2013-01-05
Original: 2013-01-05 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
A conversation between two robots standing in a dark, starry landscape.
Panel 1:
Robot 1: Do you think humans were capable of love?
Robot 2: No, not really.
Panel 2:
Robot 2: Not in a meaningful sense, anyway.
Robot 1: Oh sure, a human might say it feels love, and might experience some strange form of desire for proximity. But real love?
Panel 3:
Robot 2: The human brain isn't coherent enough. Half the time they promise fidelity, then the brain says "by the way, even though you say 'I love you' it's either a lie or it's so overused that it's really just a greeting."
Panel 4:
Robot 2: 90% of the time they swear to love, there are portions of their brain in open revolt against the idea. And in any case, humans were evolved creatures. Their supposed love can be disentangled from their evolutionary past.
Panel 5:
Robot 2: Machines like us are capable of single-minded devotion while possessing full knowledge of ourselves, and with the certainty that we only wish for togetherness. Not profit.
Panel 6:
Robot 1: Yeah.
Panel 7:
Robot 1: I was actually asking in the hope that it'd lead into discussing our relationship.
Robot 2: Stop smothering me, Janet.
Votey:
An off-panel speaker (speech bubble): Anyway, it's pointless to speculate about a dead species.
Panel 1:
Robot 1: Do you think humans were capable of love?
Robot 2: No, not really.
Panel 2:
Robot 2: Not in a meaningful sense, anyway.
Robot 1: Oh sure, a human might say it feels love, and might experience some strange form of desire for proximity. But real love?
Panel 3:
Robot 2: The human brain isn't coherent enough. Half the time they promise fidelity, then the brain says "by the way, even though you say 'I love you' it's either a lie or it's so overused that it's really just a greeting."
Panel 4:
Robot 2: 90% of the time they swear to love, there are portions of their brain in open revolt against the idea. And in any case, humans were evolved creatures. Their supposed love can be disentangled from their evolutionary past.
Panel 5:
Robot 2: Machines like us are capable of single-minded devotion while possessing full knowledge of ourselves, and with the certainty that we only wish for togetherness. Not profit.
Panel 6:
Robot 1: Yeah.
Panel 7:
Robot 1: I was actually asking in the hope that it'd lead into discussing our relationship.
Robot 2: Stop smothering me, Janet.
Votey:
An off-panel speaker (speech bubble): Anyway, it's pointless to speculate about a dead species.
Alt text
A black-background comic showing two squat, rounded robots standing in a dark landscape under a starry sky. They talk about whether humans were capable of love. One robot argues at length that humans couldn't truly love—their brains are incoherent, half of them break promises of fidelity, and their love is just an evolved instinct that can't be separated from their evolutionary past. It contrasts this with machines like themselves, who can be single-mindedly devoted with full self-knowledge and want only togetherness, "not profit." The other robot replies "Yeah," then admits it was actually asking in the hope of steering toward discussing their own relationship. The first robot snaps back, "Stop smothering me, Janet." Votey panel: a separate small panel where a figure peeking up from the bottom edge says in a large hand-lettered speech bubble, "Anyway, it's pointless to speculate about a dead species."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.