Dr. Noele Lalinde

Dr. Noele Lalinde is a character originating from the Mega Man comic series by Archie Comics.

Spiritus Ex Machina
She first appears in issue 13 at the A.R.T.S. Convention along with her creation, Quake Woman. She appears to be a love interest for Dr. Light and is presented as being a former colleague and working for "Geoworks International." It is soon revealed that she is debating with Dr. Light against the development of Advanced A.I. using the logic that robots are tools with no need to think or feel and that there is no need to develop unnecessary emotional attachments to them. Not long into the debate, the convention center is attacked by the anti-robot terrorist group Emerald Spears who hold her, along with Dr. Cossack and Dr. Light, hostage.

While Mega Man, Pharaoh Man, and Quake Woman rush to disarm the bombs set by the Emerald Spears, the three doctors debate with the Emerald Spear's leader, Xander Payne. It is during the course of this debate that Lalinde's reason for opposing advanced A.I. is revealed; her own creation, Quake Woman, suffered extreme damage during the course of her work. Lalinde, much like her colleague Dr. Light, viewed Quake Woman as a child and seeing her "daughter" being hurt caused her much pain. Believing that her pain would be eased if Quake Woman acted more like a machine, Lalinde removed her personality, reasoning that it would be more like using a tool than dealing with a child. However, she states that even without her personality, Quake Woman/Tempo is still her daughter and she cares for her all the same, and Lalinde promises to restore Tempo's personality.

Rock of Ages
She also appears in the story arc Rock of Ages. In the Proto-Type story arc, Dr. Light conversed with Lalinde about whether it was the right thing to do to give Blues a free will when discussing how to fix his defective solar core. She also appeared in Issue 19, where she was helping Dr. Light improve upon Mega Man's slide ability, with much difficulty regarding Modes 9 and 10. It is also implied that she lived up to her promise and restored Tempo's personality when she did the repair work on Tempo from the latter being damaged during the events of the A.R.T.S. Convention.

Lalinde also appears in Issue 21, celebrating the new year with Quake Woman. And Issue 22, where she and Dr. Light join Agents Stern And Krantz for a meal.

Blackout: The Curse of Ra Moon/Redemption
She was also affected by the blackout during the Blackout arc, with Quake Woman shutting down. However, she managed to implement the coating on Quake Woman, presumably receiving it from Dr. Light and Dr. Pedro Astil. In issue 34, she and Quake Woman were at their headquarters bringing in rock samples. She decided to call it a night and continue in the morning and told Quake Woman as much. Unknown to Lalinde, Break Man had been nearby, and proceeded to encounter Quake Woman asking what family meant. She later eavesdropped on Quake Woman and Break Man's discussion relating to their personalities being altered, although she was relieved that Quake Woman did not harbor any anger for her personality being altered. When Break Man expressed anger over being "replaced" with Rock and Roll by Dr. Light, Lalinde entered the room and questioned whether Blues had ever considered that perhaps Thomas had created siblings for him so that he wouldn't be alone if he ever chose to return. Break Man then departed, and after expressing her relief over Quake Woman not being hurt, once again expressed her sorrow over ever taking away her emotions. Tempo then hugged her creator, remarking that they would "fix each other."

Red Shift
In an effort to aid in Quake Woman's emotional development, Dr. Lalinde created a "sister" for her based on one of Thomas' unused designs. Dubbed Vesper Woman, the new Robot Master was also designed to collect botanical specimens. She and Quake Woman later approached Lalinde with a surprise guest: Blues, who revealed that the supposedly deceased Dr. Wily was in fact alive. After examining Blues, Lalinde determined that Wily had lied about his new nuclear core: though it would eventually shut down, it would not cause an explosion unless struck. After advising him to continue employing his shield accessory, Lalinde informed Blues that she lacked the means to provide him with a better core, but that Thomas could-and willingly would-do so. However, Blues determined to redeem himself for his actions in Wily's service first, and asked Lalinde not to inform Dr. Light about his visit. Judging Blues to have a complex combining both chivalry and a martyr's attitude, she stated that he was indeed his "father's son." She then bore witness as Blues abandoned the persona of Break Man and adopted a new one, based on his status as the first of his line: Proto Man.

Trivia

 * Ian Flynn stated that Dr. Lalinde is named after a friend of his http://www.bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8085#p422646
 * A comment in Ian Flynn's forum states that Dr. Lalinde is Filipino.
 * Dr. Lalinde appeared on a couple of the variant covers for Worlds Unite, but was absent from the crossover despite Quake Woman taking part.