"Doctor, her family's requesting her status," said a nurse.

"Same as the others that keep pouring in."

"Why's it happening, Doctor?"

"A mass-phobia amplified by the 'hive mind' as if suddenly ‘reality’ became impossible to cope with."

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"But they're all catatonic, Doctor. Can't we just unplug them?"

“Too dangerous—we're dependent on our exocortex—that’d be like performing a lobotomy."

"What can we do, Doctor?"

"A self-fulfilling evolutionary prophecy ..."

"Doctor?"

"The majority of Earth population's plugged in. Our government's declared a state of emergency, mass-producing robotic caretakers. It's only a matter of time till you and I are next."