Comic #5853: compress

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Description

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Panel 1:
A woman with short, blonde hair wearing a red shirt speaks to a green, humanoid alien. The alien has large, oval eyes and a round head. The woman looks slightly nervous. Background shows a spaceship landing.

Text:
Woman: "Aliens! Have you come to kill us?"
Alien: "No, to save you!"
Alien (thinking): "Well, strictly speaking, both."

Panel 2:
The alien gestures toward a crystal. The woman stands next to it, with her hand raised as if questioning something.

Text:
Alien: "We're going to take a perfect snapshot of your existence, register it in this crystal, then poom! Poison gas."
Woman: "Why now?!"
Alien: "You got more compressible."

Panel 3:
The woman, now more serious, responds confidently. The alien listens. A green landscape is visible in the background.

Text:
Woman: "100 years ago it was all mom and pop shops and inns and stuff. Now, most of your products and services, even your speech and beliefs, are standardized. The file for your culture compresses really well."

Panel 4:
The woman is assertive, with her hands on her hips. The alien appears curious.

Text:
Woman: "I’m gonna do things my own way! I’m going to own my independence! It’s an uphill battle, but this is where I make my stand!"
Alien: "See, every one of those phrases exists in our registry of commonly used human utterances. Having looked through your political and spiritual opinions, I think we can get you down to precisely 47 bits."

Panel 5:
The alien holds a crystal while the woman watches, slightly skeptical.

Text:
Alien: "Maybe one more bit if you have an interesting death."
Woman: "Will I?"
Alien: "Nah."

The comic presents playful banter between the human and the alien, touching on themes of individuality versus standardization in a humorous manner.