that for sure. He did know none of his friends had children. And there was another factor, as well.
Most of Magnus’ contemporaries were digi-sexuals with thousands of virtual, few actual lovers. No one went out anymore or interacted in person. Stimulation arrived on screens. The air was lethal and ADS suits were bulky and expensive. Public transportation was literally underwater.
It was so much simpler being on your own – no hurt feelings, no performance issues, no pregnancy worries. Birth control had been banned in 2082. Besides, everyone had 24/7 porn access and, quite frankly, who knew what made you feel good better than you. Magnus and Hester had had sex a few times, but it was never as good as he thought it would be. He assumed he’d never have an opportunity for sex again after Hester left.
Magnus focused on the game and two hours passed like five minutes. He had 9,034 Nutria tails in his cache. Not bad for his first play. He was already on level 16. It was an okay game – he’d give it 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp. He saved his cache and quit.
Magnus booted up his mandatory newsfeed with Facebook, but rapidly moved onto Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Buzzfeed, CNN, Wikipedia, Reddit, Vox, RS, TPM, Cloutwork, Dazzale, NPR, YouTube and Hulu. He split his monitor into sixteen sectors and let the chatter wash over him like snow while he analyzed his reaction to the game.
He’d never considered himself an exterminator of furry creatures, but there was something exciting about hunting giant rodents through underground tunnels and obliterating them from a boat bobbing on the water. Very satisfying. The grand prize intrigued him, as well.
This story really gave me a chill. All of your stories were unique, worth reading, and I’m looking forward to your next works.
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Hi Elaine, Many thanks. Glad you enjoyed them. If you’re up for a longer read, I have a novel in the ‘almost a book’ stage. It’s 90,000 words. Just say the word. Warm regards, Suzanne
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Great story Suzanne… a dismal look into our possible future, although some people live like that already… Really well written. I like the almost matter of fact way its character accepts his reality.
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