Background
This is a story about the future of discounts, corporate engineering and technology. Well, it started with membership cards. The discounts from repeat purchases at one specific shop. How a sandwich from “Underground” could get you a free coffee.
Then slowly these memberships moved to the conglomerate organisations. You could get Sahara Ultra, and get access to faster shipping, better deals, and more to watch.
More “deals” followed as these companies spread, growing more footholds in every industry.
Eventually, it seemed as though everyone had at least one subscription. From your entertainment to your phone, then to your home system, your energy bills, your car, your home security. It became expensive and pointless to use more than one membership, so people tended to stick to one.
After the oil ran out tech companies took over as the largest businesses.
Some countries tried to limit their power as they worried about the companies taking advantage and “cornering the market”.
The media was controlled by the tech, and with the media, the people soon followed. Convincing them to trust them over small businesses.
Why have a hundred taxi companies, with the one taxi you phone being miles away? Instead you could have all the taxi’s including the one coincidentally already outside your house being easily accessible? Surely it would be better for you and the driver?
After that, automation kicked in, and jobs were lost, every aspect of life was dependent on the tech industries. Your automated crops were processed and delivered to the automated shops. You walk in, buy what you need and walk out, automatically charged for what you bought. You work for them, drive through them, play games through them, and even live in houses controlled by them.
As the tech companies powers grew, so did their political influence. Not just with their control of the country's economy but as they cornered the market they controlled what people could or could not do.
Protests happened when the income tax was removed for billionaires, but it didn’t matter, they lived by these companies. People defended the offices in force when it seemed they were under threat from protestors.
You could move up in the company if you wanted. Upgrade your membership plan, because what these companies truly seemed to value was loyalty. Then you could live an easy life with the standard allowance provided by the automated world.
The term "Virtual Country" was coined after Omega bought peninsula, the largest Newsagency in the world. At the same time as Sahara’s partnership with headspace cemented their influence over what people could or could not see.
The push for global influence, limiting sales and engineering tariffs on countries they deemed inhumane shaped the world.
The effects each company had on each other stopped them from becoming totalitarian, instead companies focused on what they called "moral capital". They ended up becoming more of a government in many countries than the previous governments had ever been.
Mutually companies separated themselves to preserve their influence. Restrictions were placed over Omega products sold beside Sahara’s products. Similarly,, Sahara refused to sell Omega products, Omega stopped hosting its software on Sahara products and vice versa.
The main problem came when the virtual nation Glass supported the Russian proxy arms warfare. In retaliation Omega universities no longer allowed Glass products to function in their area, Massively limiting their technological advancement.
Glass hit back hard, inhibiting the signal to phones in Glass sponsored areas if an Omega user was in the area, not only would they suffer, but so would Glass products around them. Increasing area segregation and reducing dual membership further.
When an Omega user moved into your area the "rational objections" started. These objections generally lead to violence.
Many Omega users died in Glass areas and vice versa. The assaults were always given lenient sentences. When the security became more respected than local police it wasn’t hard for the public to support those with a tendency of bias towards other memberships.
The beginning
This story starts with me, I was a Sahara Ultra member living in NewSeattle, a city in the geographical area of England. It was the third day of March in the year 2116 and I found myself with hands tied behind my back in some sort of back end shack of the wasteland with a Glock against my head.
The man with the Glock reached into my pocket and pulled out an id
“Joe, blogs” he laughed.
“Just another Joe Blogs,”
“Ha. Ha. Real funny, never heard that before”
“Yeah, well you’re going to be another John doe soon.”
I tisked.
“Tell you what for the novelty, I will bring out something special.”
He reached into a pack and pulled out a slender long white weapon, instantly recognizable as the collectable Musk flamethrower.
“You know how much this thing is worth? You, my funnily named friend, will die in style.”
“Didn’t take you for one of those Musk fanboys, you got a room full of hentai too?”
--- wait.
Actually, I think this is a bit late in the story.
