Friday January 12, 2001
Book 1: The Tub of Happiness — Bureaucracy Bountiful
Troubleshooting Guide: Did you not get the joke in this strip? Here is hint #1: What were the last words David Bowman uttered before vanishing into the Japetus monolith at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey?

If you guessed "Oh my god! It's full of stars!" then you've either read the book, seen the movie, or my hint was a little too obvious.

If you are still waiting for hint #2, try rebooting your computer. That always helps.

At any rate, here it is, January 12th, 2001, and we haven't made contact with alien life. Does this invalidate the writings of great Science-Fiction authors like Arthur C. Clarke? Of course not! This is why you should surf on over to my SF Library, where you can find reviews of some of his books, as well as reviews of lots of other great (and a few absolutely awful) titles.

(Note: As of April 1, 2005 the library is offline for major maintenance. Belay that order. Don't click that link! The library should be back online sometime this summer.)

Original Art

Transcript

Massey: Where am I? What are you doing to me?
Attorney Drone 1: We are paying for your future services, Mister Reynstein. We've implanted the first of two hypernet nodes in your brain. When we throw this switich, you'll see into the heart of the collective. You'll taste the power of our Partnership... absoulte power, which corrupts absolutely. You will be ours.
Attorney Drone 1: You will then have no choice but to agree to join us, become one with us.
SFX: FLIP
Massey: Oh my god... It's full of stars!
Attorney Drone 1: Oops. Wrong switch. Let's try this agian.
SFX: FLIP
Massey: AAAIIEE! It's full of lawyers!