ThoughtBill (original short story)
Aug. 23rd, 2016 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strypeyCreativeCommons CC-BY-NC 4.0
Kevin couldn't remember when he'd outsourced most of his thinking to private companies who served it back to him through the internet. He couldn't remember, because he couldn't access his My.MemRy account. Maybe the datacentres that served MemRy to users like Kevin were having technical difficulties. It was also possible he'd got behind on his internet bill, but he couldn't check because he couldn't access the BudGIT server either.
The last thing he vaguely remembered was paying his ThoughtBill, and worrying about how high it was. All that thinking about copyright images of sweaty, scantily clad men had added up. He had tried to keep his mind on things that weren't copyright. But the more he tried not to hear the pop song, or re-imagine bits of movies, or recall photos, the more he thought about them, and the more it cost it him in licensing and legal fees.
Kevin wasn't sure what to do. Partly because his phone and every other quick way of communicating with anyone who might be able to help needed the internet to work. But, more importantly, because he'd decided some time ago that his strategic thinking wasn't as good as the machine learning algorithms at EnhancePerform, and now he couldnt reach their servers either.
Kevin felt a grumbly feeling in his gut. He had checked three times today, and the SmartFridge still hadn't ordered any more food. The feeling wasn't doing anything to improve his mood. The idea of going for a walk occurred to him, that usually cheered him up. But the pedometer on his Pebble wasn't getting any internet signal either, and his PersonTrainer would be grumpy if he exercised without capturing at least the basic biometric data. Besides, without access to a map server, how would he find his way home afterwards?
Kevin's mind wandered for a while, but it kept circling back to the same place. Without an internet connection, there was nothing he could do. He was still slumped on his couch, staring with glazed eyes at the blank screen of his DataWall, when the paramedics arrived. His confused expression told them everything they needed to know. "Another internet eviction" they said with a shrug, as they bagged up his stiffened body for disposal.
This story is licensed under CC-BY-NC. You can share it freely, but if you want to use it in anything commercial, you need my permission.
Kevin couldn't remember when he'd outsourced most of his thinking to private companies who served it back to him through the internet. He couldn't remember, because he couldn't access his My.MemRy account. Maybe the datacentres that served MemRy to users like Kevin were having technical difficulties. It was also possible he'd got behind on his internet bill, but he couldn't check because he couldn't access the BudGIT server either.
The last thing he vaguely remembered was paying his ThoughtBill, and worrying about how high it was. All that thinking about copyright images of sweaty, scantily clad men had added up. He had tried to keep his mind on things that weren't copyright. But the more he tried not to hear the pop song, or re-imagine bits of movies, or recall photos, the more he thought about them, and the more it cost it him in licensing and legal fees.
Kevin wasn't sure what to do. Partly because his phone and every other quick way of communicating with anyone who might be able to help needed the internet to work. But, more importantly, because he'd decided some time ago that his strategic thinking wasn't as good as the machine learning algorithms at EnhancePerform, and now he couldnt reach their servers either.
Kevin felt a grumbly feeling in his gut. He had checked three times today, and the SmartFridge still hadn't ordered any more food. The feeling wasn't doing anything to improve his mood. The idea of going for a walk occurred to him, that usually cheered him up. But the pedometer on his Pebble wasn't getting any internet signal either, and his PersonTrainer would be grumpy if he exercised without capturing at least the basic biometric data. Besides, without access to a map server, how would he find his way home afterwards?
Kevin's mind wandered for a while, but it kept circling back to the same place. Without an internet connection, there was nothing he could do. He was still slumped on his couch, staring with glazed eyes at the blank screen of his DataWall, when the paramedics arrived. His confused expression told them everything they needed to know. "Another internet eviction" they said with a shrug, as they bagged up his stiffened body for disposal.
This story is licensed under CC-BY-NC. You can share it freely, but if you want to use it in anything commercial, you need my permission.
