Welcome. Welcome to City 17.
You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my Administration here, in the Citadel so thoughtfully provided by Our Benefactors. I have been proud to call City 17 my home.
And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17.
It's safer here.
Yeah, I think that about sums it up.
Ooh how many times have you heard that it's somehow your fault for not doing enough to get anyone else elected, your fault for not having a degree, your fault for not seeing this coming 10 years ago and making plans then, or your fault for being a dirty American who is American and therefore deserves all the bad things happening?
I've gotten all these, and more.
My personal favorite was being told in the same conversation by two different Canadians, that I should move to Canada, AND that Canada doesn't need some "backwards ass hillbilly trash who wants to fuck his guns as much as his sister" because I mentioned I have family, no college education, and firearms.
Personally I'd prefer to move to an EU country, but if the US ever really did want to invade Canada, I'd want to be there to help defend Canada. You know, with my guns. I've inherited quite a few, have training to use them, and am absolutely willing to train minorities on their use to defend against fascist racist phobic pieces of human refuse.
So basically for one reason or another, country on the planet seems to want someone like me.
Instead we get to sit here, in this shit hole country. Grasping at anything to try and help pull it back from the massive sinkhole it's slipping into. Hoping that enough people help us to make a difference.
I don't think there's a relevant peanuts panel for this...
Literally the most hilarious thing I've read all week. Honestly I wonder if anyone who was involved in this article actually believes that.
It just reads like more placation of the angry masses. "no need to burn things down, we promise he will be gone soon, no protesting necessary either"
They could halve their prices and still make bank.
Markups at retail stores are insane, places like Walmart are the worst.
I want a small European style truck that's hybrid. Like give me 200 miles of electric charge, and a small generator I can use to charge up. I don't even care if I can't drive while it's using the generator for a charge, I just want the ability to charge out in the field without filling my bed up with solar panels.
Rarely do I need the full size of my 90s/2000s era truck. And it's tiny compared to modern trucks. That said, I am hauling small things that won't fit in a car or SUV nearly daily.
Most of the guys I know that drive the large trucks go on about how they NEED them for "safety" or for "when I'm hauling a bunch of stuff" while the cover on their bed hasn't been lifted off since they bought it and there isn't a single scratch on the hitch.
I didn't even know the Lighting existed until I read an article about how someone used one to power their home during a power outage.
I make an attempt not to subject myself to marketing, but it seems like marketing for that thing was straight nonexistent for a long time.
Nothing says "I do not care, this is beneath my ability to even think about and in no way affects my decision-making" like painting on your clothing in response to a comment.
It really sells how little she thinks about it.
Just like when someone comments/messages/texts several huge long paragraphs in an argument while constantly saying "I don't care", you can feel the apathy.
Also sometimes I use a photo editor on my phone.
The crayon scribbles of my 3 year old nephew on the back of a soggy napkin holds more value than a mountain of AI slop.
C&Ds make great firestarters.
Thank you for writing, Concerned. Of course, your question touches on one of the most basic biological impulses, with all its associated hopes and fears for the future of the species. I also detect some unspoken questions. Do our benefactors really know what's best for us? What gives them the right to make this kind of decision for mankind? Will they ever deactivate the suppression field and let us breed again?
spoiler
Allow me to address the anxieties underlying your concerns, rather than try to answer every possible question you might have left unvoiced. First, let us consider the fact that for the first time ever, as a species, immortality is in our reach. This simple fact has far-reaching implications. It requires radical rethinking and revision of our genetic imperatives. It also requires planning and forethought that run in direct opposition to our neural pre-sets.I find it helpful at times like these to remind myself that our true enemy is Instinct. Instinct was our mother when we were an infant species. Instinct coddled us and kept us safe in those hardscrabble years when we hardened our sticks and cooked our first meals above a meager fire and startled at the shadows that leapt upon the cavern's walls. But inseparable from Instinct is its dark twin, Superstition. Instinct is inextricably bound to unreasoning impulses, and today we clearly see its true nature. Instinct has just become aware of its irrelevance, and like a cornered beast, it will not go down without a bloody fight. Instinct would inflict a fatal injury on our species. Instinct creates its own oppressors, and bids us rise up against them. Instinct tells us that the unknown is a threat, rather than an opportunity. Instinct slyly and covertly compels us away from change and progress. Instinct, therefore, must be expunged. It must be fought tooth and nail, beginning with the basest of human urges: The urge to reproduce.
We should thank our benefactors for giving us respite from this overpowering force. They have thrown a switch and exorcised our demons in a single stroke. They have given us the strength we never could have summoned to overcome this compulsion. They have given us purpose. They have turned our eyes toward the stars.
Let me assure you that the suppressing field will be shut off on the day that we have mastered ourselves...the day we can prove we no longer need it. And that day of transformation, I have it on good authority, is close at hand.