comes to worldbuilding, this comic is not above promulgating unrealistic tropes where they prove plot-convenient. In this case, it's the beloved “Explosions Don't Shred You To Bits; They Just Throw You Around” trope. In reality, of course, being this close to a swarm of exploding bomb-bots would do more than just throw our bumbling security goons across the room; it would also pepper them with shrapnel, jellify their internal organs, and likely rip their bodies apart in the process. But in my defense, I could always argue that they have some kind of cybernetic enhancements which protect them from that, them being security goons and all. Also, Zamor at least may have been shielded from the blast by that much-less-fortunate (former) Docking Authority employee whose body actually did get blown apart, possibly taking the brunt of the shockwave and saving her compatriots in the process.

Also, at least one of the guards appears to be using her jetpack to escape the blast. This leads to an obvious question:





Well, according to the informatively titled website The Reality of Running Away From Stuff, the shockwave of an explosion in air travels at approximately 2,380 meters per second. For comparison's sake, a typical 125 grain bullet fired from an AR-15 rifle travels at roughly 675 meters per second. So, jet pack or no jet pack, if you can't outrun a bullet, you can't outrun an explosion. If you actually could escape that fast, your own acceleration would kill you.

So, if a bomb's about to go off nearby, you're better off trying to get behind something or drop to the ground and cover your ears rather than trying to outrun the explosion. That only works in the movies. In real life, explosions don't happen in slow-mo!