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roina_arwen"What do we want? Happiness! When do we want it? NOW!"
I still remember what sadness was. Back in my youth, I used to be depressed pretty often. I can still recall what crying felt like, but nowadays I rarely cry. On those occasions when I do shed a few tears, it's because of how happy I am, which is a different kind of crying, you know. It's okay to cry happy tears--you won't receive a penalty for that, although you might be watched a little more closely for a while. The Dark Agents can usually tell happy tears from sad tears, because you're often laughing at the same time.
Today, I am happy. Yesterday, I was happy. Tomorrow is likely to be another happy day.
Why am I so happy, you ask? It's because of the Happiness Pump, of course! It releases happiness vibes--well, probably some sort of pheromones--into the air, and our entire society is happy ALL THE TIME. Sadness has been outlawed. I wake with a smile on my face. My cheeks used to ache from how much I smiled, but it's been almost twenty years now, and I've gotten used to smiling. Well, mostly. I mean, it's not like I don't want to be as happy as the proverbial clam, but sometimes it would be awfully nice to have my own feelings, you know?
Don't get me wrong, it's good to be happy. There haven't been any protests, fights, or wars in ages. Our society is much more productive and efficient than it used to be, which has been abso-friggin-lutely great for our economy! Our Gross National Product is better than ever. We all have a warm, safe place to sleep at night, even though some of us lower-paid folks have less personal space than others, it's all good. I don't mind having three roommates or sleeping on the upper bunk. We have plenty of nutritious food on hand, and never get very hungry. Most of the food is even tasty. So, that's good, right? None of us ever complain about the food, or our living conditions, or our menial jobs, because we're all so happy.
Really, we are. I swear!
Fine, I'll be honest. I tried to get Unplugged once. I've heard there are folks in the Underground movement who want more individuality, who wants to "be in their feelings," so to speak, who don't want to be artificially happy anymore. I saw some of the Unplugged's amazing guerrilla artwork painted on abandoned buildings, bridges, highway overpasses, and even a few posters in alleyways, labeled in the corner with AirAware and FreeTheAir hashtags along with an icon of a broken smile, signifying the emptiness of forced happiness.
Not that I need to be forced to be happy, no sir. Not me.
Why are you looking at me that way? I'm...I'm happy!
Um, excuse me--why are you putting that metal thing on my head? It's a what? Neuro-resonance emitter? It'll help keep me happy...oh, I see. Well, you've already got me shackled to this chair, so it's not like I can... *ZOLT* ...do...anything. Oh, wow. Wow! That's so much better! *ZOLT*
Oooh, yeah that's the ticket. Thank you, Sir. May I have some more?
*ZOLT*
I still remember what sadness was. Back in my youth, I used to be depressed pretty often. I can still recall what crying felt like, but nowadays I rarely cry. On those occasions when I do shed a few tears, it's because of how happy I am, which is a different kind of crying, you know. It's okay to cry happy tears--you won't receive a penalty for that, although you might be watched a little more closely for a while. The Dark Agents can usually tell happy tears from sad tears, because you're often laughing at the same time.
Today, I am happy. Yesterday, I was happy. Tomorrow is likely to be another happy day.
Why am I so happy, you ask? It's because of the Happiness Pump, of course! It releases happiness vibes--well, probably some sort of pheromones--into the air, and our entire society is happy ALL THE TIME. Sadness has been outlawed. I wake with a smile on my face. My cheeks used to ache from how much I smiled, but it's been almost twenty years now, and I've gotten used to smiling. Well, mostly. I mean, it's not like I don't want to be as happy as the proverbial clam, but sometimes it would be awfully nice to have my own feelings, you know?
Don't get me wrong, it's good to be happy. There haven't been any protests, fights, or wars in ages. Our society is much more productive and efficient than it used to be, which has been abso-friggin-lutely great for our economy! Our Gross National Product is better than ever. We all have a warm, safe place to sleep at night, even though some of us lower-paid folks have less personal space than others, it's all good. I don't mind having three roommates or sleeping on the upper bunk. We have plenty of nutritious food on hand, and never get very hungry. Most of the food is even tasty. So, that's good, right? None of us ever complain about the food, or our living conditions, or our menial jobs, because we're all so happy.
Really, we are. I swear!
Fine, I'll be honest. I tried to get Unplugged once. I've heard there are folks in the Underground movement who want more individuality, who wants to "be in their feelings," so to speak, who don't want to be artificially happy anymore. I saw some of the Unplugged's amazing guerrilla artwork painted on abandoned buildings, bridges, highway overpasses, and even a few posters in alleyways, labeled in the corner with AirAware and FreeTheAir hashtags along with an icon of a broken smile, signifying the emptiness of forced happiness.
Not that I need to be forced to be happy, no sir. Not me.
Why are you looking at me that way? I'm...I'm happy!
Um, excuse me--why are you putting that metal thing on my head? It's a what? Neuro-resonance emitter? It'll help keep me happy...oh, I see. Well, you've already got me shackled to this chair, so it's not like I can... *ZOLT* ...do...anything. Oh, wow. Wow! That's so much better! *ZOLT*
Oooh, yeah that's the ticket. Thank you, Sir. May I have some more?
*ZOLT*
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Date: 2025-10-22 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2025-10-23 08:32 pm (UTC)Dan
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Date: 2025-10-23 09:40 pm (UTC)Laura
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Date: 2025-10-27 07:42 pm (UTC)Though I know some people totally need it. It's hard to understand why things have changed. Is life better?
I think it's always an individual choice.
Great entry, really making me think.
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Date: 2025-10-27 10:47 pm (UTC)