2013-05-22
Explanation
A woman is cooing over a baby (or young child), saying "Who's a cutie? Who's my little genetic payload? You are! You are!" An older person (likely a grandparent) objects: "Don't say that!" They continue, "He's not a genetic payload, he's a child! He's your flesh and blood! He has hands like you! Eyes like you! Heart like you!" The woman has a sudden realization: "Oh my God. You're right." In the final panel, she exclaims, "Who's my little backup liver? It's you! It's you!"
The comic takes a darkly humorous turn on the concept of biological connection between parent and child. The grandmother objects to the cold, scientific framing of a child as a "genetic payload" and tries to redirect the mother toward a warmer, more human perspective by emphasizing that the child shares the mother's physical features. However, the mother interprets this shared biology in the most utilitarian way possible -- if the child has organs like hers, the child could serve as a source of replacement organs.
The votey panel continues the gag, with someone saying "He's not spare parts!" and the woman responding, "That is technically false." This doubles down on the dark humor by pointing out that, from a purely biological standpoint, a genetic relative really could be an organ donor match -- making the horrifying logic technically correct, which is the funniest kind of correct in SMBC's worldview.