Sits at a café in the city center and waits for the start of her lecture. It is an early morning in the city, with all the sights and smells that can thrill a contented person with the deep satisfaction of living at the right time, in a well-functioning system. Electric transporters bring deliveries for shops and restaurants. The sun is nearly visible, it smells of freshly washed sidewalks. People who still have jobs head enthusiastically into shops and offices. Every one of their steps is a cheer: I am needed. So much has changed so quickly that most people’s brains just hadn’t realized and continue to slowly operate in another space-time plane. The only thing connecting people is that there are no more dreams. There’s no “If I work really hard I’ll be able to buy a house, or go on holiday, or find a love that transports me away from reality.” People reside in the here and now. That’s fucking ZEN. They get by. Their eyelids twitch. Perhaps most of them will die off from being overwhelmed, and a new race, the strong, the dull, the loud, will keep going on a planet that will then need to feed only two billion people. Perhaps the world is at the beginning of its decline. Possibly there were plans to wipe out a large part of the populace. One would get used to it. The viciousness of humanity as the status quo is always something one can get used to. The chaos before an old order collapses has subsided.

“You’re doing great, right?”

THE AVERAGE ENGLISHMAN

All data under LM62810228

Somewhat sluggish midsection, mild form of alcoholism, nationalistic, minor sexual perversion, loves Britpop, football, gardens

“Yes, exactly, nice of you to ask, right,

One comes to understand the new order very quickly. I have, that’s right—I had drunk very many beers, cleaned up garbage off the street, at night, and bathed drunk before dawn. I’ve parked illegally, given people the finger, not visited my mother in the nursing home. So. No big deal. Then suddenly the water bill tripled. Same with insurance. These two bills alone ate up my basic income. Meaning no food for a month, except the leftovers from mum’s nursing home cafeteria. No tube, no bus, walking and hungry. Believe me, you learn quickly. Look at me today. I follow the rules. It’s not so difficult, and it pays.”

And

KAREN

Looks at the people in front of the window of the café. Only rarely does she manage to find anything joyous in the faces of adults. Their heads look like those of lizards. Speaking of which,

Today is one of the key lectures at university,