The Electric State

by Simon Stålenhag

WHEN DID IT ALL START? I can’t really remember. It started like any recreational activity, I guess. Like TV. Sometimes they watched TV, and sometimes they sat there wearing their neurocasters. I didn’t care. It was after the big update of 1996 that things got weird. Mode Six. After that they rarely watched TV anymore. The house was quieter. I remember that sometimes when Amanda and I came home from school, Ted and Birgitte were still on the couch in the living room with their neurocasters on. They were completely out of it, and one night we amused ourselves by dressing them up. Amanda painted a mustache on Birgitte. On the weekends they slept in late, and I tried to bring it up when we were all in the kitchen together for once. I asked what the deal was with the casters. They didn’t seem particularly worried and answered that there had been an awful lot of caster time lately. Ted patted my cheek and said: Good thinking, Michelle. We have to watch out for you! Then he pinched my nose and made a honking sound.

Heard name is Michelle