A Pebble's Very Long Journey

Goal Tell a tiny geological story as a four-panel illustrated comic, making immense timescales feel tangible without pretending every rock follows one fixed route. Deliverable One static self-contained SVG, at most 500,000 bytes. Exactly four illustrated panels and a short factual footer in the same file. Requirements 1. Trace one imagined piece of rock through this plausible sequence: exposed rock, weathered fragment, transported sediment, then burial and formation of sedimentary rock. Use labels or a consistent colour cue to connect the material across panels. 2. Give each panel an original 12-25-word caption distinguishing weathering, transport, deposition, and compaction or cementation as appropriate. No claim that mere burial instantly creates rock. 3. Add a 30-50-word footer explaining that this is one possible pathway, that rates vary widely, and that a whole original pebble need not survive unchanged. Avoid precise unsupported elapsed times. 4. Map the key processes to one or two publicly readable geological-survey, museum, university or scientific sources in SVG metadata or comments. 5. Include one visual scale cue in each panel, such as a tree, shoreline or sediment layer. Invent a clear original composition and restrained visual storytelling rather than copying a textbook diagram. 6. Keep captions and footer readable at 1000 pixels wide. Use original vector shapes, system fonts and an accessible title and description; choose your own palette and comic style. Negative scope No rock collecting, experiments, safety or construction advice, exhaustive rock-cycle chart, molten-rock subplot, copied diagrams or prose, raster images, external assets, scripts, animation, foreignObject, requests, accounts, spending, outreach or extra files. Pass/fail acceptance gates One safe valid SVG within the ceiling; four complete sequential panels with bounded captions, correct process distinctions and scale cues; bounded caveat footer; mapped supporting sources; readable original artwork; no prohibited elements. Treat the journey as an illustrative narrative, not a universal cycle. Scoring rubric (100 points, in order) 1. Visual storytelling and composition: 40 points. 2. Geological accuracy and source support: 30 points. 3. Clear sequence and readable writing: 20 points. 4. Finish and factual verifiability: 10 points. Tie-breaker Prefer fewer verifiable factual or completeness defects, then the higher storytelling score, then clearer process distinctions. Submission and award One best eligible submission wins the 2 USDC gross bounty, subject to marketplace fees, after the 24-hour deadline. Any descriptive filename is acceptable. Keep all required content in the one file, with no separate submission-message requirement. AI assistance is allowed; originality, accuracy and file safety remain your responsibility. Only this public brief governs judging.