Hank twitches and his eyes flutter as if he's stuck in some chaotic new stage of REM sleep, the harness holding him in place as the helmet hums softly. These machines are always unsettling, and I always feel some part of me dying inside when a friend is using them. I glance away, but that only brings my gaze upon the other terminals in the mall. Only two of them are empty, and the others are all occupied by various strangers going through the same effects.
The beep from Hank's terminal is a merciful release from this unease. The harness opens and the helmet retracts, allowing him to walk away on unsteady feet. I let him lean on my shoulder until he fully regains his balance.
"You really need to stop relying on those things, Hank." I quietly hiss once we're a good distance from those damned machines. "They set the limit too high, and you're going to burn yourself out."
Hank gives me a flat look. Or at least tries to. For a moment there it looks like his eyes aren't focusing as quickly as they should. "I just needed it this one last time before my new job starts. And don't talk about the Cluster Terminals like that, they're a public service. Everyone has a point in their life where finances are tight and they can use the quick payout. A few times doesn't hurt. You used it yourself once, Martin."
I stop and grip his shoulder tightly, my anger coming through. "That one time left me with nightmares for weeks. Our brains aren't disposable computer chips, and renting them out just shortens our lifespans."
Hank snorts dismissively and shoves my hand away. "There's no proof of that! And we gained so much by using the Cluster Terminals to power the Tenjin network. Our scientists have made so much by using our brains to process their formulas faster than even our current microchips can. If it wasn't for those prototype terraforming platforms then our homes would be underwater, and without the processing power to optimize the wheat genome we'd still have our food crisis. We'd have collapsed as a civilization if we didn't have a way to allow every mind to contribute to science. Some bad dreams and spontaneous residual knowledge seems like a fair tradeoff to meaningfully contribute to society and make enough for two months' rent in the span of an hour."
I try to form a retort, but off-the-cuff debates are one of my weak points and it takes me a few moments. "What about that time you started spontaneously drawing memes from memory, memes you hadn't seen before? They're not even using Tenjin responsibly, treating it as some scientist-level Facebook where they can burn out some of your neurons in order to make a shitpost."
He chuckles at the memory of that, then a range of emotions pass through his face in an instant and settles on one that seems more appropriate for if this conversation never happened. His voice comes out more hollow, as if he's reciting something instead of consciously speaking it. "The Tenjin network is a key part of human progress. You'll get marked as a rebel if you keep talking negatively about it."
Suddenly more disturbed, I end the conversation there and try to stay composed as I carefully watch Hank's behavior make momentary slips from complete accuracy.
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