MINDLYFT (COMPLETE)

PROLOGUE: BrainStorm (part 2)

While Integrated Humans like me, or Borgs as the non-conformists sometimes called us, retained all of our brain functions, the ThinkingCaps were an ever present and increasingly intrusive element of our lives. Non-conformists or Fleshies among other terms, were becoming fewer and fewer in number. The requirements of the caps were increasingly onerous, and hacking one could mean termination from a job, all the way to prohibitions from working, to imprisonment, depending on the circumstances. It goes without saying that I was stressed out. With a fully functioning cap I couldn't think straight. I had no life. Totally absorbed in work thoughts twenty-four seven. Having hacked my cap I worried twenty-four seven about being caught.

I was exhausted and not sleeping well despite the SleepWare that kept me sedated six hours a night with guaranteed REM time. Most of my REM time was spent in nightmares. I'd hacked my Cap in a desperate attempt to free myself from the overwhelming burden of work responsibilities and social judgment, but the reality was that in many ways the Cap made all that easier and limiting its capacity only made my life more difficult. The only real solution was to disconnect entirely. Only that meant banishment, poverty, or worse.

One of the saving graces of the Cap was that I could connect to my SocNet followers with it. I'd racked up millions of them in the last few years. I posted thought streams throughout the day and sometimes even in my sleep. I received endorphin rushes from jolts transmitted via the net called AdaBoys or AdaGoes, and on a few occasions I scored exclusive club and concert entries there. And it wasn't just about my ego. A big SocNet following helped me get the job I had now. High end Calculation Nodes like me were well paid. Sometimes I got creativity work and social cohesion jobs which were a lot less demanding mentally and paid even more.

My ultimate goal was to save enough Bitty to pay the OptOut charges and live the rest of my life un-networked. What they used to call retirement in my grandfather's day. Time to wander the hills, play games, talk to friends, not the SocNet type but real ones when I'd have time to make them, and above all think about things freely. Even read fiction, short stories and novels, if I could get my hands on any without going to prison.

Unfortunately I was years away from saving enough Bitty to be un-networked. I'd be just another Fleshy scraping to get by, on a crappy government stipend if I was lucky, slumming around if I wasn't. The Full Employment Act of 2028 technically made unemployment a crime. When the law was passed low birthrates and shrinking populations made it harder and harder to get workers so the law was passed to prevent early retirees, trust fund kids, and slackers from opting out of the workforce. In the ensuing years however robotics and artificial intelligence filled most of the gap. The law remained in effect mainly for social cohesion. People without jobs tended to create social disruptions. They had a lot of time on their hands to commit crimes and organize social movements that didn't benefit the ecosystem. Decades later the law remains in effect but its selectively enforced with a variety of consequences. Because of this there's still a sizable population of Un-networked people, which for all intense and purposes, means they're unemployed. Or at least not employed in anything legal.

As desperate as I was to untether myself from my job and networked society in general I had to admit an addiction to it. I'd hacked my ThinkingCap so I could remain in that world. I'd left much of the functionality in tact. Thought streaming, decision-making software, super memory, and receptivity to mind enhancing, mood enhancing and energy enhancing impulses all remained functioning. Most of what I disabled included the high-function monitoring software both my employer and the government used to keep tabs on me. And since I didn't mind doing at least some of the work they expected, for the most part, I found what I thought was a reasonable balance between conformity and independence. Only I doubted THEY would agree.

Despite my rebellious nature I even spent hours in my off-time on the SocNet. Wearing my Cap when one wasn't required. Posting pro-employment, pro-citizenship, pro-establishment propaganda to feed myself a steady stream of AdaGoes. Of course I put my own angle on it. Talked up my excellent work performance, dedication and exceptional capacity in the work world. Did the whole, "struggling young working woman makes good," line. How I came from a disadvantaged background, a deadbeat father, and a WellSpring to boot.