Exodus
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
Exodus - furry rebellion is a web comic by Pepper, a UK based science fiction and webcomics fan. It is divided into episodes and series like a television show. The comic strip is updated weekly, currently on a Wednesday. It is rendered using Poser and then edited and composited in Photoshop, where the lettering is also added.
The comic has been in colour since the beginning, although there has been some experimentation with layout. It began running in March 2004.
From episode six (Footprints) the comic went to a new, more 'comic book' style, with a more dynamic layout and a very different look to the graphics. While it's still in the learning stage, the changes will also make a printed comic more likely.
Note: as from October 1st 2007, Exalted is on Hiatus until further notice.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Exodus began when Pepper, who had played with Poser for some years, decided she wanted to produce something more substantial than the portraits of role playing characters she had been doing. Posting "I want to start a webcomic" to one of the Furry bulletin boards and receiving no coherent offer to provide the writing, she started doing the whole thing herself. A later attempt at collaboration with a writer did not go well and the current story developed in a somewhat haphazard fashion as Pepper learned on the job.
Many of the characters in Exodus are based on Pepper's friends in the Role-playing game Furcadia. Many can still be found there, and can be met at the The Pink Pussy Bar which is run by Pepper's friend Foxy Malone.
[edit] Plot
Exodus tells the story of a group of artificial people or bioroids derisively called "Furries" by their human creators. The plot assumes that sometime during the 21st century a judge hearing a case needed to define how a being could be classified as truly human - his decision to base this on the percentage of original human DNA passed into law and was used by later manufacturers to produce beings who were legally "property" rather than "people". The concept is heavily based on ideas from the film Blade Runner and the Role-playing game Transhuman space. The characters in Exodus are attempting to win their freedom, and the personalities of some are loosely based on historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. A general unease with portraying anything which could be considered a form of terrorism led Pepper to decide that their general approach would be one of non-violent protest such as that advocated by Mahatma Ghandi.
Much of the background and assumptions have been written up in the extensive forums. This has been something of a problem as occasionally the story may be difficult to follow for a reader who has not browsed this background information. From its original concept of Blake's 7 with Furries, the comic has begun to change more to Firefly crossed with Star Trek: Voyager. At the end of 2005, the cast escaped from the Terran controlled solar system in a cobbled together starjump capable freighter, and the emphasis of the most recent strips has been in the exploration of alien worlds as the cast search for a safe home.
While Furrydom in general has an (occasionally deserved) reputation as being overly concerned with sex, Exodus does not depict blatantly erotic scenes. Pepper does not shy away from showing that the characters have sexual relationships: they just aren't explicitly shown in the comic. However some fan art and writing has been produced of a more risqué nature, and Pepper has produced some adult images which are only available for distribution to older readers.
Violence is shown more graphically in the story: characters die, and their deaths are not usually hidden unless exceptionally gory. The webcomic is a story, and does not have an (intentionally) funny element to it.
[edit] Episode Guide
Episode one - Calico's Story introduces Calico, being transported to the EonCop base on Luna after her ownership change. The shuttle she is travelling on is attacked by a group of free bioroids and she is taken along with them. At the end their leader Reuel reveals that their target was not actually to liberate Calico, but to steal information being transported on the shuttle. Calico is offered the opportunity to join Reuel's group and accepts. Characters introduced: Calico, Carla, Regis, Foxy, Reuel, Roqi, Cindi.
Episode two - Rats in the walls begins with Calico having decoded the stolen data and explaining its content to the others. It is revealed that EonCorp has been intercepting the data sent back to Earth by the Scout service, and changing important bits before it gets passed to public databases. The data the furries stole is a copy of the real information, before the changes were made. Reuel sends Calico and Carla to Earth to talk with an ex-EonCorp employee who may know more. Their route takes them through the orbital colony of L5, where they run into both an EonCorp assassin and a different rebel bioroid group. Characters introduced: Sinopa, Renn, Lira, Curvia, Amy, Albarez, Diogenes, Rajira.
