2012-03-18
Explanation
This comic tells an epic satirical narrative about humanity creating a superior race of beings. Fearing a nuclear apocalypse, scientists create "new humans" who are superior in every way. However, the apocalypse never comes, and after the initial novelty wears off (illustrated by a graph showing entertainment value declining over time), ordinary humans decide to exterminate the new humans. The new humans manage to escape to a hidden location despite humanity'''s transparently dishonest pleas of "Come back! Trust us! Humans would never destroy anything beautiful."
Fifty years later, the new humans return with an army and advanced technology, poised to conquer. Humanity finds a clever workaround: since the new humans are superior in every way, they must also have superior ethics. A diplomat argues to them that "war is never the answer, even on those who deserve it." The new humans agree and suggest celebrating peace with "a tasty marzipan cake." However, the narration reveals that "the new humans are dead now" -- it turns out the new humans also had "superior flavor," implying humanity ate them along with the cake (or instead of it). The comic ends with a twist on evolutionary theory: a professor explains that the buzzword in the field used to be "intelligence" but is now "dickishness" when explaining why early humans did so well.
The votey shows a graph of "Hominid Dickitude" over time, showing a sharp exponential increase, reinforcing the comic'''s darkly cynical thesis that humanity'''s defining evolutionary advantage is not intelligence but rather our capacity for treachery and ruthlessness. The comic is a commentary on human nature, suggesting that no matter how ethically superior a being might be, humanity'''s willingness to exploit, deceive, and consume others is our true survival strategy.