Editing 2573: Alien Mission
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| titletext = Fine, we can go search the Himalayas for the Yeti ONE more time, but keep a safe altitude over the Pacific and PLEASE watch where you're going. We can't afford another Amelia Earhart incident. | | titletext = Fine, we can go search the Himalayas for the Yeti ONE more time, but keep a safe altitude over the Pacific and PLEASE watch where you're going. We can't afford another Amelia Earhart incident. | ||
}} | }} | ||
+ | *This was the eighth comic to come out after the [[Countdown in header text]] started. | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by an ALIEN LOOKING FOR BIGFOOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | + | This strip portrays a conversation between two extraterrestrial flying saucers (presumably over radio), in which they discuss their long secret observation of earth, only to reveal that at least one of their purposes was to find {{w|Bigfoot}}, which they have apparently been unable to do. The alien on one ship argues that it's time to give up and except that no such creature in on earth, while the other appears to hold out hope, in the face of a complete lack of evidence. | |
− | This | + | This strip is related to (and may be a continuation of) [https://xkcd.com/2572 the previous strip], which dealt with the reasons why UFO photographs are always out-of-focus and/or lacking details. This strip expands on the reasons ''why'' these alien ships are visiting earth, which apparently include an unsuccessful attempt to locate {{w|cryptids}}. |
− | The | + | The humor derives from the fact that UFO enthusiasts and cryptozoology enthusiasts have a similar mindset: they both believe in phenomena that the scientific establishment declares to be baseless. Both systems are fully lacking in clear scientific evidence, but have an abundance of eyewitness accounts and vague/blurry photographic evidence. And both belief systems have existed for many years, but rapidly advancing technology, accumulating data, and ubiquity of high quality cameras have still failed to capture any clear and detailed evidence of either (a point which [[Randall]] seems to find particularly significant). But, while these concepts are so parallel, they're logically independent, as one deals with species that are presumably native to earth, and the other deals with advanced alien species visiting the earth. The notion of alien visitors being interested in cryptozoology is incongruous: to them, all earth animals would presumably seem equally alien. |
− | + | In previous strips, [[Randall]] has suggested playing conspiracy theories off one another (see [[966: Jet Fuel]]). This has a similar theme: suggesting that UFOs are here to search for Bigfoot (and the Yeti) sounds ridiculous on its face. But any explanation of ''why'' it's ridiculous would apply equally well to the notion of Bigfoot and UFO's individually. | |
− | + | At least some of the aliens clearly have a similar belief, at least in the {{w|Bigfoot}}/Sasquatch, which is why they came to the Earth. This implies that they had some prior knowledge (or suspicion) of its existence, and only then (possibly) narrowed it down to this one planet. | |
− | + | Their very thorough observation of the Earth (enough to comprehensively catalogue many of its humans and even track individual purchases of camera-technology, etc) seems to have been insufficient to find Bigfoot, but neither has it entirely refuted the claims. At least in the view of some of the holdouts with influence over this mission. | |
− | Whatever the arguments about | + | Whatever the arguments about the Sasquatch, the title text reveals a separate discussion regarding the {{w|Yeti}} (a similar large hominid purported to reside in the Himalayas), and the tentative permission to conduct ''one last search'' for it. This perhaps implies further unreferenced searches are also being made for the likes of the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman and Chupacabra. It also suggests that they ran into {{w|Amelia Earhart}} while both were flying over the Pacific Ocean, and that's why she disappeared. |
− | That their clearly superior observation technology and methods have been apparently unable to resolve these issues at first seems like it shouldn't bode well for our own cryptozoologists | + | That their clearly superior observation technology and methods have been apparently unable to resolve these issues at first seems like it shouldn't bode well for our own cryptozoologists, but the lack of definitively negative results does at least mean there's a degree of job-security, such as there already is. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[ | + | :[Four panels, largely featuring two 'classic' Flying Saucers hovering in the sky with speech-lines indicating communication between the saucers/crew.] |
+ | |||
+ | :[Panel one - only the leftmost saucer talking] | ||
:Left Saucer: Sir, can we talk? | :Left Saucer: Sir, can we talk? | ||
:Left Saucer: We've been observing earth for almost a century. | :Left Saucer: We've been observing earth for almost a century. | ||
− | :[ | + | :[Panel two] |
:Left Saucer: Hovering and zooming from place to place, trying to avoid being spotted by humans. | :Left Saucer: Hovering and zooming from place to place, trying to avoid being spotted by humans. | ||
:Right Saucer: Yeah. | :Right Saucer: Yeah. | ||
− | :[ | + | :[Panel three - frameless, narrowed to just the left saucer in view] |
:Left Saucer: By now we've flown over every inch of the surface many times. | :Left Saucer: By now we've flown over every inch of the surface many times. | ||
− | : | + | :Off-panel from right: Yes, and? |
− | :[ | + | :[Panel four] |
− | :Left Saucer: Face it: | + | :Left Saucer: Face it: if bigfoot ''is'' real, he's not anywhere on this planet. |
:Right Saucer: But humans have captured some intriguing videos! | :Right Saucer: But humans have captured some intriguing videos! | ||
− | :Left Saucer: | + | :Left Saucer: *sigh* |
:Right Saucer: How else do you explain the... | :Right Saucer: How else do you explain the... | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
[[Category:Aliens]] | [[Category:Aliens]] | ||
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