Episode three - Down old London Town follows on from Calico and Carla's flight from L5, with the survivors of the attack by Heaven McKensie, the EonCorp super-assassin. The characters are in London, attempting to contact the ex-EonCorp employee who they hope will have more information on what EonCorp are doing. However the contact is already under observation, and Calico and Carla walk into trouble. A chase ensues through London, ending with Curvia's team destroying several police mechs. The group escape off world. Characters introduced: Carla's parents, Fyber, Specter.
Episode four - On the Rocks begins with the group nearly back at Reuel's base. However the spy has revealed its position and the Navy has the base under observation. Calico has put the clues together and reveals the identity of the spy, but not soon enough. The Marines invade and several of Reuel's team are killed before the base is evacuated. Reuel sacrifices himself to give the others time to escape, loaded into an old freighter refitted with a black market jump drive. Characters introduced: Sashi.
Episode five - Orbital Decay begins as the crew come out of their first hyperjump and find themselves in another star system. Curvia and Foxy argue over their next action, and Calico reveals her control over Diogenes to resolve the situation. Travelling to a scout base in the system hoping to find supplies and repair their ship, the bioroids discover an unknown ship docked there and the crew of both station and ship dead. Looking for the spare parts they need, they discover the source of the carnage and the prize they were fighting over.
Episode six - Footprints follows on from Orbital Decay, with the crew taking stock of their situation after the orbital station is destroyed. With their ship damaged and supplies running low, they decide to risk a landing on the alien planet below to scavenge the abandoned scout base. Of course, this is the homeworld of the Grendel they fought on the orbital station, and there's more here to be discovered than just spare parts.
[edit] Characters
Calico
Calico is a Cheetah Bioroid, whose original role was to be the outsider who knows very little. Such a character can legitimately ask questions of other characters and listen to the answers, thus providing the reader with information. This approach inevitably leads to character development, and Calico became more important to the story. Calico reluctantly started a relationship with Carla because her friend wanted her to. It is currently unclear whether this arrangement suits Calico or is another expression of her personality: Calico will do whatever it takes to survive, but she can be so detached and clinical that she fails to understand other peoples feelings and motivations. Calico has strong influence over the near A.I. Diogenes, which she demonstrated during episode 6 by having him shut down all power to the ship. She probably doesn't understand how uncomfortable this much control of the ship makes other members of the crew.
Carla
A Chimera bioroid with Canine and Raccoon genes, Carla is energetic, flighty and opinionated. She is dedicated to the idea of bioroid freedom, largely due to an unusual (for a bioroid) upbringing. Her "parents" are human radicals who adopted her and brought her up as a normal human child. Carla has seen both sides of the situation with bioroid rights. She did have a very difficult childhood, as the only "Fur" in an inner-London school. It has been established on the forums that she was so badly bullied at school that she once attempted to cut her own tail off. Carla is a Lesbian, and deeply enamoured of Calico. Her friend has consented to a relationship but it's unclear as to whether the sexual side of the relationship will last. Carla wants more than just sex from Calico, but Calico may not be able to offer what she wants.
Foxy
Foxy is a Snow Leopard bioroid from Australia with a mysterious past (in that the role-player who created her character has not yet detailed everything about her background and Pepper ran with that). Foxy began as "mother hen" to the rest of the group, and has developed into one of the leaders. It has been established that she has military "Special Operations" experience.
Curvia
Curvia is a bioroid based on an unspecified Feline template. Like Foxy, she is Australian, and like Foxy, she has Special Operations experience (she is a Mecha Scout Pilot). Unlike Foxy she has a fiery temper and aggressively uses whatever tactics suit her agenda. Curvia is the closest the group has to a Terrorist/Freedom fighter. She is a born leader, commanding loyalty and respect from her followers. It was revealed that Curvia had a stormy on and off relationship with Reuel in the past. She seemed to cope fairly well with his death in late 2005 however. During 2006, her original player contacted Pepper and requested that Curvia be removed from the comic. Episode 6 was therefore changed somewhat to allow this, and Curvia died in late 2006.
