ROCK BOTTOM

020. ROCK BOTTOM AND HIS FRIENDS AND THE ART CONTEST

2026-02-19

esther (a teal slime creature), rock bottom, the selector, and james B are standing near a cliff. esther gestures with a pseudopod and says "ok i challenge you all now, you have 3 days to create a sculpture, it can be anything. you will also have to explain simply what it's about. alright go."
and 3 days later they return. rock bottom goes first, holding out a globe depicting a man with blood on his head strolling through a forest with the moon visible (strung from the top of the globe) and several fungi and flower scattered about. there is also a tree with a hole in it containing two glowing eyes. rock bottom explains: "i have made a globe of a man who is lost in a forest at night with a head wound. it's a very large forest and he's lost and alone, and uh-oh there might be something inside that tree." esther replies: "cool"
the selector goes next, holding up a bust of a scowling bearded man, painted brown and green. she explains: "i made a clay sculpture of plato and painted him in camoflague colors to convey how we are discouraged from analyzing the sociopolitical systems that keep is in place." esther responds: "a-ha"
james b goes last, holding up what seems to be a simple if misshapen white cube. he explains: "i wrote a generative algorithm and hooked it up to my 3d printer but all it gave me were these hollow wonky cubes with inside detail you can't see. i think i misunderstood the task." esther assures: "nah"
all 4 look down the cliff face. esther says with a smile: "ok now on the count of 3 i want you to drop it into the inferno." far down the tall cliff face are burning red flames.

Written by: Princess, Ernie

Drawn by: Ernie

Characters: Rock Bottom, The Selector, James B., Esther

A before-and-after comparison; before is an orange with the number "1" written on it ("D1 ball" by Not whamer100, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons), after is the same orange with a slice cut out. Next to the comparison is text reading "DOCTORS HAVE ALL FAINTED".