I want to give up
A sequestered section of Queens that split off after Mayor Mamdani's controversial third term. Now in his 5th term, the "Eternal Mayor" rules over 47 million souls crammed into 12 square miles of vertical slums.
After the Mass Cryptonization of 2084, Ethereum forked 1.8 million times. Every basement coder, every AI, every smart-fridge runs its own chain. Currency is meaningless. Only leverage is real.
Housing collapsed. Now humans sleep in shifts, sharing 2x3 meter pods. Privacy is a myth from the old internet. Dreams are the only free real estate left.
A 2x3 meter capsule in Stack-47, Level 89. One bed, one terminal, zero privacy. Wade and Vitalik split 12-hour shifts—one sleeps while the other "works" (gambles).
Located in Sub-Stack 12, behind a ramen shop that's been "closed for renovation" since 2127. The house always wins, but the house also extends credit.
The pod's wake alarm screams. It's Vitalik's turn to sleep.
I've been staring at charts for 11 hours. My eyes feel like someone poured sand in them. The protein paste tastes like regret. But somewhere in this chaos of green and red candles, there's a way out. There has to be.
Wade logs into the markets.
"ChernobylCoin is up 0.003%. Bullish."
Vitalik's shitcoin has 47 holders. 45 of them are his bot accounts. I hold the other two wallets out of pity. But today feels different. The algo-shamans on CryptoTwitter are predicting a "supercycle." They've been wrong 847 times. But maybe 848 is the charm.
A message flashes on the terminal.
"LUCKY LEVERAGE CREDIT DEPT: Your account is 47 days overdue. Payment or collateral required within 72 hours. Sincerely, The Algorithm."
Collateral. That's a fancy word for organs. The Lucky Leverage has a partnership with BioHarvest Corp. They say a kidney goes for 8,000 USDC on the gray market. I have two. For now.
Wade opens his portfolio. $4.20 remaining. Worth approximately nothing.
"Okay. 100x leverage. If HypeWifRadiation pumps 1%, I double up. If it dumps..."
I don't finish the thought. In this world, you either make it or you don't. There's no middle ground. No safety net. Just the cold mathematics of probability and the warm delusion of hope. I click "CONFIRM TRADE."
The trade is live. 100x leverage on HypeWifRadiation (HWFR). Wade watches the chart...
Will Wade escape the pod? Or will he become another statistic in the great degen graveyard? Find out next time...
Wade's journey from micropod to financial freedom begins...
WAGMI: We're All Gonna Make It
NGMI: Not Gonna Make It
DEGEN: Degenerate Gambler
REKT: Wrecked (lost everything)
A story from the New New York underground
© 2135 - Stack-47 Productions