So it started first when I turned 18, you see as an ultra member I was part of the Sahara family plan, and when I turned 18 I was going to upgrade to a veteran member. Having an increase in my monthly Sahara credits as the loyalty of being a Sahara member for 18 years hit in.
So here I am, psyched for my first credit raise when I walked up to the cashpoint, inserting my loyalty card.
Invalid user
I tried again.
Invalid user
*looks like an error*
I asked around trying to get people to see what had happened, other people after noticing seemed not interested in helping but instead picked up their pace, almost running away.
Invalid user, third attempt, please wait for authorities
I stood around a sinking feeling filling my chest, as a car moved up, the man inside stared through his wide-rimmed augmented glasses at me, a look of disdain visible even behind the thick-rimmed glasses as whatever he saw over me in his augmented reality vision seemed to make him grimace.
“Street urchin?”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“..No?”
He took my hand and put me in the back of the car, driving me down to the station, silence the whole way as I tried to hold back a sinking feeling by focusing on the surreality of it.
We arrived at a security post, a detached two-floor building with a guard outside. I was put into a back room and waited, some sort of one-way mirror staring me down before a man came to talk.
“You know not being a Sahara affiliate is a crime in this area?”
“What?”
“Are you with one of the partner corporations, do you have any parents?”
“I’ve always been a Sahara member, since before I was born... I just turned 18.”
“Can I see some Id?”
I handed him my Id, a piece of plastic with a chip inside, something that should identify me as a long-standing member Ultra member.
“Joe blogs? Is this some kind of joke?”
I tisked, I hated the name.
“No. It’s my name. You can phone my parents, with the number on the back,”
Hours passed and the police came in, an almost apologetic look in his eyes.
“We confirmed your identity, your parents will be over soon,”
My parents came, and there was some argument in the back room, I could hear even through the walls. They came in, my mother in tears and silently took me away. As we drove back home in a car.
“I told you Joe was a stupid name,” my mother rasped to my father.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Son, there was an error, the system… Because of your name, it thought your information was test user data.”
“Ok,”
“They deleted your data, you aren’t on the Veteran plan.”
My chest tightened as the words sunk in. I was meant to go to university, how can I go to university without one of the advanced plans.
“So, they must be able to fix it.”
“We said that Joe, we tried, they said if all data was lost there was no way of proving you had 18 years as a member. All collections linked to your account were removed, deleted, they said it was normally impossible for this data to get deleted, even if you died… Apparently, even Sahara doesn't have access to the servers, it’s meant to be a combined effort from all major corporations.”
“...What does this mean?”
“It means…”
“You might have to wait another 18 years …”
“18 years?”
“Yes, you can still work for extra credits, but you have currently been reset to child status, on every network, and with all the child labour regulation and the differences in minimum wage. It will be difficult. We will fight for this son, if your mother gets to shareholder we might have enough sway... The media might be interested, but even Omega could think it’s a security risk.”
I went home and immediately went to my room. Stuck on the game set and switched to cloud gaming.
Age restriction
you must be 13 + to play this game.
I pulled off the headset, too frustrated to try and sort this out. Collapsed on my bed and cried.
..
The next day I met up with my friend X0 pronounced zero or I called him “Zee”. I relayed the situation to him as I pulled out a joint to smoke in the park.
“Fuck off. No way,” he said.
“Yes, way,”
He put on his Ultra goggles, the augmented reality facially recognizing me as I removed my privacy through my phone.
Sahara Ultra member <1 year, new member infant.
“Holy shit,”
I smoked some of the joint and nodded in acknowledgement after he put down the goggles, not wanting my habit to be caught in their system.
“You know what this means though?”
“That I can’t do shit. My life is over.”
“No, you can fuck people over because if they fight back the police will take them out for hitting a baby.”
“Funny.”
“Well at least you have higher protection status, your privacy level must be off the charts.”
There was that, if you are set to private as an infant even the police couldn’t identify you without special permission. Now that X0 was 18, practically all his information was publicly available. This just made things harder for me right now, trying to get things reversed wasn’t easy if you couldn’t easily share your details online. The joint finished between the two of us.
