Comic #5032: immortalization

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Description

Here is the transcribed text from the comic:

Panel 1: Character A: "Mathematical ideas aren't 'discovered.' Just about any sequence you can think of has already been implemented by a plant or animal or some other natural process."

Character B: "If you met an alien species, they'd be familiar with all our mathematics, the only difference being the symbols."

Panel 2: Character A: "So, it's better to be a poet if you want to be immortal."

Character B: "Not really."

Character A: "How do we know there aren't universal principles there too? Rhythm, symmetry, order…"

Panel 3: Character A: "It's not like stories have no basis in physics. If beings can turn back time or reverse entropy, who cares if Romeo killed himself or Willy Loman wasted his life?"

Panel 4: Character A: "It seems likely that aliens will understand what it means to hope for something and then not get it. If so, why wouldn't they have tragedy? Why wouldn't they have comedy?"

Panel 5: Character B: "Okay, so if you want to make something immortal, it needs to be maximally random."

Character A: "That won't work either! If there's such a thing as maximal randomness, the aliens will know about it too because randomness is useful."

Panel 6: Character A: "Then the only hope of making something immortal and special…"

Character B: "Is to make crap. Make something nobody would make because there's no beautiful reason for it to exist!"

Panel 7: Character B: "Do that and you will each through eternity."

Panel 8: Character A: "I've never been more proud of my species."

Character B: "We are as gods!"

[End of comic]