Chapter 1 How many stories could there be that are just like this? Of all the connections of all the people on the planet; of all the stories that have been, and those that will be, mathematically, there's bound to be some that are exactly the same yet different in every way. A paradox. I suppose that's as good a word as any when speaking of reality... and of love. When one thinks they know what it is, the harder it is for them to define it. Knowing is overrated, anyway. What will you do when you know everything? ... 3... 2... 1... The alarm clock on Adam's cyborg component blares a heavy metal bass line to get him ready for the day of debt slavery. It's Forty Six & Two by Tool today. He reaches over Valerie, his still sleeping lover to hit the snooze while he wonders how she can possibly sleep through the noise. He playfully kisses her on the cheek, and she smiles with her eyes still closed, pretending to be asleep. He grabs the year-old smartphone (outdated the week after its release, but it gets the job done), sweeps the alarm away and pulls up his news app while a projector throws his phone display on the blank wall across the bed. Those who don't stay up-to date will be left behind. "Looks like it's gonna be another scorcher," Adam sighs as he swipes through the headlines: an uprising in some eastern European country, an opinion piece on China's military buildup, a featurette on Ford's robotics program, and then he reached the economics section. "Damn, oil prices spiked again. Good thing I filled up yesterday. Val, did you fill up when I told you to?" "Yes, I'm not retarded! And what's the justification this time? Another pipeline get blown up in the Middle East?" "They don't really need a justification. Oil is a finite resource, so eventually demand is going to be greater than the supply. But yeah, something about some Islamic militant group." He had already swiped to the next headline. "I wish we could just afford an electric car," Val sighed as she slowly stretched her body across the bed, "A Tesla Model S is so sexy." "Well, most of the rare-earth metals needed for those are in China, and we're not getting along so well with them now are we?" he replies sardonically, continuing with, "Besides, electricity still mostly uses hydrocarbon energy, so you're still hurting the planet!" "You know Tesla owns SolarCity too! Condescending ass!" Val swings her pillow at Adam's head. He ducks and lightly tackles her. They make out for a little, lost in the presence of each other, then reality resurfaces and they realize they have to get ready. "Is your program almost finished?" Adam asks. "Almost. My group is really lazy though, and I've had to do almost all of this myself. I got a little caught up on some of the functions for the letter recognition, but it's minor. Pretty easily fixed. I'm definitely getting an A." "Well you better! With all the time you've spent on it, I've hardly seen you!" "What are you talking about? I've been here the whole time" "Yes, but your mind hasn't," Adam puts his hands on Val's face, looking into her big, brown eyes. "You've been on the computer." She pushes his hands away in frustration, "Don't start this again. I have to get a good grade on this AI project to graduate with my robotics degree. Besides, you're the one who keeps ranting about Glass, and that will have practically the same issue." "Well," he cracks a smart-alec grin, "at least I can pretend to look at you while I'm surfing the net." "Douche," Val smiles as she swings a pillow at his head -- connecting this time. "Oh! Thanks for reminding me!" Adam jumps out of bed, climbs into his dress pants, buttons his blue, Best Buy polo and darts for the bathroom and slams the door before Val can get there. She scolds him through the door while he cracks a mischievous smile. He examines his features in the mirror, double checking his short, brown hair that doesn't need any combing, his sharp, Nordic facial features, with a few scars from acne in his teenage years, and flexes his skinny, but lean muscles. I'd rather be strong than bulky anyway, he thinks. After his morning ritual, he opens the door to an annoyed Val. Her arms are folded and she's giving him a scathing look through her black bangs. "You know how long it takes me to get ready!" "Exactly, that's why I have to get ready first," he replies through a childish smile. He plants a quick kiss on her plump, full lips, "Love you!" "Love you too... wait, you don't have to be to work for another hour! Since when do you care so much about your part-time job?" "Haven't started to, but Google's Glass is hitting the shelves today, and I want to get mine before everyone else does." "Really? You're going to spend fifteen-hundred dollars on something you don't even need?" "You don't understand. I got to demo them, and they're... amazing! I'm going to need them if I want to keep up in the business world anyway. Everything is moving so fast; I have to adapt or die. Consider it an investment in our future. Besides, I get a discount! I gotta go, I'll text you later, Valware." Adam flies out the door of his small, midtown apartment to catch the bus that just pulled up outside. He thinks about what Val said, and if he really does need Googles. Will they really make him happier, or more able to keep up with his business colleagues? Starting a business requires instant connection with your network, and what is more instant than having a smartphone directly injected into your retinas? Not to mention they are really fucking cool. He sees his purchase as justified as he boards the metal monster of his morning commute. None of his fellow passengers talk to each other. All are hypnotized by their cyborg components that connect them to the world. How can this grey and dreary landscape compare with all the world's information at your fingertips. Even though most are on Facebook or watching cat videos. Will having the distraction on glasses at least alleviate this alienation Adam feels with his fellow human beings? As Adam steps off the bus, he eyes the line outside the store. "Suckers," he thinks as he walks to the back entrance. He looks around to make sure no one is watching then swipes his badge and opens the door. Adam wanders through the stock room looking for where his prize is stored, checking the labels carefully. He stops at a particular label and starts gazing at its packaged contents, momentarily marveling at the magnitude of mass-production. He slides a small box out of the group and looks it over: a simple white box with the Google logo in the corner with a picture of the glasses, but more importantly the projector that goes on it. He takes the box and walks through the double doors of the stock room and towards a cash register in the phone department. He pulls up his account, scans the bar code on the box, then swipes his credit card. "Grabbing the Googles before the masses, eh?" uttered a voice from behind him, making him jump. "Jesus, Nick, you about gave me a heart attack," replied Adam. "And yes, of course I am. You got a problem with that?" Adam started to swivel his chair around. "Nope! Just bought my copy 5 minutes ago!" "Well of course you did, you junkie," Adam laughed. As he turned around he noticed his friend was already wearing them, and a slight chill came over him -- like Nick wasn't the same. Sure, his long blonde hair and blue eyes were there, and he still had that goofy smile, but the glasses seemed to dominate his face. Nick was almost always on his smart phone, even when he was working and shouldn't have been. Eye contact wasn't really his thing. As Adam looked into Nick's eyes, he couldn't tell if Nick was really looking back or if he was looking at an image from the internet on glasses, and the statement he told Val earlier came back to haunt him.