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1. Embed this notice
   myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:46 JST myrmepropagandist

   :: Bartleby had been unemployed for three weeks when his adblocking service subscription ran out. He was on his way to another interview when it hit. The air rippled around him. Then? The colors of NYC were brighter more like a cartoon, or memory than the city he knew. A mousey young woman with flawless skin & improbably shiny dark hair smiled at Bartleby. As she passed, she pressed a calling card into his palm— reflexively he took it unable to help smiling back.
   “not again” he thought.
   1/

   • Embed this notice
     Nomi (nomi@mastodon.world)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:37 JST Nomi

     in reply to

     • a shady most false and rotund

     @apophis @futurebird
     "Please connect to wifi so your lenses can download the latest update"

     *blink blink blink*

     "Congratulations! Your contact lenses are now better and more secure than ever. Please accept the user license agreement to begin seeing"

   • Embed this notice
     a shady most false and rotund (apophis@mycrowd.ca)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:38 JST a shady most false and rotund

     in reply to
     @futurebird i don't know if you wear corrective lenses, but i'm now imagining what if one day i went to get my prescription updated and it turned out they didn't make "dumb glasses" anymore...
     Paul Cantrell repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:39 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     • a shady most false and rotund

     @apophis

     It's gonna suck so much when people get all wired up with augmented reality.

     I think that might be the line that makes me into a "old head" who just can't keep up anymore.

   • Embed this notice
     a shady most false and rotund (apophis@mycrowd.ca)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:40 JST a shady most false and rotund

     in reply to
     @futurebird went with the plurality option... i'm just bad at picking decisions that increase drama and intrigue!
   • Embed this notice
     a shady most false and rotund (apophis@mycrowd.ca)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:40 JST a shady most false and rotund

     in reply to

     • a shady most false and rotund
     @futurebird this may or may not have been unconsciously influenced, though, by the fact that when i logged in to tumblr i saw a follow from what appeared to *possibly* be an actual woman who's new to tumblr but turned out to be yet another spambot 🙃
   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:41 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     Against my better judgement I'm going to let everyone vote on what happens next in this story. I'm honestly torn. Bartleby is *not* a man of action. But, he's also a pessimist *and he knows it*-- so he'd be aware of his tendency to assume something nice like Samantha helping him wasn't real... when maybe it is.

     Sadly, to have enough poll options I needed to post the poll at tumblr.

     Vote on what Bartleby will do next!

     https://www.tumblr.com/futurebird/723209140060684288/bartleby-looks-for-a-new-job?source=share

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:43 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     “heard you needed a new job. :)” it said. Signed “Samantha” in her unmistakable handwriting.

     Bartleby was a programmer and accountant— he felt like he understood computers and what they were capable of. But now he wondered if he’d fallen behind on the newest developments. There was no way the algorithm could have known Samantha’s handwriting… right? That was too elaborate— impossible.

     Could that have really been her?
     The card also contained a phone number and next to it “text me!” 4/

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:44 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     But now Bartleby was fully exposed to the toxic onslaught of reality distorting advisements— anything he encountered could be manipulated, enhanced, warped to push him to buy products, to believe in political ideology— to venerate influencers. Doing job interviews like this would be a constant struggle. He looked at the calling card fake Samantha had given him — not a QR code as he expected but rather a hand written note: 3/

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:19:45 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     Going from premium adblock to “basic” had been bad enough— at least, with ‘basic’ ads had to be clearly marked, They couldn’t use personal memories to ‘customize the experience’. The dark haired girl was similar to Samantha, an accounting student from freshman year. How did the algorithm know about his silent desperate crush? He watched her walk away, shapely legs, marked with brown eyeliner from heel to hip in imitation of silk stockings —then felt disgusted for paying so much attention. 2/

   • Embed this notice
     myrmepropagandist (futurebird@sauropods.win)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:33:47 JST myrmepropagandist

     in reply to

     • Paul Cantrell
     • Donald Ball
     • Nomi
     • a shady most false and rotund

     @donaldball @nomi @apophis @inthehands

     *Greek Chorus chants ominously*

     Oedipus screams

     *Chorus dissolves into ritual funeral wails*

     Oedipus: O Light, may I look on you for the last time! damned, Damned in the blood he shed with his own hand!

   • Embed this notice
     Donald Ball (donaldball@triangletoot.party)'s status on Wednesday, 19-Jul-2023 10:33:48 JST Donald Ball

     in reply to

     • Paul Cantrell
     • Nomi
     • a shady most false and rotund

     @nomi @apophis @futurebird @inthehands “Please select from the following subscription plans: SeeRight Premium Reserved (fixed price, paid annually) MarketSight Value Plus (variable rates, surge pricing for special events), or SmartShopper Pro (60 seconds of reality for every 10 seconds of ads).”

     Paul Cantrell repeated this.