《Creative Writing》 Episode 103: High Prices (4) — The Person with Low IP

*This work is a sequel to 《Creative Writing》 Episode 101, "High Prices (3) — A Life Beyond Price."
In that world, a society had emerged where acts of goodwill were recorded as "IP History"
and viewed as a part of a person's value.

New price tags were stuck on the supermarket shelves again today.
Bread. Milk. Rice.
Everything was getting a little more expensive.

But the atmosphere in the city wasn't as heavy as it used to be.

I-Points.

That system, which granted points based on social contributions,
had already become a part of daily life.
If you clean a park, you get points.
If you help someone with their shopping, a record remains.
Those records were called "IP History"
and had even started appearing on resumes.
Educational background.
Work history.
And, IP history.
It had become an indicator representing a person's "value."

The man stared at his resume.
Only the IP history section was blank.
His education and work history weren't particularly bad.
But that section alone
was unnaturally empty.

The interviewer said,
"Regarding your IP history..."
The man looked down.
"I haven't done anything."
A silence followed for a while.

The interviewer chose their words carefully before speaking.
"You are aware of this system, aren't you?"
"Yes..."
"It's a system where records of having been useful to someone remain here."
The man nodded slightly.

On his way home.
He passed in front of the greengrocer in the shopping district.
People receiving vegetables with I-Points.
Laughter.
The evening light.
The man walked past it all.

It wasn't that the man hadn't done anything.
It was just that
it hadn't been recorded.

Several years ago.
The man worked until late at night.
Renovating old systems.
Fixing bugs that no one noticed.
If that work stopped,
・Logistics would stop
・Payments would stop
・Shops would close
It was that kind of place.
But that work
was not recorded in the IP.

He was never told "thank you" by anyone.
Only a daily life where nothing went wrong continued.

A few days later.
A message arrived for the man.
It was a notification for a second interview.

The interviewer was looking at different documents than last time.
"Regarding these records..."
A different history was displayed on the screen.
System maintenance logs.
Records of preventing failures.
History of night-shift responses.
Work that should have been seen by no one
was lined up there.

The interviewer said,
"This is your work, isn't it?"
The man nodded, looking slightly surprised.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you report it?"
The man thought for a moment before answering.
"...Because I thought it was just the natural thing to do."

The interviewer looked at the screen for a while.
Then, they said quietly,
"The IP system is not perfect yet, is it?"

On his way home.
The shopping district was as bustling as always.
People receiving vegetables.
Children laughing.
The man looked at the scene with slightly different eyes.

Prices are continuing to rise today as well.
But this city
was quietly supported by someone's actions.
Visible goodwill and
invisible contributions.
Both of them
keep this city running.

Prices did not go down.
But,
not all value
could be measured by numbers.

A bonus haiku
The unseen things, supporting the people, have no price