2014-10-10
Original: 2014-10-10 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Old woman: TRICK OR TREAT?
Old woman: AND WHAT ARE YOU, YOUNG MAN?
Panel 2:
Boy: I'M AN EIGHT YEAR OLD BOY. WHEN I READ HISTORY BOOKS ABOUT YOUR TIME, THEY WILL NOT CONTAIN YOU NOR WILL THEIR DESCRIPTIONS ACCURATELY PORTRAY YOUR SENSE OF THAT TIME IN YOUR LIFE.
Panel 3:
Boy: OH, I'LL LEARN A THING OR TWO ABOUT THE TRENDS OF LEADERS YOU DON'T VOTE FOR, AND I'LL REMEMBER THEM FOR EXAMS. BUT, ALL THE SMELLS AND THE TASTES, AND THE PLACE-FEELINGS THAT WEAVE THE TEXTURE OF YOUR SENSE OF SELF WILL BE LOST AND UNRECOVERABLE.
Panel 4:
Boy: THE FUTURE IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY, MA'AM, AND YOU AREN'T WELCOME THERE.
Old woman: COULD YOU JUST DRESS AS A GHOST OR A DEVIL OR SOMETHING?
Panel 5:
Boy: OH, THAT REMINDS ME. THERE IS NO AFTERLIFE.
Votey:
The boy, now drawn with an exaggerated, distorted close-up face, says: GIMME CANDY
Old woman: TRICK OR TREAT?
Old woman: AND WHAT ARE YOU, YOUNG MAN?
Panel 2:
Boy: I'M AN EIGHT YEAR OLD BOY. WHEN I READ HISTORY BOOKS ABOUT YOUR TIME, THEY WILL NOT CONTAIN YOU NOR WILL THEIR DESCRIPTIONS ACCURATELY PORTRAY YOUR SENSE OF THAT TIME IN YOUR LIFE.
Panel 3:
Boy: OH, I'LL LEARN A THING OR TWO ABOUT THE TRENDS OF LEADERS YOU DON'T VOTE FOR, AND I'LL REMEMBER THEM FOR EXAMS. BUT, ALL THE SMELLS AND THE TASTES, AND THE PLACE-FEELINGS THAT WEAVE THE TEXTURE OF YOUR SENSE OF SELF WILL BE LOST AND UNRECOVERABLE.
Panel 4:
Boy: THE FUTURE IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY, MA'AM, AND YOU AREN'T WELCOME THERE.
Old woman: COULD YOU JUST DRESS AS A GHOST OR A DEVIL OR SOMETHING?
Panel 5:
Boy: OH, THAT REMINDS ME. THERE IS NO AFTERLIFE.
Votey:
The boy, now drawn with an exaggerated, distorted close-up face, says: GIMME CANDY
Alt text
A four-panel black-and-white SMBC comic. An old woman with glasses opens her door on Halloween and greets a small boy in a plain shirt, saying 'Trick or treat?' then 'And what are you, young man?' Instead of naming a costume, the boy launches into a grim philosophical speech: he says he is just an eight-year-old boy, that future history books won't contain her or accurately portray her sense of her own time, and that while he'll memorize trends and leaders for exams, all the smells, tastes, and place-feelings that weave a person's sense of self will be lost and unrecoverable. He concludes 'The future is a foreign country, ma'am, and you aren't welcome there.' The exasperated woman just asks, 'Could you just dress as a ghost or a devil or something?' In the final panel the boy adds matter-of-factly, 'Oh, that reminds me. There is no afterlife.' Votey: an extreme, grotesquely distorted close-up of the boy's face, mouth open, demanding 'Gimme candy.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.