scripture
Explanation
This multi-panel comic shows a conversation between a human and what appears to be God or an alien being in space. The human asks: "So there's no other sapient civilization out there in the universe?" God/the being responds: "Not anymore, no."
The human asks what happened, and the being explains: "It happens the same everywhere. Life evolves, life becomes conscious, conscious life develops writing, writing gives rise to scripture, scripture is decreed to be the literal truth, and scripture says to 'be fruitful and multiply.' Eventually it becomes scripture as decreed by God replicated everywhere."
The human then says "So you're obsessing with me?" and the being replies: "You'll be part of a specimen zoo — among silicon-based life forms."
In the final panel, the being says "I'm not an animal! I will have freedom!" The being responds: "No, just free food." The human capitulates: "Okay... well I do like to live life in the same routine..."
The joke operates on several levels. First, it offers a darkly humorous answer to the Fermi Paradox (why we don't observe other intelligent civilizations) — they all destroyed themselves through uncontrolled population growth mandated by their religions. The "be fruitful and multiply" command, found in many Earth religions, is imagined as a universal phenomenon that leads every civilization to breed itself into extinction.
Second, there's a role reversal: the human ends up as a zoo exhibit for silicon-based life forms, mirroring how humans keep animals in zoos. The human's initial outrage at being treated like an animal quickly fades when they learn they'll get free food and routine — satirizing how easily humans can be pacified by comfort and security, even at the cost of freedom. This echoes broader commentary about modern life, where people trade autonomy for convenience.