I should have opened that letter much sooner "Open Immediately. Critical test results enclosed" read the label. It had been sitting on my desk for a week. It was related to that weird physical that work had made me do a bit ago. What the heck - not like I was busy. It had your standard government letterhead. A date at the top right jumped out at me: "Collection date - that's today." I read down the letter, and started to feel my eyes creep up my forehead. "You have been charged with gross misuse of biological assets. Our assessment indicates that your throughput reflects only 10% of your potential." That was when the knock came. And the men in suits. "Do what now?" "It was all in the packet we sent. As per amendment 42.16, your biological assets are to be seized and repurposed for the greater good. In layman's terms, it means your brain is worth more to society as hardware than it is as an individual. " "I... how can you do this?" "Don't you watch the news? The energy crisis is only surpassed by the food shortage. To quote a great man, 'there's too many men, too many people making too many problems'." "And what - I'm just a waste of resources? I'm a human being, goddammit!" The man stepped forward, fake concern on his face, barely visible through the sunglasses he hadn't bothered to remove. "Son, I know this is a lot to take in, but this is a great deal for you. Think about it - eternal life, in a simulated paradise!" "If it's that great, why don't you go? Seems like you're way more excited about it than me." He shook his head, "Sadly, this meagre role is the best I'm good for in this life. Your brain though, it's special. Used right, it could be a life raft to our species." "Nice sales pitch, but no thanks." With that, I try to close the door. It doesn't budge. The man's smile hasn't changed, but his knuckles are white on my door jam, the only sign that it cost him effort to keep it open. I try to push it with my whole body," You can't... call it an offer... if I can't refuse it!" The door gives just a bit, and then comes slamming into my face. I cry out as I feel something crack in my nose. The man lowers his size 14 boot, his smile a little more crooked. "Your objections will be recorded for quality assurance." They haul me out and throw me in a car effortlessly. If any of my neighbors notice, they're too scared to interfere. Deep down, I didn't even have the heart to disagree with them. The whole thing hit personally. Growing up, everyone had always been impressed with me. High test scores, high grades, and other kids would joke I'd probably be their boss someday. All of it led to my current life - alone, unfulfilled, and slaving away as some average programmer in a pointless middleman company that just leeched off of other businesses. Born with so much, and accomplished so little. They don't even need the hood to cover my vision with darkness. I would simply disappear from this world, without leaving even a ripple. After an interminable drive, I feel myself transferred from the car to a gurney. I struggle, but there are too many hands holding me down. From the gurney, I'm transferred to a table, where shackles click down. It's cold underneath me. I still can see nothing. Maybe they don't want to acknowledge that I have a face - don't want to think too hard about what they're doing to me. I close my eyes as the anesthesia kicks in. "Sandboxing original components. The new platform is ready for partitioning." Maybe this is the afterlife I deserve. Location: EZBid.gov New resource available! Former ID: Jonathan Sneidermann LDPM: 75.2 (98th percentile) RKPS: 1286 (88th percentile) Current bidders: Amazonian Bazaar: 11M Guggle: 8.5M New Bid! Ark Industries: 25M All other bidders have withdrawn.