augmented-4
Explanation
In this comic, a child asks their mother how people dealt with life before augmented reality goggles. The mother replies that they did have augmented reality back then -- it was called tequila. She then elaborates that "the controls didn't work well and it had a nausea problem," that "sometimes you'd do things you'd regret," and that "there was no save point." The child, alarmed, says "I'm sorry! Oh if only you'd had some other option!" The mother warmly replies, "Cutie, don't wish your life away."
The joke works on multiple levels. First, there's the straightforward humor of comparing alcohol to augmented reality technology -- both alter your perception of reality, but alcohol does so in a far messier and less controllable way. The mother's description of tequila using tech terminology ("controls," "nausea problem," "save point") is a funny framing of the well-known downsides of drinking.
The punchline lands in the final exchange. The child, taking the mother's story at face value, expresses sympathy -- only for the mother to gently imply that the child was the "thing she'd regret" or at least the consequence of a night of tequila-fueled decisions. The line "don't wish your life away" is a double entendre: on the surface it's a warm maternal platitude, but underneath it means "if I'd had better options, you might not exist." This is a recurring SMBC theme of parents being darkly honest about the circumstances of their children's conception.