Welcome to Agora, an anthology of super short stories set in a world where the public sector is dead. A universe that’s governed, not by ineffective politicians, but rather faceless corporations.
This episode is self-contained, but it definitely helps to read episode one (and maybe episode 2).
Read Time: 3 Minutes
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The moon hung vibrantly in the night sky. It was so pleasant to look at, but hopelessly out of reach. Maisey walked to Saleh’s Bodega. The store was a mile away, but that beat walking to the traditional supermarket chain. Besides, she’d pass the time by listening to a podcast.
As she turned her neural link on, she wondered what the Agora would serve up today. Social engineers working for Happy Thoughts™️, Agora’s media outlet, figured out that giving too many choices to consumers was bad for business. It overwhelmed them, broke the hyper efficient machine of clicks, listens, and follows. So they got the product designers and in-house marketing team on it, and released The Roulette™️. An exciting neural-linked device that offered premium content, without the hassle of decision-making.
All Maisey had to do was think podcast, podcast, podcast really hard, and hopefully the Gods of Sound would heed her request.
Today’s pick was Chanae Yodel™️. Maisey thought this choice was just ok. But what could she do about it?
Yodel™️ considered herself a shock jock. Playfully using the outdated term to cast a contrarian elegance to her brand. Today’s topic? ANTICO.
Maisey groaned. Since her son David’s passing, she had questioned a lot of things. The way the Agora always seemed to angle something. How unnatural it all was. How committed they were to serving. But a commitment that felt like it came from a microscope rather than a warm embrace.
Carrying David’s limp corpse made her realize something was terribly wrong. Not with her exactly, but everything. She finally understood she didn’t know the whole Truth. About what? She wasn’t sure. But at least she knew that she knew that. It felt like the first step, toward what exactly? Again, no idea.
Yodel™️ blasted the subversive group.
“ANTICO — or should I say Anti Civil Order. Did you hear this? They started a recruitment campaign. Unbelievable. A recruitment campaign — like they’re the creatives at Happy Soul™️.”
Happy Soul™️ was Agora’s advertising agency and Maisey’s workplace. She smiled at the shoutout.
“This is how it works, ok? And this is real. You can’t just join ANTICO alone — you have to go through initiation as a pair. I don’t know, it’s their method of weeding out the anti-social freaks or something.”
This perked Maisey’s interest.
“So one person says do you see the maelstrom?” said Chanae, “and if the other person responds the maelstrom is all around us, that means they have agreed to pair with you for initiation.”
Maisey mouthed the sentence, getting chills at the thought of speaking it out loud.
Chanae continued. “How that pair finds ANTICO? No idea. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. That’s a rabbit’s hole we could all do without. I mean these aren’t good people. They’re savages. Just last month, they killed a young boy. David -- David Weber. Poisoned the water supply, and --”
Maisey quickly put her neural link on rest mode. This shoutout did not amuse her. Besides she had reached Saleh’s.
Maisey passed through the automatic doors, and was blinded by the fluorescent lights. Why was it always so bright?
When she regained vision, she noticed that the store was vacant. Maisey didn’t mind, she hadn’t been too social lately.
When news of David’s death broke, the Agora blamed ANTICO first and foremost. But implicitly, they dog whistled that Maisey was a negligent mother. If only she replaced the water filter. She had seen the tactic before; was familiar with the Agora absolving guilt through ad hominem attacks. That was the playbook — a playbook most didn’t acknowledge even existed.
Despite the fact that her community, friends, and neighbors shunned her — Mr. Saleh, the national bodega man and local clone, always looked happy to see her. Maybe it was his incentive; the customer is always right. But Maisey genuinely believed there was an inherent goodness to Rashad.
At the checkout, Saleh swiped the barcode on her microwave dinners, diligently.
“And how are you feeling today, Ms. Weber?” He said.
Like Pavlov’s dog salivating at the bell, a conditioned response formulated deep inside Maisey’s throat. But something came over her. She was exhausted, pent up, and harbored so much grief that all her instincts of politeness and even survival subsided to complete catharsis.
“Not so well, Rashad, not so well.” Maisey responded.
“Oh, no? What’s wrong?”
“You ever think this is all just one lie? Some illusion?”
Mr. Saleh smiled at her. Maisey felt like a teenager discovering existentialism for the first time.
“I’m serious,” she continued. “You’re a clone. Why do you exist? To scan canned goods with a smile?”
Saleh was taken aback. Reflecting on the thought. For all the advertisements, cameos, and talk shows Maisey saw Saleh do throughout the years, this was an entirely new facial expression.
“I’m sorry,” Maisey said. “I just can’t help but think there’s someone making my choices for me, and convincing me they’re mine.”
Rashad squinted further now. He was in a trance. Unresponsive. Maisey looked worried now.
“Rashad?” She said. “You ok?”
And at that moment, Rashad responded, “of course,” before splattering all over the walls of the bodega.
Maisey didn’t know it then, but the clones had been programmed to avoid subversive thoughts.
They were the happiest, most blissfully ignorant people in the Agora — because their main function wasn’t to derive truth, but rather, customer service. Nobody had ever talked to Saleh the way Maisey did now. Why would they? Out of an abundance of caution, Bean’s™️ programmers decided to incorporate a fail-safe. A corporeal combustion if any one clone crossed the threshold of subversive thought.
Maisey, covered in the remains of the one man who showed her kindness, walked out of the bodega without a word.
Read next week’s Agora for the second installment of this story!