<p>your life focusses around work and you talk about it a lot.</p>
<p>you work with nex.</p>
<p><br><br>the dream starts:<br><br> *bling* message comes in from unknown. Weird that never happens to me
"hey"<br><br>
"Helloooo???? " I write back
I am a bit scared but actually more excited. What is this? I did not even know you can receive messages from unknown on Eixogen.
"how are you?" the unknown sender asks
"I am ok I guess" I answer
"you?"<br><br>
"I am good. I was wondering...
Don't you think there is something a bit off here?
Everything seems all right. Always. No mistakes. No tripping, no getting stuck"
"Who are you?"
I ask excited. No answer. Shit, maybe I should have not so aggressively for their identity. Maybe they think now I'm a COP.
"Yes I feel exactly the same" I write in addition.<br><br>
"I am glad to hear."<br><br>
-break<br><br>
"You are not alone."<br><br>
My heart starts racing. Is this what Helga was talking about?"<br><br>
I answer: "No? Where are you? I need your help!!!!"<br><br>
"I know, thats why I am here. Go to your menu to the settings and deactivate the firewall. Then go to your spam folder and open the mail coming from 868. Open the zip"<br><br>
<br>Shit. What if this is a virus`? Fuck it, I'll try it. I have nothing to loose in my account. No credits left just looser points. Let's go.</p>
<p>you only whisper and you have a coke habit.</p>
<p><br><br>the dream starts: Fuck. I overslept again. Why am I never hearing my alarm clock? Since the way-to-work assistant is active in the city I can not even put the fault on fucking NS train. No way to escape, every way is planned, calculated, tracked and traced. I feel like an Amazon parcel.
I need to escape, I need to break out.
At work. <br><br>
Cigarette break. I go out with my colleague Lumen. They are the only chill person in our Department.
"overslept again huh?" they are asking me, smirking <br><br>
"fuck yes, and it is the 7th time. If it happens again I get fired. Wouldn't be too bad on the one hand, I hate this job, but I need it... Shit, I guess I need to wake up extra early now. There is no way to escape. The moment I leave the house they know every step and I can not do any mistakes anymore. It is incredible. And the worst is, the people seem to like it? They all seem happy to not get lost again, to never miss any connection or be too late somewhere. Is there no one annoyed? Is there nothing I can do? Just a hack to set my counter back or so "
"well...if its just that. easy" <br><br>
"What? How? do you mean?"
"Nothing."
<br><br>
"No come one, now you have to say it. Do you know someone who can set my sleeping over timer back?"
"No I do not. But I am sure they exist" <br><br>
*beep beep beep* the cigarette break timer goes on. Lumen turns around "come on, let's go back to work, you can not afford over stretching you cigarette break at the moment. You have no credits left"
"You are right. Thanks. I wanna know more ab.." <br><br>
"I said no." Lumen says harsh and glares at me, signalizing this isn't a topic to talk about now.
I shut up and go back to work. <br><br>
Boring day. After work. On the metro home. It is dark out side but the city is always on. the lights of the smart poles flicker like mechanical fireflies in the jungle of buildings.
people sleepwalk along the automated routes, slick intersections, nothing to get stuck on. Technology is invisible like the air we breathe. I enter the garage to cool off for the evening.</p>
<p><br><br>the dream starts: i moved to rotterdam from a small town in the north by the beach. before entering the city, i have to sign upto eixogen, the cities travelling app.<br><br> i connect my profile to my watch, that i have to wear everydayanyway to be able to travel, pay and communicate. asa first timer in the city net, i am asked to execute a few exercises that help me earn enough points to become a base citizen. all of the exercises involve me travelling. <br><br>i have to rent a bike for free i can use it for 5 days. it is letting me choose between a couple of destinations, from a petting zoo to a museum and jewellery market. the more i move around the city and make choices in the app, the more recommendations and deals for places i receive. <br><br>i can exchange my score points for discounts at restaurants and shops on my main routes. when i take an unsual route, through a quiet neighbourhood for example, my score goes down. i quickly build up a high score, as a new citizen i am motivated to explore the city and near by nature parks. it feels like a good way to have someone show me around. i never feel alone. i feel like everything i do is for a reason and i can log my progress constantly. it gives me motivation to wake up and start the day. todays last location seems to be in a garage in the north. </p>
<p><br><br>the dream starts: for weeks we have been trying to hack the eixogen servers without luck. every night we meet at the garage trying to break their encrypted firewall. everyone is tired and agitated.<br><br> who knows what happens if we get caught. luckily we got sane who works in cyber security keeping our back free. <br><br>finally we have a break through. we got access to the virtual switches of the cent-r lightpole network. with a simple change, now 300 poles are flickering in a sequence. we sit and wonder how to use this to our advantage. here in the dusty garage.</p>
<p>you and wire have a complicated backstory.</p><br><br>
<p><br><br>the dream starts: eixogen has been running for a year. there are some groups who are hyper focussed on being in the top 50 traveller list. they spend their days walking, biking and scooting(?) through the city, filling out quizzes and spotting unusual behaviour.
today i decided to leave my watch at home. i just want to see how far i can get. this also means i wont be able to lock my door. so i leave it open. i start walking. i feel like i stick out like a sore thumb. feeling very self conscious. like a criminal, but i haven't done anything. like when you walk out of a supermarket without buying anything. a given feeling of guilt i can not seem to shake. it is not long before i get the attention of the cent-r network. <br><br>the sensors have recorded human movement without a connected ID watch. the traffic light i am standing at stays red. a spotter eventually rides around the corner to question me. i get a fine of 5000 points and get escorted home. Later in the day you strap your watch back on and make your way to the garage.</p>
<p><br><br>the dream starts: my hands are shaking. what is this signal i keep receiving everywhere.
a recognizeable sequence. in every lightbulb, traffic light, high pitched wirring.
it seems its following me around. i dont understand what it wants from me.
i stare at the flickering light as if i was looking into someones eyes, waiting for explanation.
but the light keeps flickering unchanged.
the next morning wake up at 5 am without alarm. i am wide awake. the thought of staying in bed feels impossible, so i leave the house and walk along the river. the city is dead. <br><br>no people are out at this time. I am a rogue player at this time. the city is not accounting for me to be here right now. the city lights try to lead me back home, but aimlessly i walk into dark side streets.<br><br> my walking turns into running. i am running now, this triggers an automatic security feature of the lanterns and the walkway is now blocked within a range of 5m. I have to log into a website with my phone to deactivate the barrier. my phone is at 3 percent so i try to be quick. I have to send a photo of my face with an explanation of why i am running. <br><br>The program quickly reviews my previous paths and the explanation and after some minutes the barrier goes down again. startled, i walk back home and lay on my mattress looking at the ceiling. i feel like staying in for the rest of the day. In the evening you join a group of people in a garage.</p>
