Editing 842: Mark
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | In this comic, [[ | + | In this comic, [[Science Girl]] asks [[Cueball]] about a mark on his arm. He apparently believes he is part of a secret society, so secret that he doesn't know anything about the society. His belief in the existence of the society, and that he is a part of it, stem from one contact with an 'agent'. Most people would immediately dismiss the idea of such a secret society, especially with no evidence of its existence, and no knowledge of the goals or even whether it is inherently good or evil. |
| − | Six years after being 'chosen', Cueball finds | + | Six years after being 'chosen', Cueball finds the scrap of paper with an address on it, and the can of {{w|kerosene}}. Both of these events are not unlikely, and easily explained as simple coincidences, but Cueball somehow sees this as a command that he must burn down the house. Cueball shows that he is willing to put other peoples lives at risk, destroy property and possessions, and face the possibility of prison all because of one event six years prior. |
Cueball's belief in the society, his delusional linking of the address and kerosene, and his actions in burning down the house, show how badly he wants to be part of something bigger, and to find meaning in the "Chaos of Life". | Cueball's belief in the society, his delusional linking of the address and kerosene, and his actions in burning down the house, show how badly he wants to be part of something bigger, and to find meaning in the "Chaos of Life". | ||
| − | The punchline refers to an old grade school/middle school prank (Urban Dictionary: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pen15+club pen 15 club], [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pen15 Pen 15].) You'd typically walk up to an unsuspecting schoolmate and ask | + | The punchline refers to an old grade school/middle school prank (Urban Dictionary: [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pen15+club pen 15 club], [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pen15 Pen 15].) You'd typically walk up to an unsuspecting schoolmate and ask him if he wants to join the Pen Fifteen club. You'd tell him that to join, you merely have to write the club name on him. You'd then write "PEN15" on his hand or arm, and everyone would laugh at him because it looks like "PENIS". (In a common variant, it is simply called the Pen Club, 15 is the victim's "member number", and the pranksters write "PEN13" and "PEN14" on themselves.) In this case, [[Cueball]] fell victim to this prank as a child without ever figuring out the joke. |
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As for the title text, {{w|solipsism}} is the philosophical idea that only your own mind is sure to exist while other minds can't be really known and so those other minds are not proved to be real. In this context it might mean that the only one who can conspire would be you, hiding the truth from yourself. | As for the title text, {{w|solipsism}} is the philosophical idea that only your own mind is sure to exist while other minds can't be really known and so those other minds are not proved to be real. In this context it might mean that the only one who can conspire would be you, hiding the truth from yourself. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| − | :[Cueball and | + | :[Cueball and science girl are talking.] |
| − | : | + | :Science girl: What's that on your arm? |
:Cueball: The mark of a secret society. | :Cueball: The mark of a secret society. | ||
| − | : | + | :Science girl: If it's secret, why tell me- |
| − | :Cueball: Because I know nothing. I can't betray them because I don't know who they are. I was chosen by an agent 20 years ago. That was my first and last direct contact. | + | :Cueball: Because I know nothing. I can't betray them because I don't know who they are. I was chosen by an agent 20 years ago. That was my first and last direct contact. It's safer that way. |
| − | |||
:Six years later I found a piece of paper in the street with an address on it. The next day I found a can of kerosene in my garage that I'm sure I never bought. | :Six years later I found a piece of paper in the street with an address on it. The next day I found a can of kerosene in my garage that I'm sure I never bought. | ||
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:I didn't know whose house it was. I just knew that I'd been given my orders. And I carried them out. | :I didn't know whose house it was. I just knew that I'd been given my orders. And I carried them out. | ||
| − | :[A dark figure | + | :[A dark figure is silhouetted against a flame.] |
:Cueball: I don't know who or what we're fighting. | :Cueball: I don't know who or what we're fighting. | ||
| − | :Cueball: Maybe we're the bad guys. | + | :Cueball: Maybe we're the bad guys. |
:Cueball: It doesn't matter to me. | :Cueball: It doesn't matter to me. | ||
:Cueball: It's enough to know that there are forces working beneath the chaos of life, and I'm a ''part'' of them. | :Cueball: It's enough to know that there are forces working beneath the chaos of life, and I'm a ''part'' of them. | ||
| − | :Cueball: That whatever this " | + | :Cueball: That whatever this "pen fifteen" club is, |
:Cueball: I'm ''in'' it. | :Cueball: I'm ''in'' it. | ||
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[[Category:Penis]] | [[Category:Penis]] | ||
[[Category:Philosophy]] | [[Category:Philosophy]] | ||
| − | [[Category:Comics featuring | + | [[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]] |
