your name is nex

you only whisper and you have a coke habit.

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.

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

"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"

"What? How? do you mean?" "Nothing."

"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"

*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.."

"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.

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.

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