Blonde Roof Rat

Title card for the Tales from the Mischief comic The Egg Is Listening: a roof rat stands on top of a smart display, looking down at its lit settings screen.

The Egg Is Listening

Tales from the Mischief presents

The Egg Is Listening

A brown agouti roof rat on a wooden desk beside a white smart display, its head lowered near the screen, which shows an Alexa suggestion and the timeWe formally apologise for last Thursday, when a member of this mischief licked the sacred egg to see if it was food.
A brown agouti roof rat leaning over the top of a white smart display; the screen shows a weather forecast with temperature and hourly iconsKeep your voice down. The egg is listening. It heard the human ask about the weather and it TOLD him.
A brown agouti roof rat in profile stepping toward a white smart display, nose near its top corner; the screen shows a saved photoOne offering, presented nicely! Everyone enjoys a snack, even a fat glowing egg with no mouth!
A brown agouti roof rat rearing up beside a white smart display with one front paw on top of it, looking at the cameraIt GLOWED at me. I have never been glowed at in my life. My mother will hear of this.
A brown agouti roof rat behind a white smart display, head lowered and peering over the top edge; the screen shows a saved photo of a ratThe egg is listening AND taking names. It said ‘sorry, I didn’t catch that.’ It catches EVERYTHING.
A brown agouti roof rat resting its chin on the top edge of a white smart display, its mouth near the top of the device; the screen shows the settings menuThe egg is listening, taking names, AND it controls the heating. So here is my request. Warmth. Crackers. Silence about the licking.
The brown agouti roof rat beside the white smart display again, head lowNegotiations continue. The offering has been doubled. The egg demands crackers.
Tales from the Mischief. A new sketch on Sundays.
Rats really are listening to things you cannot hear. They detect well into the ultrasonic and talk in calls far above the range of human ears. That work is in laboratory Norway rats; nobody has run it on roof rats.[1]
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References

  • [1] Wöhr M, Schwarting RK. “Ultrasonic communication in rats: can playback of 50-kHz calls induce approach behavior?.” PLoS One 2007;2(12):e1365. PubMed.