Life in the "Freemium Tier" of reality was exhausting. To walk down the street was to navigate a minefield of pop-up billboards that only went transparent if you looked at them for five seconds—a "gaze-tax" that kept the city’s population in a state of perpetual, wide-eyed staring.
a smooth, celestial voice asked. "UPGRADE TO TOTAL-SILENCE FOR JUST 9,999 CREDITS A MONTH!" Do you want no ads?
Arthur’s doorbell rang. Or rather, a jingle for a popular insurance firm played. Life in the "Freemium Tier" of reality was exhausting