Sunday, 4/14/2216, Part 1

“What are you doing today mr. popular?” Ami asked, emphasizing the nickname with venom. It had lost its humor for her after last night. She was not happy about Ontivia staying over, even though I had assured her I was just helping a friend. In all honesty, I wouldn’t mind if something did happen, it might cure me of my creepy fixation on K, but I doubted that’s what Ontivia had in mind. I didn’t trust my popularity enough to sacrifice a real friend over.

“Just a lazy Sunday for me.” I said as the new hit reality show Europa played on my vision. After the success of Venus, Orange TV had launched several other exploration/colonization reality shows to diminishing returns. Ceres had been a particularly notable flop. Luckily for whatever sorry aristocrat was in charge of their media wing, scientists had been saying Europa had the potential for life for some time and, despite probes turning up nothing, people had been tuning in to watch humanity’s potential first contact.

I listened to a colonist’s in depth explanation of her past relationship with one of the other colonists as her vision feed played. She was drilling ice cores, again. The meme was that this show was 20% drama, 10% cliffhangers, and 70% ice coring. I guess that’s a successful formula.

I sighed and switched it off. I didn’t care about exploration, aliens, or drama. I would’ve just had Ami summarize the news, but I didn’t want to ask her when she was mad at me. Not that I cared about the news either, but some knowledge is required to have conversations, and I was a conversation haver now.

May as well read this terrorist book before Ontivia comes over. I picked it up from the desk I left it on last night and held it uneasily, as if it were an HU bomb. It wasn’t upsetting to know that she was breaking the law, I did that myself nearly every day, but it did make me worried for her. More than that though it made me kind of worried for myself.

I had been tempted to contact Seitaro to see if he would know what to do, but I thought better of it in the end. No matter how cool he is, he is still a government employee and who knows what he might be obligated to do if he found out. I resolved to keep Ontivia’s secret safe.

I cracked open the book. It had been years since I had done this and even then only as a novelty. My mom and dad had collected paper books back in the day, one of their many eccentricities. I used to creep into my dad’s office and look at them. He had all different types with different colors and sizes that he kept stacked on a shelf in there. That room used to look like it was straight out of a 20th century period piece, covered with books and papers. He liked it that way. Even so I don’t think he had actually read them. That was just too inconvenient, even for him.

“The greatest problem of our age is the result of the greatest successes: there are too many people with nothing to do.” The book began. “Humanity is now more prosperous and productive than previous generations could have ever imagined. The irony is that to achieve this productivity humanity itself had to be removed from the reigns of production. Under the current organization of the economy…”

Skim skim skim.

“There are no human rights under capitalism, only human resources. When those are valuable, the worker can exercise autonomy. When those are cheap, men will be fed like firewood to the hungry maw of capital. We live in an age where human resources have become so cheap they are nearly valueless. Human labor no longer drives the economy, instead…“

Skim skim skim.

“The traditional wisdom would have us sacrifice people before sacrificing profits. The system served well enough as a replacement for feudalism one thousand years ago, but just as feudalism was replaced for the better, so too can we replace capitalism. The truth is that the traditional wisdom is no longer wise. When labor is done by assets, only the owners are rewarded.”

Yeah, whatever, the world sucks. You want a better one? Well get in line buddy.

“Today, just as one thousand years ago, the means of production are held by hereditary monarchs. We built these machines but we do not own them. The prosperity they generate is the result of our collective success, it is time for them to be collectively administered. As a member of this species you should be entitled to share in its prosperity.”

Ha! What did this guy think UBI was? I mean, I wouldn’t want to live off of it, but the majority of people do.

“Now may be our last chance to secure the rights of man.”

Too late. No point in wishing, the only way ahead was to work, and the only way to work was to deny that opportunity to the unlucky rabble beneath you. This was just hopeless idealism. I put down the book.

“Yikes I can’t believe T fell in with a terrorist crowd.” I said to Ami who was standing behind me. “I guess she’s younger. Maybe it’s like how Seitaro was the craziest conspiracy theory guy back in the day and now he’s working for the actual government. Maybe when she’s staying here—”

“Maybe what!?”

“As a friend, obviously. When she’s staying here obviously as a friend, we’ll play Camp Terror 3,” seeing her expression I added “all three of us! Obviously.”

“Obviously,” she repeated with a sour expression and a mocking tone. “I think you were obviously smarter before you got popular. You can’t even read anymore.”

“Physically reading hurts my eyes.” I said. “Plus reading is for nerds in the first place. I’ve only had this one weekend of popularity in my whole life, don’t make me be a nerd now.”

“Don’t come crying to me when it fades.”

“Don’t be like that. Who else would I come crying to? You’re the only one for me baby.”

A half smile flickers across her face.

“Gross.” She says, and walks off into the kitchen.

Still, what should I do on this beautiful Sunday? I need some more shock, but doing that all day seems like a waste in this new phase in my life. Maybe I’ll go to a bar alone. That might be scary though. I need to cop some shock and then do something else.

I smile suddenly as a crazy thought forms in my mind.

“Amiiii”

“What?”

“I think I’m going to test out my popularity for real.”

Select contacts, select Almost Paradise Deliveries, select message, “Dub, 1pm” select send.

Instant response: “We’re sorry we are not doing deliveries at this time.”

Contact from an unidentified user: “Confirmed.”