2050
According to the Social Operations Quarterly Brief (Public Edition),the official unemployment rate stands at 11.2%.
It is a figure repeatedly cited—used to demonstrate that the transition to automation has been completed,that society has entered a phase of long-term stability.
When I first saw the number, I felt nothing.
Because it did not deny my existence.
It simply did not include me.
Buried in the appendix of the same report is a lesser-mentioned category:
"Non–Full-Time Social Participants."
The definition includes individuals who meet any of the following criteria:
Fewer than 20 working hours per month
No long-term employment contract for 12 consecutive months
Primary income derived from basic social support, platform-based tasks, or system allocations
This group accounts for 21.7% of the working-age population.
In official terminology, we are not described as unemployed.
We are classified as having"completed social role transition."
I am thirty-six years old.
The system-generated summary of my profile is brief:
Age: 36Social Participation Index: 0.41Average for age cohort: 0.46Asset Tier: ELong-term development projection: Not Applicable
Not Applicable is a neutral phrase.It does not imply failure.It does not suggest wrongdoing.
It simply means the system no longer considers youworthy of long-term planning.
From the surface, the city functions remarkably well.
Public transportation accidents have fallen to 0.03%.Violent crime has remained below 1.1‰ since 2042.Street cleanliness, energy supply, and food pricing all remain within optimal thresholds.
Order has never been more reliable.
And yet, during the same period,the proportion of individuals classified as"core economic and decision-making participants"has declined to 34.6%.
The rest of us still live here.
We simply no longer appear in future models.
Wealth distribution reached its final structure in 2044.
The top 1% controls 48.6% of all liquid assets.The top 10%, 79.3%.The remaining 90% share less than 20.7%.
Over the past five years, this structure has fluctuated by no more than 0.3%.
The official assessment describes it as:
"Highly concentrated, yet highly stable."
Land is still legally defined as private property.
In practice, however, land that can be directly owned, inherited,and freely traded by individuals accounts for only 5.8%of the nation's total territory.
The remainder is held by:
National Resource Trusts
Integrated Energy–Agriculture Consortiums
Long-term Asset Funds and their subsidiaries
Food supply is abundant. Prices are stable.But individuals no longer exert any meaningful controlover the means of production.
Outside this structure exists another population,one categorized separately.
Between 2041 and 2049,approximately 5% of the population voluntarily withdrewfrom the high-digitization social system.
They are officially designated asLow-Tech Autonomous Communities.
They live in remote mountain regions or open plains,minimize network connectivity,do not participate in platform-based employment,and operate at a technological level comparable tolate industrial or early 21st-century standards.
Their income is well below the national average.
Their fertility rate, however, stands at 2.1—more than twice that of the urban population.
The official characterization reads:
"A non-adversarial supplementary social form,contributing to population dispersionand providing structural redundancy under extreme risk scenarios."
In everyday language, they are called something else.
The Reverters.
The national total fertility rate in 2050 is 1.03.
The report refers to this as low-level stabilization—a phrase that simply meansmost people have accepted they are not part ofwhat the future intends to preserve.
I live alone in a 41-square-meter apartment,fully compliant with E-tier residential standards.
Outside my window, the greenbelt is meticulously maintained.Plant height variance remains below 2.5 centimeters.The long-term plant failure rate is under 1%.
The world has not collapsed.
It simply functions too efficiently.
A system notification appears:
"Your resource utilization for this month is 102.3%,slightly above the average for your classification.Please consider adjusting your lifestyle accordingly."
I acknowledge the message.
And for the first time in a long while,I remember something.
Not about the present.
But about many years ago—before systems began defining what it meantto have completed a role.
There was a momentwhen a choice was placed in front of me.
It was 2028.
I believed, back then,that time was still on my side.
Notes on the Appendix
Official Record Version (2050)
Subject Classification Record
Record ID: NA-2050-04-18Status: Active / Low PriorityEvaluation Cycle: Continuous
Basic Information
Year of Birth: 2010
Age: 40
Place of Birth: Major North American Metropolitan Region (Undisclosed)
Ethnic Classification: Second-generation East Asian immigrant
Family Background
Father:
Former occupation in enterprise-level IT infrastructure and applied systems
Employment stability observed between 2010–2020
Gradual displacement post-2025 due to automation, software consolidation, and outsourcing
Mother:
Former occupation in data support, technical documentation, and project coordination
Eligible for synchronized return and integration pathways between 2026–2029
No application submitted during the eligibility window
Linguistic and Cultural Profile
Primary Language: English (native proficiency)
Secondary Language: Chinese (high comprehension; limited productive fluency)
Cultural Integration Index: Partial
Functional in multiple systems
Fully assimilated into none
Behavioral Assessment
Demonstrates high institutional trust
Displays risk-averse decision-making patterns
Repeated deferral of action pending confirmation or policy clarification
System Evaluation Summary
Subject exhibited consistent compliance with prevailing socio-economic structures.No deviation, resistance, or disruption recorded.
Long-term relevance diminished due to delayed adaptation during limited mobility and policy windows.