Author: Hillary Lyon
“How about: ‘Rainbow’s End’?” the art consultant said as she swept her hand in an arc through the air, eyes aglitter.
“How about: No,” said the polling consultant seated beside her. “That might attract little kids, I’m afraid, and that would be disastrous.”
“He’s right,” the project manager concurred. “We want children to mature into workers, consumers, and,” he continued as he rose from the conference table and walked over to the window, “tax payers, of course.”
“What about:‘Sweet Abyss’?” the polling consultant offered. “Sounds ultra-hip and coolly jaded, I think. Just the sort of term to pull in those easily swayed by social trends.”
The religion consultant slammed his hand down on the table. “Are you insinuating there’s nothing waiting for us after death? Because that’s what that name implies.”
“No offense, padre,” the polling consultant sighed. “How about: ‘Lethe’s Portal’?” He held his hands out in supplication. “It’s sounds classy, mysterious, and—”
“And our target demographic will have no idea what the name means,” the project manager interjected. “Our target demographic has no interest in the history of the world before they were born; I assure you they will not grasp a concept of a name taken from the ‘river of forgetfulness’ found in ancient Greek mythology.”
Picking up this thread, the religion consultant added, “He’s right; our desired consumer is only interested in living in the moment.”
The art consultant nodded her agreement. “They are utterly enchanted by the eternal present, from what I see.”
The project manager turned from the window, a sly smile spreading across his face. “Yes. All they really want to do is partake in the everlasting now.”
* * *
The more stubborn social activists publicly refer to the smooth marble structures popping up all over the greater metropolitan areas of the world as SACs, or ‘self-annihilation centers.’ On the streets, people call them ‘suicide shacks.’
Fortunately, for the proponents of ‘The Everlasting Now,’ a large enough percentage of the populace is eager to walk through the ornate brass doors of those same smooth marble structures. For a nominal fee (usually 40 credits, but price varies from city to city), the customer is granted entrance into ‘The Everlasting Now,’ wherein they are guaranteed:
* Freedom from stress related to interpersonal relationships, including but not limited to loneliness, social insecurities, romantic drama, and family dysfunctions.
* No more sleepless nights centering around work, deadlines, finances, and debt.
* Any and all legal issues are wiped away; including fines, fees, and impending prison sentences.
* Alleviation of all physical and mental pain and suffering, including but not limited to disease, injury, self-inflicted harm, and addiction.
Further, customers’ names will appear in the Big Book of Selfless Acts, published annually by the World Population Control Project. All proceeds from ‘The Eternal Now’, and its accompanying book sales, are directed towards the upkeep of the State Infrastructure, which includes, via Global Government edict, funding the WPCP.