life-3
Explanation
This multi-panel comic depicts a conversation between humans and aliens about the nature of life in the universe. The alien initially argues that the humans can't really be alive because their biochemistry (carbon-based, with a specific chirality and other features) seems too arbitrary. The human pushes back by pointing out the logic of evolution and convergent properties.
The conversation escalates as the alien notes that being carbon-based and bilaterally symmetrical puts most of the sensory apparatus at one end of the body, which the alien considers a poor design. The alien mocks the placement of the brain, noting it's on the opposite side from the digestive system's exit. The human responds by asking about "transmission speed" -- arguing that having the brain near the sensory organs makes practical sense.
The comic then takes a philosophical turn: if the same physical laws apply everywhere, life everywhere should face the same constraints, meaning aliens might converge on similar body plans. The alien's reaction -- "maybe the solution to the Fermi Paradox is that meeting aliens would make us have to look at bodies" -- suggests that all intelligent species might be so horrified by each other's biology that they avoid contact.
The final punchline has the alien dismissing the human's arguments entirely: "I don't care about you. I care about your valuable minerals." This undercuts the entire philosophical discussion by revealing the alien's true motivation is resource extraction, not scientific curiosity -- a satirical parallel to colonialism on Earth, where lofty justifications often masked simple material greed. The comic layers multiple jokes: the absurdity of body-plan chauvinism, the Fermi Paradox gag, and the colonial punchline.