S.O.N.A.I.S. Webcomic Story Arc Index
The SONAIS comic is divided into separate storylines, chapters, arcs, or whatever you prefer to call them. These can span between a few weeks and several months; the longer ones are divided into chapters.
This is an index of where each storyline begins, so you can jump to the start or end of a particular story arc right away, or freshen up your memory of what has happened in the recent or distant past.
1. The Beginning
[1] 2023-10-17 to [9] 2023-11-14
Where it all begins. A team of 4 people starting an AI-focused service company called ‘SONAIS,’ moves into their sort-of freshly furnished office building. It soon becomes clear that a fifth colleague would be a welcome addition though…
2. Deletium Redux
[10] 2023-11-17 to [26] 2024-01-12
The previous occupants of the office building left behind various things, amongst which some small containers marked as ‘Deletium.’ What seems a bad joke at first, turns into a race against time when the content of one of the containers escapes. An unlikely ally helps avert disaster.
3. Quality Assurance
[27] 2024-01-16 to [42] 2024-03-08
After the Deletium adventure, things are back to business as usual—mostly. After some shenanigans from Adil, it becomes obvious that our startup company could use an extra colleague focused on Quality Assurance and processes. Another vacancy is posted, and the team ends up 6 strong. Like each of the other colleagues, the newcomer Zhang proves to have his own special quirks.
4. Security Shenanigans
[43] 2024-03-12 to [48] 2024-03-29
Sort of a short intermezzo loosely touching upon the topic of ‘security,’ both in I.T. and in general. Adil is not quite happy when being offered the most secure computer possible.
5. Faceworld
[50] 2024-04-02 to [86] 2024-08-06
A large corporation plans to spice up their ‘Faceworld’ theme park, situated in the middle of a desert, by throwing A.I. into the mix. What could possibly go wrong? The S.O.N.A.I.S. company is one of the contractors to help with implementation, but they are bound by a stringent need-to-know basis. When the first trials of the new system begin, something goes awry and all communications are interrupted. This leads to part of the S.O.N.A.I.S. team having to go on-site, where they will need to know more than they probably ever wanted…
- Chapter 1: Prelude/Arrival:
The SONAIS company learns about their new assignment and starts working together with other contractors. When the theme park begins their first trials of the new system, communication is lost after receiving what appears to be a distress call. A mysterious clause in the contract sends Max, Zhang, and Heidi (sneaking along OIB-A271) on-site by means of a hovercraft ride through the desert. - Chapter 2: Something Wrong:
After arriving at Faceworld, our team heads on foot towards the control center, where a small crew is supposed to be running the trial. They discover autonomous robots roaming the park, armed with guns, shooting everything that looks like a human face. When trying to leave the park to seek help, they find their hovercraft pilot fallen victim to one of the robots, hence their only option is to reach the control center after all. - Chapter 3: Survival:
By covering their faces, the team avoids being targeted by the robots. When they reach the control center, they discover that the antenna array was covered by a billboard displaying faces, hence has been destroyed, explaining the loss of communications. The park crew lets them inside the control center, where they learn what happened, although the reason for why it happened remains unclear. - Chapter 4: Remedy:
The team starts to investigate the software and finds suspicious things, possibly hinting at foul play. After figuring out how to make the robots safe, they regain control by activating a back-up antenna, a task for OIB-A271. With the link restored, the robots can be reprogrammed and disabled. Our team criticises the crew's decision to cover up the death of the hovercraft pilot, but reluctantly agrees due to the park management's powerful allies. They do get a compensation in the form of some unusual hardware from a mysterious company called Quantuple. - Chapter 5: Conclusion:
One of the park crew members can pilot the hovercraft, offering a way for our team to return home. During their walk back to the station, they encounter another nasty surprise which again shows that components of park attractions seem to have been deliberately swapped. Back at the office, the team debriefs, trying to explain what happened despite the many unknowns. Despite their promise not to make the events known to the public, they do intend to figure out who could be behind it, and there are hints that the Quantuple company may be involved.
6. Back to Normal
[87] 2024-08-09 – [93] 2024-08-30
After the Faceworld adventure, the team waits for the promised quantum machines to arrive. In the meantime, things are back to normal at the S.O.N.A.I.S. office, at least within the limits of what could be considered normal in a company like this.
7. Quantum Questions
[94] 2024-09-03 – [100] 2024-09-24
The workstations that had been promised by the Faceworld crew finally arrive. Yet, besides one faint glimmer of hope, there is still no obvious hint about the identity of the suspicious Quantuple company that provisioned the machines, or what their motives were for sabotaging the park attractions.
8. Captain Subtext
[101] 2024-09-27 – ongoing
Heidi combines her inventor skills with the new hardware from the Quantuple workstations, and ends up with a device that is both groundbreaking and awkward at the same time.
Extras
Extra strips outside the regular arcs.
- [49] 2024-04-01 – April fools: the characters fear they might be A.I.-generated.