2012-06-12
Explanation
A child asks his father if he can leave the hall lights on at night because he's scared. Rather than simply saying yes or no, the father launches into an elaborate cosmological thought experiment: he suggests that each atom might be a whole universe with billions of civilizations and quadrillions of minds, each with hopes and dreams. He then reassures the child that atoms don't break... unless you use nuclear power, "which we do." He asks the child if he can hear "the faint vibration of innumerable worlds screaming in nauseating existential horror." The terrified child stammers "Y-yeah..." Later, the parents note their power bill is down ten percent, with the father smugly saying "I thought it might be."
The comic starts as a parody of the well-meaning parent who gives overly elaborate, pseudo-profound answers to simple childhood questions. But it takes a dark turn when the father's speech becomes a tool of psychological manipulation -- by terrifying the child into believing that using electricity means destroying tiny universes full of sentient beings, he's effectively guilt-tripping his son into using less power, saving money on the electric bill. The humor lies in the gap between the apparent profundity of the cosmological monologue and its utterly mundane, selfish purpose. It also plays on the real speculative idea in physics (somewhat related to concepts like the holographic principle or nested universes) while pushing it to an absurd and horrifying conclusion.