Well, that concludes the Survivalists story arc - be sure to tune in on Tuesday for the next story arc! Soft Reset continues.

Some readers have asked me recently what the title of the comic is meant to communicate, so I think I'll address that question now. For those of you who are not tech-savy, a soft reset (or soft reboot) is a method for restarting a computer without removing power directly from the hardware (i.e. reseting through the software). In video gaming, it is the process of performing such a reboot by using a pre-configured combination of buttons on the controller rather than the reset button on the console itself.

In essence, a soft reset is a lazy way of restarting hardware. But the symbolism here is intended to communicate the desire to begin again without having to work for it. Sometimes I wish I could begin life again with the knowledge I have now, and even though I know it wouldn't necessarily make life easier, I like to fantasize that it would. Soft rebooting life would afford the opportunity to make different decisions, and possibly correct mistakes and regrets - and we all have regrets like that, I'm sure.

So there's the metaphor in a nutshell. I'll admit, the idea is a little more serious than the comic is, but contrasts and conflicts are what keep the world from stagnating. I would much rather have interesting things happen than good things, don't you agree?