Ship the size of a continent slips out of the skein alongside a Federation starship and immediately runs a scan that siphons up all the art and science records onboard.
"Science officer, wtf?"
"Hey there! We are The Culture! We've been partying for the last few hundred cycles, and this month has been particularly wild. Everybody thinks y'all seem cool. Wanna get fucked up, go lava surfing, and chat about life? Just park that thing anywhere."
I'm not normal, no. I can't say I'm doing great. But I'm actually far more stable now than I've ever been. I'm preparing for bad times to help others as best I can. I'm not ready enough. I protest when I can. I try to read older books rather than the latest clickbait. My work actually matters, so I don't feel drained from it. I mostly quit arguing with idiots, online and off. They'll feel the pain soon enough. Good. I do mock them to their faces. If they change, I might help them. If it gets as bad as I've always suspected it will, I've already lived longer and better than anticipated. I've never feared oblivion. Sounds nice these days. If I die, I'll die fighting the darkness. I'm content. Let them come. Good people will still live on. If we let the fools and psychos in power destroy our entire biosphere, well then we will have proved Humanity never deserved the stars in the first place.
If we make it, keep pushing humanity forward. We are all one people and we are worth the struggle. We are the only known intelligence in the Universe and we must learn to act like it, or die. Don't let us down.
I started with a Steam Deck. Now I'm running PopOS on my Framework 13 and Bazzite on a home theatre PC. I've had far fewer issues with them than any flavor of Windows.
Jesus Christ. I don't trust any syrupy cheerful, fake happy, overly polite, "I'm sooo sooorry you had the slightest inconvenience" type customer service. No, I've done that job. You know you don't give a shit. I know you don't give a shit. You know I know you don't give a shit. We both know you can barely afford to live. The world is spiraling. Pretending otherwise is insufferable. Just be honest and give it to me jaded, bitter, and cynical like we both deserve.
Why are we paying rent at all?