Okay, the potential AI menace seems to be getting lots of press these days, as it is in the Trailverse. How did this wind  up in Mark’s wheelhouse? I mean, Jeb is a journalist, right? It’s his story and his concern.  Mark’s story is the bear. But things have gotten all twisted around. Now, the bear(s) has somehow taken on the task of protecting Jeb, instead of just killing him. Maybe the bear is on patrol at this moment. But just how the bear decided (or is even able) to become a bodyguard is not clear. Maybe that is what accounts for the bear’s incursions into the tech retreat.

Mark is clearly not going to run out on Jeb, and I fear that we might see a repeat of the car chase scenes from the Palm Springs adventure, as Mark and Jeb barrel down the hill in Mark’s speedy station wagon, chased by Sid Stump in a BMW M760i xDrive sedan, or equivalent. Gawd, I’m starting to think maybe going after redneck poachers isn’t so bad a storyline, after all. Well, Rivera could jazz it up by proposing professional poaching gangs, rather than backwoods hillbillies, as used to be the norm in this strip.