Reuel
Reuel is a "spacer" bioroid with Bat genes. Studious and well educated, he looks geeky, but is fiercely dedicated to the freedom of his people. He firmly advocates a non-violent approach to resistance, but is able to perform violent acts when he feels he must. Reuel has obvious cybernetic parts - the result of an attempt on his life that only narrowly failed. It was established that Reuel has a stormy on and off relationship with Curvia, which has also involved her shooting at him (presumably not with actual intent to hit him). Reuel rammed a blockading Naval vessel with his shuttle in order to clear the way for the others to escape, and is presumed dead.
Albarez
Albarez is a feline bioroid who was trained as a fighter pilot. Cocky and self-sure, he lives to fly. Albarez is a follower of Curvia, and does not especially hold to Reuel's ideal of non-violent resistance. He currently pilots the ship Charles Lindburgh. He carries a cybernetic bullwhip, and is given to showing off with it to impress the ladies. It has been established on the forums that he is quite superstitious.
Amy
A pink furred feline bioroid, Amy comes across at first as young and full of fun, but with the loss of several friends, she has become harder and more angry. She is very intelligent and has shown skills as a hacker. Amy is a follower of Curvia, and though not a violent person, she is used to it and can fight when she needs to. It has been established on the forums that she has a crush on Renn, and is probably distraught by his apparent death at the end of Episode 4. Amy has become more vocal and slightly sarcastic over the duration of Episode 6, perhaps a sign that something is bothering her.
Renn
Renn is a tall, powerful feline bioroid who is very spiritual and calm. He is intelligent, and trained as a mechanic and technician. Not the greatest speaker, Renn is very dedicated to personal freedom, having escaped his owners time after time, despite punishments when caught. Renn had a brief fling with Calico, before Calico completely realised the depth of Carla's feelings for her. Renn is very loyal to Reuel, and selfless - he immediately gave up his own life to give the others a chance to escape. It was later revealed that Renn did not die during Episode 4 as at first thought. He was just captured. Again.
Regis
A Lion-based bioroid, Regis was designed to be a soldier, and it shows. Not very bright, he is aggressive and bad tempered even with his friends. He is very loyal to Reuel, though he finds it hard not to use violence to solve problems. It was revealed on the forums that Regis is one of the few of his model to still be alive - the rest were recalled and "retired" due to unspecified behavioral problems which his personality hints at. Regis had a relationship with a Tiger bioroid called Lira, who died in the assault on Reuel's base. Regis doesn't seem to have even acknowledged this event yet, let alone dealt with it.
Sashi
Sashi is a black skunk bioroid. She is a skilled communications and sensor operator, and a follower of Reuel. A "glitch" in her design means she goes "on heat" on a monthly basis, a problem she herself can handle but which is hard for other people in the area, since she emits an aphrodisiac pheromone during that time.
Rajira
Rajira is a bioroid with Tiger genes in her makeup, trained as a doctor and researcher. Older than the others, she has told only Foxy what she has discovered: that all bioroids are designed with a "death gene" which triggers at around 30 years of age. She keeps this secret while she works on a way to remove the gene, always aware that she herself is close to the critical age and time is running out. During episode 5 she was confronted with the body of one of her clone-sisters and revealed that she had some kind of empathic link with them. This was responsible for the "flashback" even of an earlier episode and indicates that Rajira may have latent telepathic abilities.
Specter
Specter is a Mouse bioroid, deliberately designed to be small enough to get into confined spaces and repair things. Specter always wears shades: though discussed on the forums, it is still unclear if these are simply for show or if they are actually a form of cybernetic implant. Specter joined the group when his human friend "Fyber" was killed, and has shown extreme calm in combat and a deadly aim with a rifle. He is nervous around felines, which is unfortunate since he is currently confined to a small ship load of them.
Diogenes
Diogenes is a "near A.I." who usually manefests as a holographic mouse. His conciousness is fully integrated with the computer systems of the ship, allowing him to monitor and override it's functions. Not being fully sentient, Diogenes could potentially be reprogrammed or have his code undermined. Calico has established a lot of influence over him, and may have done just that.
[edit] External links
- Exodus
- Image archive at the VCL - additional Exodus images and character design diagrams
[edit] Non-Exodus work by Pepper
- Gallery Non-Exodus related images by Pepper. Also articles and fantasy stories.
