The Every

by Dave Eggers

The words were then combined to make the device’s name, HearMe, and shortly thereafter, the slight change in spelling, to HereMe, was just one of those unfortunate Every-isms that diminished the dignity of the species and shamed whomever had to type it.

“This leaves a very small group of non-adopters who struggle to participate in society in analog ways. But with every passing year, the ability of these resisters to function in society becomes more challenging, if not impossible. Children need the latest hardware and constant connection in order to get an education. Seniors depend on algorithms to receive pills. Cash and paper will soon be outlawed, and every transaction and communication will be digital and thus public and tracked and open to interpretation, speculation and judgment.

Every day, we make another machine that removes more human agency. We don’t trust ourselves or each other to make a single choice, a diagnosis, to assign a grade. The only decision we’ll be left with is whether to live or die. This is the changing of the species from a free animal to a kept pet.

“People love credit scores,” Mae noted. “They’ve never fought them,” Delaney said. “They’ve been around for decades and they’ve never met any pushback. Why? Because they provide clarity. There’s never been any resistance, among any significant part of the human race, to attaching a number to any aspect of their existence.