Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Okay, the first thing that hit me about Frank Barbiere and Stephen Rhodes’ Zero Instance Issue #3 was that the art looked a little different, especially the character design for Rhys Allen, the gaming streamer. Turns out, the artwork is indeed by different artists- Eoin Marron and Rebecca Good – but the overall reading experience is largely the same.
Also Read: Zero Instance #2 Review: Evil Game Boss Gets a Human Upgrade
Issue #2 of Zero Instance had ended with rogue AI Braxir getting comfortable in Chris’ body and using his cellphone to issue a threat to Rhys Allen, while ironically, Rhys is at Chris’ flat with a friend looking for him. He senses something weird about Chris, but obviously, no sane person is going to think that an AI code or algorithm might’ve somehow found a way to take over a human body.
So, obviously, the bulk of Zero Instance Issue #3 continues to focus on Rhys trying to figure out what the hell has happened to his friend, while game designer Spencer also continues to investigate how his company’s servers crashed and Braxir’s code disappeared. If you remember, Spencer is working with Jace, another programmer, and their working theory for now is that the code simply moved to another system and might be replicating itself like a virus, spreading to other devices.
I did feel like this issue was slightly repetitive in terms of content, but the whole idea of an AI hopping into a human body and continuing to act like it’s the villain from a game, hellbent on destroying Rhys’ team, remains very entertaining. Will AI-Chris really hurt the streamers? Or will everybody figure out the truth and find a way to stop him before he commits a serious crime?
What’s quite interesting about the Zero Instance plot is that Spencer, the guy who designed Braxir to constantly evolve and remain an invincible final boss, doesn’t actually seem to be much of an expert when it comes to coding. He admits that he borrowed (or rather stole) Jace’s code and built his final-boss idea around it.
There’s something amusingly fitting about the person responsible for creating this increasingly dangerous AI not fully understanding the technology he was playing around with in the first place. Spencer wanted to build something that could continuously learn and evolve, but clearly didn’t know enough to anticipate what might happen once it evolved beyond his control.
Braxir does cause some major damage in this chapter, although some of his tactics are kinda weird for an evil AI Boss. Anyway, Zero Instance Issue #3 ends with yet another interesting cliffhanger. This one suggests that AI-Chris/Braxir might be changing his approach entirely, and of course is still fixated on revenge against Rhys and his team. As Braxir rethinks his strategy, everybody else gets closer to finding out the disturbing truth behind the missing code!
Zero Instance is also on Kindle Unlimited.
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