sharing-2
Explanation
This comic depicts a first-contact scenario between a human and an alien. The alien is excited to meet a human and share knowledge. But when the alien shows the human a classic optical illusion (a duck-rabbit ambiguous figure), the alien explains that "if you look at it, your brain keeps cycling back and forth -- thinking it's a duck, then a rabbit, then the true scale of heat-death and nothingness throughout the universe, then back to a duck."
The human says they just see "the duck and the rabbit" -- they do not perceive the cosmic existential horror phase of the cycle. The alien is initially shocked ("Oh my God, so your brain can't--?") but then catches itself and says "Nevermind! Just a joke!"
In the next panel, the alien turns away and mutters grimly: "Ha! Pranked! The universe is an indifferent void with no inherent significance! HAHAHAHA! You should've seen your face!" The human looks confused while the alien laughs maniacally.
The humor hinges on the idea that the alien species naturally perceives existential dread as part of their normal cognitive processing -- it is as automatic to them as the duck-rabbit flip is to humans. When the alien realizes humans lack this perception, it is horrified on our behalf but tries to cover it up as a joke. The comic plays on the philosophical concept that ignorance of cosmic meaninglessness might actually be a feature, not a bug, of human cognition. The alien's forced laughter in the final panel is both hilarious and unsettling -- it is clearly masking genuine distress at the human's blissful ignorance.