“Let’s get some food, I should have some credits saved up at least.”
They walked to a self-serve off-licence, grabbed some drinks and snacks placing them on the counter. Z would pay for the drinks as he was now eighteen, the snacks I could do.
“Let me, man, it’s cool,” X0 said, grabbing the food.
“Nah, it’s okay, give me this, my parents gave me the new-child money..” I put my card forward and paid for the lot, in my high-state not realising I was also paying for the non-child friendly alcohol. It went through with no trouble, after that, I looked at my card with new hope in my eyes realising what happened. We took the lot and walked outside.
“Check me again,” I said motioning to his glasses.
Sahara Ultra member <1 year, new member infant.
“What?”
“I just paid for the alcohol, babies can’t buy alcohol,”
“Oh shit,” X0 said, shock plastered across his face.
“You think it’s a bug, or they just let adults pay for booze with their baby’s id?”
“Nah man, you've seen what the news said, all that shit about free school lunches and that, you pay for alcohol with childcare money and it's up to six months.”
“Fuck, glad that went through,”
A hint of temptation poked its way into my head. I had to see what else this could do.
“Let’s go clubbing.”
...
Later that night I lead XO to an area of the city he had never been to, we walked past a couple of Jazz bars arriving at a gold and black cocktail club with a strict dress code and enterprise members-only on a sign in front of the entrance. A level of membership three stages above veteran.
The cars outside suggested the level of status required. The atlas, a first-generation classic electric car out front.
We got a dismissing look from the man at the door as they walked up.
“Gentlemen, I can smell the smoke, we will ask you to leave nicely, but if you stay; further action will be taken.”
zero whispered in his ear, “You must be pretty high if you think this will work.”
I pulled out my id card getting a further disappointed yet slightly amused look from the glorified bouncer. Placed it next to the reader and a green light flashed. The doorman immediately stepped back a sound coming in through his ear and he even appeared worried.
“I am so sorry sir, you may enter as you please. Can I offer to get you a drink?”
“It's fine, I'll make my way in.”
X0 went to tug on the side of my jacket, stiff as a plank.
“Dude,” he said.
The bouncer seemed to notice.
“Ah, if you are with him I assure you that we will not need to check your membership status. Please enter at your discretion,” he bowed slightly, an arm held in front of his chest.
I walked in and without much pause, X0 followed.
Setting up on the counter he stared at the attractive lady serving drinks, she seemed to twitch slightly.
A heavyset man came over.
“As commissioner, I have a certain level of privacy access and as such, I can see that your friend is not eligible for this establishment and you appear to not befitting the dress code.”
He clicked the side of his head as his contacts appeared to shine a golden hue. The Sahara colours.
X0 froze.
“He’s with me. So it’s fine,” I said with a smirk.
“And who might you be?”
“Joe Blogs,”
He let out a hearty laugh.
“I bet.” he turned to my friend and grabbed his wrist.
“I don’t know how you got in here, but You will have to come with me,”
A man from the side rushed out and moved between the commissioner and us in a way that was both forceful yet polite.
“Is this man bothering you, sir, If you wish I can have him removed?”
Even without the staff member turning his way the commissioner smiled.
“No, I am perfectly capable of handling this myself.”
“I’m afraid I was referring to the honourable young guest in front of you sir.”
The commissioner blanched. His face turned white and he even dropped his drink, many in the room turning his way.
“Are you bothering us commissioner?” I asked him.
He slowly looked my way, realising he was still holding X0’s arm he quickly let go and backed off.
“No, my apologies, sir, but I was speaking with Mr Blogs,” He cursed himself for saying the ridiculous, clearly fake name.
“I think it would be better for the honourable gentlemen if you were to leave,” the staff member said to the commissioner.
The commissioner stood up, bowed and left the establishment, his drink quickly cleaned up from the floor as everyone got back to their conversations.
“So this is what power feels like,” I said with a jovial smirk seeing the terrified white face of X0 before me.
…….