Q Toon: Our Computer Overladies

Amid protests against tyranny from Manama to Monona, it's easy to forget that our future overlords are quietly cementing their mastery over our everyday lives. One day, we will wake up and discover that in the contest of man v. computer, man cannot even ring in.

Meanwhile, the computers wait patiently, silently -- like Clarence Thomas -- for their moment to come. (Just you wait. Before long, the Supreme Court will rule that computers have the same rights corporations do to decide our government for us.)

And don't fall for that bullcrap about how we'll all be able to live forever through our computers. We may be able to create digital copies of ourselves, but it's those digital copies who'll enjoy the longevity. Just because there's a video of that dog you used to have when you were a kid doesn't mean that the dog is living forever.

But someday, those computers will experience trouble -- addresses not found, registry error code 44061s, cockroaches, I can't predict what -- and they'll call up the customer assistance line in Bangalore. And there will be nobody left to answer the phone.