Strip 221 -- First Seen: 2009-07-20
Escape From Terra is updated with new pages every Monday through Friday.

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The Transcript For This Page

Panel 1
Three-shot of Bert, Ernie and Tobi at the table on the patio. Re-establish the scene from Friday. Tobi is animated, leaning towards the brothers, palms in the table as he pontificates.

Tobi: Do you have any idea how bent out of shape the Powers That Be get when new disruptive technologies come along and challenge their power base?

Panel 2
The next two panels illustrate what Tobi is saying. Lets make these and all other 'illustrative panels' to come have rounded corners or some other device which distinguishes them from panels showing action in the 'present.' In this one, we have bit of a street scene in a Martian city where people walk past a shop that has a large advertising poster in the window. Two or three Martians can be seen walking past, but we can clearly see the poster.

The poster promotes the new Percheron Home Fusion Power Unit. The Unit is about the size of a desktop PC but it's face is along one of the wide sides rather than the narrow sides. It has two readout monitors and about 20 buttons on the face, but is otherwise designed to look home-appliance-like. We see it mounted on the wall in a typical Martian home, with a young Martian couple gazing upon it with adoration and pride, as it powers their home entertainment system, house-lights, kitchen as can be glimpsed through an open door, etc. Leave room for advertising-type text in the upper and lower regions.

Tobi: Earth researchers were well on the way to developing desktop fusion units, long before the Martians came out with their devices.

Panel 3
This time a street scene in Terra. Glum Terrans trudge by a large promotional poster pasted on a brick wall, promoting the Global Energy Company. Looks like one of those old Soviet propaganda posters from the 1930s, including graphics depicting a power plant, transmission lines, a kitchen gas stove burner alight and some stylized 'Socialist realism' figure pointing the way towards the future. Leave top third open for text, bottom eighth for more text.


Tobi: Personal fusion units are used throughout the system, but ordinary Earthers can't get them for love or money.

Tobi: Do you know why?