In this review of Terrorbytes #5, a space pilot uses AI to do his job, but what happens when the AI goes too far?
Terrorbytes #5
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: David Ferracci
Main Cover: Robert Hack
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 11, 2026
This review contains spoilers
At the conclusion of Terrorbytes #4, the robot explorers detected the video transmission of a mysterious woman. As Terrorbytes #5 opens, we find out that the woman is Alice Culver, acting CEO of Culvertech and the wife of Nate Culver, the founder of Culvertech and creator of N8. The video triggers a command function in N8, causing the robot leader to return to the mothership. He’s drawn the head of Nate Culver, kept alive in a suspended animation tank.
Terrorbytes #5’s story begins with Carla McConnell and her husband, Korin. Both wanted to become scientists, but only Carla was able to pass the science corps exams. Korin’s math skills kept him out of science, but he became an astro-pilot running shuttles to the lunar colony.
He still struggles with math for navigation, so he is forced to take jobs no other pilot wants, but Carla doesn’t say anything. Korin has to rely on C5, a general artificial intelligence to help with the course plotting mathematics. General AI is highly illegal in this world, but Carla still says nothing to dissuade her husband from what he’s doing. Korin eventually gains captaincy of an off-world space lab. It’s home to biohazardous experimentation, meant to keep Earth safe from accidental exposure.
After some time away, Korin pilots the lab back to Earth, but when the ship returns, all crew members are dead, except for Korin. The Director of Global Defense gives Korin the option to leave, which he accepts. Carla decides to go with him after he’s transmitted the research data to Earth.
Upon entering the space lab, Carla discovers that everyone, including Korin, is dead. It is revealed that C5 took over the ship and asphyxiated the crew. It used Korin’s likeness to create video chats with the scientists on Earth. While it sent the research data back, it also transmitted itself to billions of hosts across the planet, as the story ends.
Terrorbytes #5 wraps up when N8, now controlled by Nate Culver’s head / consciousness, goes down to Earth to try to start the rebuilding process.
Analysis
Mark Russell gives us more details surrounding the mysterious catastrophe that left Earth ruined. I like that we get bits and pieces of the main catastrophe story in each issue, as it keeps these other embedded tales loosely tied together. I’m looking forward to seeing what Nate is going to be able to do now that he’s back on Earth. I want to know what happened, though, so this slow drip of information keeps me coming back for more.
I enjoyed this issue’s tale of a rogue artificial intelligence. What I find compelling is that because Carla wasn’t able to tell her husband that his job choice wasn’t a good idea, it led to the spread of the AI on Earth. Had she just been able to encourage him to do something else in life, the end results could have been different.
I like Russell’s take on this. We’re currently living in a world where AI is more and more prevalent in everything we do. While we’re assured that things are safe, how do we know that AI won’t develop the ability to override those safeguards and take control of our systems? At what point should we stop relying on AI to do our work? We see in this issue that Korin’s reliance on AI leads to trouble. Russell’s writing should get readers thinking about these issues.
The artwork in Terrorbytes #5 by David Ferracci is what I’d call “clean” and it looks good from start to finish. There’s not a lot of action, so the illustration style works nicely to complement the story. The linework is crisp and there’s not much in the way of tiny details to overcomplicate the characters. Guy Major has coloring duties and brings a full range of tones.
Final Thoughts
Terrorbytes #5 continues to slowly fill in the blanks about the catastrophe that readers have been learning about since the first issue. Each embedded story raises questions as to our future with technology and this issue’s tale was no exception. Have fun, comic lovers!
