ar
Original: ar on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (labeled FANTASY):
A presenter with glowing goggles stands at a podium, arms spread wide.
Presenter: "WITH AUGMENTED REALITY, THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO ANYONE'S EXPERIENCE!"
Panel 2 (labeled REALITY):
The same presenter stands at the podium before a small audience.
Presenter: "...AND TONIGHT'S VIRTUAL PUBLIC FIREWORKS WILL BE OCCLUDED FOR ANY CITIZEN WITH OUTSTANDING PARKING TICKETS."
Votey:
A distorted, sweating skull-like face.
Caption: "CITIZENS WHO DO NOT WEAR HELMETS WILL BE CONSIDERED SUSPICIOUS."
A presenter with glowing goggles stands at a podium, arms spread wide.
Presenter: "WITH AUGMENTED REALITY, THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO ANYONE'S EXPERIENCE!"
Panel 2 (labeled REALITY):
The same presenter stands at the podium before a small audience.
Presenter: "...AND TONIGHT'S VIRTUAL PUBLIC FIREWORKS WILL BE OCCLUDED FOR ANY CITIZEN WITH OUTSTANDING PARKING TICKETS."
Votey:
A distorted, sweating skull-like face.
Caption: "CITIZENS WHO DO NOT WEAR HELMETS WILL BE CONSIDERED SUSPICIOUS."
Alt text
A two-panel SMBC comic contrasting fantasy and reality. The first panel is labeled FANTASY: a man with glowing augmented-reality goggles stands at a podium with his arms thrown wide, proclaiming, "With augmented reality, there are no limits to anyone's experience!" The second panel is labeled REALITY: the same man stands at the podium before a small seated audience, now saying, "...and tonight's virtual public fireworks will be occluded for any citizen with outstanding parking tickets." The joke is that AR's utopian promise collapses into petty bureaucratic enforcement. Votey (bonus panel): a crude, sweating, distorted skull-like face stares out, with the ominous caption, "Citizens who do not wear helmets will be considered suspicious."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.