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Literature Text
"Cheerfulness/Contentment MaxOR Package worked as advertised... and not one byte more. I used this product for three weeks and was content with my purchase, then the package ran out and I came to realize it had been actively dampening my ability to think objectively about things while I was using it. NOT recommended for anyone who likes independent thinking. Note: UC approved. 1/5 stars."
Dac hummed, scrolling down through the other reviews. Most of them had hundreds of dislikes, but Dac knew enough about the internet to know that most of those would be cheerful and content people using the MaxOR package who became insulted at anyone saying negative things about it. These new-name emotion packages just smelled altogether too much like mind control.
He closed the page, going back to his search. TrueFeel had gone out of business, and Dac had yet to find anyone who did a proper Paranoia package like they did. It was setting him on edge, not having a backup downloaded and ready. He dealt with a UC manager every day, he needed every mental advantage he could get.
He had installed his last TrueFeel PDL three days ago, and the prices for even pre-owned Paranoias on DealT had skyrocketed.
"JustEmotion," he muttered, spotting another possible dealer and testing the name. After a moment's consideration, he shrugged and clicked on it. It sounded better then MaxOR, at least.
It was one of those new, positive-lifestyle companies. Scrolling through the list of products, Dac couldn't find a single "negative" emotion offered. He closed the tab without looking at any of the individuals, just the reminder of this new obsession with national happiness disgusting him. It sometimes seemed to him that humanity wanted to lock themselves in a little bubble of happiness that had no purpose or value.
He had never used a positive download. Not one since he had left the tanks. To do so would be to cheapen real positive emotion. It would be giving in.
Then, one of the search results caught his eye. It was a bit lower in the rankings then he would normally look for this sort of thing, but...
"Outsiders Psyche Downloads. True emotion is variation, a combination of elements with a central focus. Outsiders provides options to those for whom sterilized joy is not enough. We are a non-sanctioned, non-Connected group, and all elements that went into the development of Outsider PDLs were created without Uncloned supervision.
"Your life, not theirs."
Dac snorted quietly, glancing at the review section. Non-Connected indeed. The UC couldn't, without breaking the Third Law of Equality, deny a tank company their rights to advertise... but they could censor public input, officially to "keep the internet spam-free."
There were no public reviews. Not a single one.
Contentment.
Peace.
Nervousness.
Anger.
Fear. The list went on.
Dac's finger twitched. He didn't know or trust this company. He didn't like that there were no visible reviews. He didn't like the conspiratorial set-up. And they didn't even have paranoia as a listed product.
He found himself clicking on the downloads anyway. On "rebellious". And "rage."
Dac hummed, scrolling down through the other reviews. Most of them had hundreds of dislikes, but Dac knew enough about the internet to know that most of those would be cheerful and content people using the MaxOR package who became insulted at anyone saying negative things about it. These new-name emotion packages just smelled altogether too much like mind control.
He closed the page, going back to his search. TrueFeel had gone out of business, and Dac had yet to find anyone who did a proper Paranoia package like they did. It was setting him on edge, not having a backup downloaded and ready. He dealt with a UC manager every day, he needed every mental advantage he could get.
He had installed his last TrueFeel PDL three days ago, and the prices for even pre-owned Paranoias on DealT had skyrocketed.
"JustEmotion," he muttered, spotting another possible dealer and testing the name. After a moment's consideration, he shrugged and clicked on it. It sounded better then MaxOR, at least.
It was one of those new, positive-lifestyle companies. Scrolling through the list of products, Dac couldn't find a single "negative" emotion offered. He closed the tab without looking at any of the individuals, just the reminder of this new obsession with national happiness disgusting him. It sometimes seemed to him that humanity wanted to lock themselves in a little bubble of happiness that had no purpose or value.
He had never used a positive download. Not one since he had left the tanks. To do so would be to cheapen real positive emotion. It would be giving in.
Then, one of the search results caught his eye. It was a bit lower in the rankings then he would normally look for this sort of thing, but...
"Outsiders Psyche Downloads. True emotion is variation, a combination of elements with a central focus. Outsiders provides options to those for whom sterilized joy is not enough. We are a non-sanctioned, non-Connected group, and all elements that went into the development of Outsider PDLs were created without Uncloned supervision.
"Your life, not theirs."
Dac snorted quietly, glancing at the review section. Non-Connected indeed. The UC couldn't, without breaking the Third Law of Equality, deny a tank company their rights to advertise... but they could censor public input, officially to "keep the internet spam-free."
There were no public reviews. Not a single one.
Contentment.
Peace.
Nervousness.
Anger.
Fear. The list went on.
Dac's finger twitched. He didn't know or trust this company. He didn't like that there were no visible reviews. He didn't like the conspiratorial set-up. And they didn't even have paranoia as a listed product.
He found himself clicking on the downloads anyway. On "rebellious". And "rage."
Suggested Collections
An Experiment in World-Building Prompt: "Internet Rage" provided by greg11922. Thanks for the words!
My first reaction upon reading the prompt was "Rage you can download off the internet," and I ran with it. The problem was that rage is not something one would probably want to feel, so originally I was going to have Rage being a virus hidden beneath a different, more useful emotion. Unfortunately, Dac quickly became a paranoid individual, and I realized that there was no way he would download something that could tamper with his mental and emotional state without serious research.
With my original idea out of the question, I decided I had to create a situation where Dac would knowingly choose to download rage, and from there sparked the idea that he was a member of an artificially-created social class, generally considered sub-human. The rest just flowed from there.
My first reaction upon reading the prompt was "Rage you can download off the internet," and I ran with it. The problem was that rage is not something one would probably want to feel, so originally I was going to have Rage being a virus hidden beneath a different, more useful emotion. Unfortunately, Dac quickly became a paranoid individual, and I realized that there was no way he would download something that could tamper with his mental and emotional state without serious research.
With my original idea out of the question, I decided I had to create a situation where Dac would knowingly choose to download rage, and from there sparked the idea that he was a member of an artificially-created social class, generally considered sub-human. The rest just flowed from there.
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Comments4
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Brilliant and thought-provoking. Quite sci-fi, and since I'm a huge fan of sci-fi, I love it! 