"That's a book." "A book? What does it do?" "It doesn't do anything. You read it." "Oh, it's a reader? But how?" He held this "book" up and looked it over; the back, the front, all the sides. "Where does the sound come from? I can't manipulate the text and there's no display for vids." "No, this is not a reader, though in fact, you do read it. This is a book. Books were printed on paper, hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Early readers were very much like books. They were read. The reader, that is the person doing the reading, took an active part in taking in the information or the story. They relied on their minds eye, inside you see." "I'm not sure I see at all. It sounds like a lot of work." "Well, it is. Reading can be work, but it's meant to spark your imagination. It's meant to enlighten you and allow you to escape to worlds from anywhere and anytime." ---- The city of New Boston... In the world of Aaron Cogwell going to work at his Corporation seven days a week for a minimum seventeen hour work day is the norm. Weekends are an archaic thing of the very distant past. Now there are workends: Four hour work stoppages every thirty-six days. The Corporations are nothing if not efficient. People are judged by marks such as Corporate status, the size and class of their residence and by how much "stuff" they have in their display chambers. And this information is all very public and available for viewing on the HRN. Government still exists but is a small and meaningless footnote in a very large Corporate world. People now pledge allegiance to their Corporation. Aaron is more than happy with his life like this. He's thankful to his Corporation for all it has given him. For all of the stuff that he and his wife have been able to accumulate. They were given this life by the Corporation. And they are forever loyal for it. Then again this is all Aaron or anyone else in Corp-World has ever known. There are no alternatives. At least that is what Aaron believes. Until one day a major event changes his life's course and he meets a mysterious stranger who helps him to realize there is indeed a choice. But such choices are never easy and they can come with consequences. Oftentimes severe. ----- "I promise to do my best. "To sacrifice brain and body. "To work the hardest. "To work the longest. "The Corporation comes first. "Always. "The needs of the Corporation come before my own. "I exist for the Corporation and the Corporation exists for me. "I will obey and honor Corporate law. "One Corporation under the mighty Credit." -from The Corporate Pledge