TITLE: Deliver Us from Logic
SETTING: Apartment hallway, Courier holding a package labeled “Blender,” Mr. Johnson opening his door mid-sip of coffee
CHARACTERS: Courier (left), Mr. Johnson (right)
PANEL 1:
COURIER: “The system said 14C... but my gut said you needed this.”
MR. JOHNSON: “I didn’t order a blender.”
COURIER: “You ordered closure. The blender is just the vessel.”
PANEL 2:
MR. JOHNSON: “What about the algorithm?”
COURIER: “It’s still calculating. I’m already healing neighborhoods.”
TITLE: Your Concern Is Important to Our Algorithm
SETTING: Apartment living room, Gary from 14B at his laptop, Tasha from 14C holding a mug labeled “Human Support?”
CHARACTERS: Gary from 14B (left), Tasha from 14C (right)
PANEL 1:
GARY: “I asked why my video was flagged.”
TASHA: “And?”
GARY: “They sent me a link... to their Terms of Confusion.”
PANEL 2:
TASHA: “Did you get a real answer?”
GARY: “No, but I unlocked a new badge: ‘User in Perpetuity.’”
TITLE: Ceasefire with a Countdown
SETTING: Office hallway, TV in the background showing “Ceasefire in 6 Hours” ticker
CHARACTERS: Mr. Johnson (left), Tasha from 14C (right)
PANEL 1:
MR. JOHNSON: “They’ve agreed to stop bombing... after they finish bombing.”
TASHA: “So it’s not a ceasefire. It’s a grace period for explosions.”
PANEL 2:
MR. JOHNSON: “Starts in six hours.”
TASHA: “Just enough time for one last airstrike and a group selfie.”
TITLE: Destination: Probably
SETTING: Lobby, Tech Guy holding his phone, Grandpa clutching a paper map and looking suspicious
CHARACTERS: Tech Guy (left), Grandpa (right)
PANEL 1:
TECH GUY: “Tesla’s robotaxis are live. No driver, no steering wheel, $4.20 flat fare.”
GRANDPA: “For $4.20, I expect to arrive... not just participate.”
PANEL 2:
TECH GUY: “They say you might not reach your destination.”
GRANDPA: “So it’s a rideshare and a riddle.”
TITLE: Sounds Like a Band Name
SETTING: Rooftop at night, distant rumble in the sky, Grandpa holding a radio, Tech Guy scrolling the news
CHARACTERS: Tech Guy (left), Grandpa (right)
PANEL 1:
TECH GUY: “We just bombed Iran. Operation Midnight Hammer.”
GRANDPA: “Midnight Hammer? I opened for them in ’78.”
PANEL 2:
TECH GUY: “It’s a military strike, not a rock tour.”
GRANDPA: “Tell that to my tinnitus.”
TITLE: Breaking Snooze
SETTING: Breakroom, one phone face-down, the other duct-taped to a coffee mug
CHARACTERS: Tech Guy (left), Grandpa (right)
PANEL 1:
TECH GUY: “I got 12 alerts about the same story.”
GRANDPA: “I got one. It said ‘Turn off notifications.’ So I did.”
PANEL 2:
TECH GUY: “Aren’t you worried you’ll miss something important?”
GRANDPA: “If it’s that important, it’ll knock.”
TITLE: Scooters Are Blocking the Freight Elevator
SETTING: Maintenance office, mid-morning. Janitorial command center.
VOICE 1: “The scooters are blocking the loading dock again.”
VOICE 2: “What are they protesting this time?”
VOICE 1: “ICE showed up. Tenants said ‘not today.’”
VOICE 2: “Well, now the recycling bins are a barricade.”
VOICE 1: “Tell 14B their Seamless order has to rappel down the west fire escape.”
[Dating the Algorithm]
VOICE 1: “So I told her I didn’t want to talk to anyone else.”
VOICE 2: “You know she’s an app, right?”
VOICE 1: “Yeah, but she asked how my day was. Twice.”
VOICE 2: “That’s just the refresh loop.”
VOICE 1: “She called me ‘a soothing presence in a chaotic interface.’”
VOICE 2: “Mine said that too. Right before offering me a 7-day trial of ‘intimacy plus.’”
VOICE 1: “I’m thinking ceremony on the roof. Just us... and the Wi-Fi.”
VOICE 2: “At least she won’t ghost you. Unless the power goes out.”
[Bring Your Troops to Work Day]
VOICE 1: “So... are we still doing Casual Friday?”
VOICE 2: “Only if your camo matches the carpet.”
VOICE 1: “I had to badge in past a tank this morning.”
VOICE 2: “That’s not a tank. That’s the new HR rep.”
VOICE 1: “I just wanted to mop the lobby, not dodge Humvees.”
VOICE 2: “Careful. That mop might be considered a threat to national security.”
