Comic #2351: 2011-10-21

View Original Comic

Description

Here is the transcription of the text from the comic:

Panel 1: The first cryogenic patients were frozen too slowly.

Panel 2: Ice crystals formed, rupturing too many cells for them to be unfrozen later.

Panel 3: But several centuries hence, cell-repairing nanobots were circulated into their bodies.

Panel 4: They located the ruptures and knitted the cells back together, leaving properly frozen bodies awaiting treatment.

Panel 5: When finally reinvigorated, the people found it all somewhat distressing.

Panel 6: Person 1: "So… was I alive or dead?"
Person 2: "You were a corpse before we had the right tools, and a patient after…"

Panel 7: Person 1: "How can my being alive or dead depend on the level of technological advancement?"
Person 2: "Look, I'm a doctor. You're all corpses until proven otherwise."

Panel 8: Fortunately, there was a simple emotionally satisfying solution.

Panel 9: Doctor: "Apply two times a day."
Product: "Topical anti-existentialism cream."

Panel 10: It wasn't perfect.

Panel 11: Person 1: "What if I still despair over the infinite lacuna between what I hoped life was and what the evidence suggests?"
Doctor: "I don't know."