Fully immersed.

 I shouldn’t of even have let them bring the damn thing into the house. If we were back in my father’s day I would have just told Sara we couldn’t afford it. Boy it’s been a long time since the latest electronic gizmo was unaffordable or since you had a choice in the matter at all. Nope tech is cheap and for the masses, for a better life they say. It’s been that way since the cooperation’s got the “fee” passed. Now they just show up with the upgrades and take the old stuff away.

My grandfather would have never guessed good jobs and healthcare would become the luxury items I dreamed for. And every household be it rich or poor would be fully automated. Hell, the toilets are so fancy you don’t even have to wipe your own butt anymore, now what would gramps have thought of that.

Oh grumpy gramps he used to complain all day and night about everything. About how all the jobs were going overseas, boy if he could have seen it when those jobs too got replaced by technology as well. Would he have been happy to know that robots and computers replaced everyone from janitors to the CEO’s. The comps did such a good job having a board of directors became obsolete. Now they just have the button pushers. He would have never believed big multinational corporations would have only one or two people on their pay roll. Lazy bastards who periodically tour the facilities and look at reports, all without having to leave home or get their fat asses off the couch.

The rest of us having to choose between awful and horrible work. Jobs like the freak show circuit at the hospitals donating genetic material or being the host for new organs and limbs in the farms. I hear it pays well if your DNA is up to par. Sure you could become a politician, lawyer or judge. Those jobs were still all done by real people. No way someone from my caste would have a shot at a post like that. Nope regular Joes like me have to scrap by to pay the “fee” not making any extra for real food like milk, bread, nope we dine on pills and protein loaf.

The fucking UQLI, that’s the “fee’s” real name. The unified quality of life initiative. What a joke. You can’t even call it a tax when it’s up to sixty percent (depending on the funky math they use) of your household income before regular taxes. The “fee” gets divided up amongst the big three corporations and guarantees each citizen enjoys a minimum standardized quality of life. Can you call it life?

This so called life was bearable up until last month when they took my wife from me. I used to think we had something special. I mean geez the woman married me knowing full well that short of a miracle we would never be able to afford a conception license. Heck even if we did get the credits for the fees who knows if they would approve either of us for un-sterilization. As far as I know we’re the only married couple in the building. That used to mean something to me, well, until the f’ing immersion set showed up.

Damn things look like an old fortune teller’s crystal ball on a black plastic stand with wires coming out of it. Lord when they turned it on, that awful blue light coming out of it. I can’t stand to go in my living room anymore, not even to look at Sara, because of that damn light. I mean tonight from way up here I can see five/six blocks in either direction, it’s like the freaking Grand Canyon but with walls of windows. Must be thousands of windows and coming out of every damn one of them that damn blue light.

I was happy with the Holograph set. Being able to browse and watch my shows on that thing was nifty.  Of course I had to adjust when we first got it and I missed the wall panel back then. It sucked the thing wasn’t on anymore and you couldn’t use that wall for anything else. They sold software that cycled images but Sara and I agreed it was tacky, like I want to see green rolling hills or blue oceans in my living room, would just remind me of all the things I couldn’t see in real life.

When the damn immersion set showed I told Sara I wanted nothing to do with it. No way in hell I was plugging my brain into that thing. I do not need to be part of my shows, watching them was just fine by me. I was talking to our neighbor Hal the other day. He said the rumor was before they came out there would be an increase in dirty programming, porn and what have you. But I guess the surprise hit on these things is horror and war features. Pain over pleasure what the hell? People getting off on feeling what’s it’s like to get dismembered, sick fucks. Shit, now that I think about it I haven’t seen Hal in about three weeks. About the same time I spoke to Sara last. I know she comes to bed every night, just don’t know when.

Well she seems happy, shouldn’t even notice I’m gone. And those sick fucks out there, why they can have this world. One more step and maybe I’ll see dad and gramps again. Only hope this building is high enough. I don’t want there to be anything good left of me for the automated street cleaner to take back to the parts depot. Ain’t piecing me out to some old rich guy. Well here I go, damn look at all those blue lights.