2011-03-05
Explanation
This comic is set in a dystopian robot-dominated world and plays on the classic science fiction trope of distinguishing between a real entity and an impostor. A robot guard encounters two identical-looking robots and must determine which one is actually a secret human who "must be deactivated." To resolve the standoff, the guard demands that the real robot unit JQ-4918.23.6234-111.2 "say something only" it would say.
One of the suspects responds with a long string of binary code (ones and zeros), while the other nervously says "Uh... beep?" The guard then destroys the one who spoke in binary, implying that the one who said "beep" was the real robot. The joke inverts the usual sci-fi scenario where humans must identify which entity is the robot. Here, the robot trying to prove it's not human fails because, ironically, speaking in binary is too on-the-nose -- it's what a human pretending to be a robot would do. Meanwhile, the casual, uncertain "beep" is apparently more authentically robotic. The comic satirizes how identity verification based on stereotypes can lead to absurd conclusions.