Travel Ghost
Travel Ghost
[Cueball, holding a smartphone, is talking to White Hat.] Cueball: Lots of apps let you plan your trips using real-time bus, train, and traffic data.  They try to predict which route will be faster, but aren't always right.
[Cueball continues to talk off-panel. The text is above a map showing three possible routes with an overlaid Cueball on each; the top and the bottom route and Cueball are faded and the middle is black up until the black Cueball. After that this route is also faded. A black point on the right indicates the destination.] Cueball (off-panel): Instead of just planning , my new app lets you send "ghost" versions of you along different routes, simulating their travel using the real-time data
[Cueball, again talking to White Hat, holding the smartphone down.] Cueball: That way, you can see which route turned out to be faster in practice, Cueball: You can also race your past selves.
[Cueball is getting out of his car holding his smartphone in one hand and a briefcase in the other; A faded out Cueball bicyclist is in front of him to the right. At the top there is a caption in a frame: Soon... Cueball: Ugh, lost to the bike ghost again.
[Cueball with his briefcase is outside a door, holding a key card up to a key reader. On the inside of the door Ponytail is facing the door and points toward the faded version of Cueball also holding a briefcase.] Cueball: Hey, my key won't work Ponytail: I'm sorry, but we've decided to replace you. This floaty guy is much more punctual. Cueball: But...
[Science Girl and another girl with wavy long hair, is holding faded out Cueball's hands. The real Cueball is standing to the right, next to his briefcase on the ground. He is holding his hands out towards his kids.] Science Girl: Our new dad never misses our games! Cueball: Nooo!

In racing game , a " ghost " is a common term for the recording of a player's best actions. The recording is used to create a virtual racer that another player can compete against. The previous player is shown as ghostly and transparent, because it is only a recording of a previous game and it does not interact in any way with the game currently being played. Certain models of cycling also use this concept to motivate athletes while training.
A mapping app, such as Google Maps , attempts to plot the fastest route from one place to another, but there's no way to tell which route is really the fastest without testing it. So, Cueball has created an app that will simulate a number of different routes and produce "ghosts" from them. He hopes to use this app to discover the fastest route by competing against his ghosts like a racing game. He brags about this app to his friend White Hat .
However, the comic takes a turn for the absurd when it depicts actual ghosts competing with him, instead of simulations on his phone.  Soon enough, he is fired from work because one of his "ghosts" is more punctual than he is. And even worse his children apparently comes to prefer the more punctual "ghosts" over him as this version of daddy never misses their games. (The girls could be the same as those in the 1659: Tire Swing ).
In the title text this is even taken into the bedroom, although it is a different ghost than the one preferred by the children. This is likely a subtle reference to euphemisms for sexual climax, such as "arrival", with delayed ejaculation generally preferred.
It should be noted that this app would not guarantee the minimum travel time. The user doesn't find out which route was fastest until after the first ghost has arrived. But as the current traffic situation will have changed by then, that route will not necessarily still be the fastest.
[Cueball, holding a smartphone, is talking to White Hat.] Cueball: Lots of apps let you plan your trips using real-time bus, train, and traffic data.  They try to predict which route will be faster, but aren't always right.
[Cueball continues to talk off-panel. The text is above a map showing three possible routes with an overlaid Cueball on each; the top and the bottom route and Cueball are faded and the middle is black up until the black Cueball. After that this route is also faded. A black point on the right indicates the destination.] Cueball (off-panel): Instead of just planning , my new app lets you send "ghost" versions of you along different routes, simulating their travel using the real-time data
[Cueball, again talking to White Hat, holding the smartphone down.] Cueball: That way, you can see which route turned out to be faster in practice, Cueball: You can also race your past selves.
[Cueball is getting out of his car holding his smartphone in one hand and a briefcase in the other; A faded out Cueball bicyclist is in front of him to the right. At the top there is a caption in a frame: Soon... Cueball: Ugh, lost to the bike ghost again.
[Cueball with his briefcase is outside a door, holding a key card up to a key reader. On the inside of the door Ponytail is facing the door and points toward the faded version of Cueball also holding a briefcase.] Cueball: Hey, my key won't work Ponytail: I'm sorry, but we've decided to replace you. This floaty guy is much more punctual. Cueball: But...
[Science Girl and another girl with wavy long hair, is holding faded out Cueball's hands. The real Cueball is standing to the right, next to his briefcase on the ground. He is holding his hands out towards his kids.] Science Girl: Our new dad never misses our games! Cueball: Nooo!
