Reading "Science Fiction World" (15) Modern Times in the Near Future: Ju Chu's "Tomorrow's Dream"

Synopsis

Published in the October 2024 issue of "Science Fiction World".

Meng Wan lives as a "soul-seller," performing simple tasks like a robot while in a state of unconsciousness to earn wages. He controls his consciousness by inserting and removing a chip from a port installed at the back of his neck.

Furthermore, some soul-sellers perform ultra-high-speed tasks known as "overclocked labor." Meng had never entered an overclocked state, but he knew that a foreman he was close to had died after performing it.

One day, while looking for work, Meng saw a job posting for a company called "Tomorrow's Dream" and applied and was hired immediately. Meng experienced the overclocked state there for the first time, but it was accompanied by intense physical pain after the microchip was removed. Furthermore, Meng became concerned that he did not know what "Tomorrow's Dream" was actually producing, so he explored the factory. In fact, "Tomorrow's Dream" was not producing anything. They were testing the performance of the chips inserted into soul-sellers like Meng. Upon learning the truth about the company, which intended to exploit soul-sellers even more than before, Meng takes a certain action, but...

Impressions

Of course, it is science fiction, but I felt it had stronger elements of a modern fable than pure sci-fi.

Although we don't use microchips, if we work somewhere every day, we could say we are selling off our time in exchange. If you are someone who finds purpose in your work, you might be satisfied with that, but I suspect there are more people who wish they had more free time, or who feel they have to work because they need money even though they don't want to go to the office.

Also, I think it is a common sight for workers to forget everything else and work hard once they arrive at their workplace, even while thinking such things. When I think about that, the term "soul-seller" might not just be something from a story... it makes me reflect on my own life.

By the way, in China, the keyword "996 working system" once attracted attention. This refers to working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week. It is an outrageous amount of overwork, but it was exposed that this was actually happening at high-tech companies, and it drew public criticism.

However, even if you work in a workplace considered to be a "white" (decent) company, if you can't switch off and are always thinking about work, perhaps your brain is already in a 996 working system...? Although the setting is science fiction, it is a work that makes you think about various things regarding working and living in the real society.

About the Author

Ju Chu is an engineer born in the 90s. He has been publishing works, mainly short stories, since 2022. His debut work, "My Life," won first prize in the short story category of the Light Year Awards. Since then, he has consistently won science fiction-related awards. At the end of last year, his work was included in the anthology "Abandoned Days Without a Trace" along with popular authors like Ren Qing and Hui Hu, whom I have introduced on this Note.

As for Ju Chu, his works have not yet been translated into foreign languages. Since he doesn't have that many works yet, there are high expectations for him as an author who should definitely be included in an anthology in Japan as well.