ACE NITETIME & JACK STATIC
PRE-FLIGHT CHECK

SUNDAY COMIC SCRIPT — ISSUE-005

FORMAT
One landscape Sunday page with eight numbered panels. A wide opening panel,
three panels, three panels, and a wide final panel. Clear reading order.

CONTINUITY
Match Issues 1-4. Ace: lean, dark hair, rust-red rolled-sleeve shirt, dark
vest, jeans, silver radio headphones. Jack: stockier, sandy hair, short
mustache, square glasses, olive work jacket, cream shirt, jeans, tool belt.
The garage revealed in ISSUE-004 is now their working base.

PANEL 1
Visual: In the cluttered late-night Wisconsin garage, Ace and Jack face a
workbench with two terminals. The FILES screen lists one issue twice. The
GOPHER screen shows mismatched issue numbers. Paper strips and cables cross
between both machines.
Dialogue:
ACE: We got listed twice.
JACK: And one issue apart.

PANEL 2
Visual: A comical physical conveyor carries labeled comic folders. Two
ISSUE-003 folders occupy one slot while ISSUE-004 waits one position behind.
Jack measures the offset with a ruler; Ace holds a duplicate folder.
Dialogue:
ACE: Bumpy road.
JACK: At least it's a road.

PANEL 3
Visual: Jack removes a bent metal registration tab labeled DUPLICATE. Ace
straightens numbered cards 001, 002, 003, 004, 005 into order.
Dialogue:
JACK: Remove the double.
ACE: Line up the rest.

PANEL 4
Visual: On the workbench is a fresh folder labeled ISSUE-005 with comic.png,
README.txt, MANIFEST.json, and SHA256SUMS.txt neatly clipped together like a
small aircraft pre-flight packet. A checklist reads PUBLIC, FILES, GOPHER.
Dialogue:
ACE: Then try again?
JACK: That's how testing works.

PANEL 5
Visual: Ace inserts ISSUE-005 into a large brass input slot marked CREATE.
A row of lamps begins moving toward FILES. Jack holds a clipboard.
Dialogue:
ACE: Comic created.
JACK: Watch the path.

PANEL 6
Visual: The packet travels through transparent pneumatic tubes and cable
conduits. It appears as ordinary files in a cabinet labeled FTP / FILES.
A green lamp reads FILES: PRESENT.
Dialogue:
ACE: Files showed up.
JACK: First checkpoint.

PANEL 7
Visual: The same packet continues along the shared line to a carved Gopher
menu machine. A green CRT adds ACE-AND-JACK / ISSUE-005 exactly once. A lamp
reads GOPHER: LISTED.
Dialogue:
ACE: Gopher has it!
JACK: Once. And on time.

PANEL 8
Visual: Wide heroic-but-humorous garage reveal. The publishing machine now
resembles a handmade airplane assembled from server racks, radio equipment,
file cabinets, cables, and wooden wings. Its nose points through the open
garage door toward a starry Wisconsin sky. Status board: FILES ✓, GOPHER ✓,
SEQUENCE ✓. Ace holds a radio headset like a flight controller; Jack tightens
one last bolt. A small gopher prop wears aviator goggles.
Dialogue:
ACE: Think NITETIME.NET can fly?
JACK: Path is clear. Send it.
Caption:
READY FOR TRUE FLIGHT.

LETTERING
Keep exact and readable: PRE-FLIGHT CHECK, ISSUE-005, CREATE, FTP / FILES,
FILES: PRESENT, GOPHER: LISTED, ACE-AND-JACK / ISSUE-005, READY FOR TRUE
FLIGHT. Do not add pseudo-text.