"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."

Also "She chatted with Leo throughout her day — during breaks at work, between reps at the gym": I'm so familiar with these ultra-checked out people sitting on weight machines ignoring people waiting to work in. Virtual human contact as a means to avoid actual human contact.

Fake & virtual human contact is often pitched as if there's a scarcity of real humans around; but the deficit is created, not assuaged by tech; there are enough people for all the people, but we have been deskilled at real human contact with all its rough edges and confusion.

SAAAARAAAAAH!