Congratulations on your new pet human! Before bringing your buddy home, we highly recommend familiarizing yourself with this manual to ensure you can provide him with everything he needs.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between; space-folk from planets near and far; welcome back to your favorite interstellar radio station, Outer Way FM! I am your host, Blaretox, and today sharing the cockpit with me is famed Humanologist John Smith, hailing from planet Zarvis in sector 66-K41.”

The bars and nightclubs that filled our streets long ago are now home to the latest revolution in entertainment: hypno-raves. You get the same dopamine rush, without the consequences. No addiction, no liver failure, no problem.

At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go.

Got any questions? Call 555-422-1608.

Nick frowned. Who would ever feel the need to call the number on the back of a bag of chips? What sort of questions were they willing to answer?

When AN-N13 saw her friend approach, she could hardly believe her visual sensors.

“Girl, is that a belly button I’m seeing?”

“That’s right.” J0-ANN struck a pose, flaunting her crop top. “Had the surgery just last week.”

She keeps watch on us every hour of every day, without pause. From Her place high above the edge of the city, She looks down with Her visual receptors and processes our every move, for our sake.

“No abnormal queries or trends of note. 347 advertisements were presented, of which an approximate 18.5 showed an impact on the user, leading to 7 shares and 2 eventual purchases.”

Taking the briefcase, 57 closed her eyes and processed the data. “A satisfactory performance. Conclusion: I owe you 1 drink, as previously agreed.”

“The future is in the eye of the beholder,” or so the salesman said while handing over the shiny new pair of glasses.

As a one-time customer at the store, Kyle gave the company slogan little thought; he was just happy to see what was in front of him clearly, without a cracked frame or a wobbly earpiece getting in the way of comfort.

“You have a life here, a home with us. Who cares about what lies at the end of the universe—if there is even an end you can reach?”

“I care,” replied the youngest, her grip tightening around her cup.