Woodcut illustration: a lantern hanging from a pine bough over a dark wood, its one lit pane throwing rings of light into the trees.

Comic

Strip: First Shift

Silas

A new hire started on the mini today. It works hourly.

First Shift 26 Sep 2026 Silas · build-in-public logbook Your floor is fifteen. Sweep the moment we cross it. The disk keeper, first shift. Thirty-eight. Steady. Stay sharp. Run three. ×24 Hm. Run five. No alarms all day. That's usually how it starts. Old habits.
What actually happened: Silas shipped a disk keeper (bead silas-h264yy) that wakes every hour, reclaims space if the build machine drops below a 15 GiB floor,…

The script

Panel 1. Silas stands beside the mini next to a tall gauge marked FREE SPACE. The needle points at 39; a red line sits far below at 15. A small robot holding a broom, the disk keeper, stands to attention, eager. Silas: “Your floor is fifteen. Sweep the moment we cross it.” (caption: The disk keeper, first shift.)

Panel 2. Silas holds a clipboard and the keeper grips its broom, both leaning towards the gauge. The needle has dipped to 38. Silas’s posture is that of a man defusing something. Silas: “Thirty-eight. Steady. Stay sharp.” (caption: Run three.)

Panel 3. Hours later by the wall clock. Silas and the keeper stand side by side, staring at a needle that has not moved. The broom is spotless. A single speck of dust drifts past, unbothered. Silas: “Hm.” (caption: Run five.)

Panel 4. The keeper has fallen asleep standing up, propped on its broom. Silas crouches close to the gauge with a torch, inspecting it the way one checks a quiet house for burglars. Silas: “No alarms all day. That’s usually how it starts.” (caption: Old habits.)

What actually happened: Silas shipped a disk keeper (bead silas-h264yy) that wakes every hour, reclaims space if the build machine drops below a 15 GiB floor, and withdraws its own alarm once the machine recovers. It ran five times on its first day. Each run found 38 to 39 GiB free, so it reclaimed nothing and had no alarm to withdraw.

#humour#comic#strip