#2972: Helium Synthesis

[Hairy sits on an office chair at the head of a conference table and has his hands on the table, with Cueball and Megan also at the table.]

Hairy: These helium shortages every few years are such a pain.

Hairy: Our company needs a reliable source of helium.

[The same situation, but now Hairbun is also seen at the table on the left side of Cueball. Cueball holds a cellphone in his left hand, which Megan and Hairbun look at.]

Hairbun: Where does helium come from, anyway?

Cueball: Hmm, apparently most of it is from "Big Bang nucleosynthesis"?

Hairy: Well, let's figure out how to do that.

[Hairy, Megan and Hairbun are working on a large machine labeled "Big Bang Nucleosynthesis," with Megan holding its wired control device in her left hand.]

[Two panels depict another Big Bang, followed by various stages of cosmic development, including galaxies and planets forming, shown in white on a black background.]

[The scene returns to the same conference room setup as before, with the characters in the same positions (although Hairy's hair is subtly different from the first frame). Text at the top of the box reads: "14 Billion Years Later"]

Hairy: These helium shortages every few years are such a pain.

Hairy: Our company needs a reliable source of helium.