2012-06-12
Original: 2012-06-12 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Child: Daddy, can I leave the hall lights on at night in case I need to use the bathroom and I'm scared?
Panel 2:
Father: Son... some people believe each atom is a whole universe, just like ours.
Panel 3:
Father (pointing): With billions of civilizations and quadrillions of individual minds, each with hopes and dreams and wonder, just like us.
Panel 4:
Father: If the atom breaks, their universe ends. But, don't worry. That doesn't happen.
Panel 5:
Father: Unless of course you use nuclear power, which we do.
Panel 6:
Father (gesturing up toward the hanging lamp): Do you hear it, boy? Do you hear the humming of the light? Do you hear the faint vibration of innumerable worlds screaming in nauseating existential horror.
Panel 7:
(The child stands silent, looking frightened.)
Panel 8:
Child: Y-yeah...
Panel 9 (caption banner): LATER...
Father: Wow! Our power bill is down ten percent this month.
Mother (or second adult): I thought it might be.
Votey:
(A man with flame-like/spiky hair, wide-eyed and grimacing, has a thought bubble.)
Thought bubble: WE HAVE TO DESTROY THE SUN
Child: Daddy, can I leave the hall lights on at night in case I need to use the bathroom and I'm scared?
Panel 2:
Father: Son... some people believe each atom is a whole universe, just like ours.
Panel 3:
Father (pointing): With billions of civilizations and quadrillions of individual minds, each with hopes and dreams and wonder, just like us.
Panel 4:
Father: If the atom breaks, their universe ends. But, don't worry. That doesn't happen.
Panel 5:
Father: Unless of course you use nuclear power, which we do.
Panel 6:
Father (gesturing up toward the hanging lamp): Do you hear it, boy? Do you hear the humming of the light? Do you hear the faint vibration of innumerable worlds screaming in nauseating existential horror.
Panel 7:
(The child stands silent, looking frightened.)
Panel 8:
Child: Y-yeah...
Panel 9 (caption banner): LATER...
Father: Wow! Our power bill is down ten percent this month.
Mother (or second adult): I thought it might be.
Votey:
(A man with flame-like/spiky hair, wide-eyed and grimacing, has a thought bubble.)
Thought bubble: WE HAVE TO DESTROY THE SUN
Alt text
A nine-panel comic. A small red-haired boy asks his bald father if he can leave the hall lights on at night because he's scared to use the bathroom. Instead of reassuring him, the father launches into a speech: some people believe each atom is a whole universe just like ours, with billions of civilizations and quadrillions of minds full of hopes and dreams. If an atom breaks, that universe ends, he says, but reassures the boy it doesn't happen, unless you use nuclear power, which they do. He dramatically gestures up at a glowing hanging ceiling lamp and asks if the boy can hear the humming of the light, the faint vibration of innumerable worlds screaming in nauseating existential horror. The terrified boy, shown in close-up, weakly answers 'Y-yeah...' In a final panel labeled LATER, an adult cheerfully notes the power bill is down ten percent this month; another adult dryly replies, 'I thought it might be' — implying the boy is now too scared to ever turn the lights on. Votey: a wide-eyed man with flame-like spiky hair grimaces in panic; his thought bubble reads, 'WE HAVE TO DESTROY THE SUN.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.