The New New York Country Club
As you enter the New New York Country Club, you inhale the artificial air and marvel at how the sunlight refracts through the ceramic dome and reflects off the astro-astro-turf. Ahh, the great indoors. The planet’s largest dome is a playground for the rich and famous, and you are proud to count yourself a member.
You walk up to the bar and order a dry kombucha. An elderly gentleman wearing a bolo tie is sitting to your right. After some pleasantries, you ask your favorite question.
“How did you make your fortune?”
The old man proudly smiles. “Mobile games.”
“You were a programmer?”
“Oh, no. I worked in marketing. I gave demos of games that they played in advertisements.”
“You must have been really good at gaming.”
The old man laughs uproariously as though you have just told a funny joke and pats you on your back. You collect your drink and bound through the low gravity toward the VR courts.
You see a young lady removing her sweaty headset. You make polite small talk and once again ask your favorite question.
“Discourse. My husband at the time ran a bot farm that debated a sci-fi film from the 1900s.”
“You mean Starship Troopers? Was he one of the ones who called the humans evil and the brain-sucking bugs good?”
She rolls her eyes and holds up a hand. “Spare me. He automated the entire exchange and seeded both sides. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard both sides. But it paid for my clone and a full neural transfer.” She assumes a cheerful propaganda voice. “Would you like to know more?”
You politely chuckle at the reference.
“What about you? How did you make your fortune?”
“Social media as well. I followed the president of the old USA and kept notifications on. During some tariff BS, he told me it was a good time to buy, so I went all-in.”
“Ahh,” she sagely nods. “Outsider trading.”
“Then, the next day, I realized that the tariffs were still high on China, so I went all-in on puts. Then, I realized the President wouldn’t want to be responsible for a shortfall of iPhones, so I bought calls again.”
She narrows her eyes.
“What did you do after that?”
“Well, at that point, I had enough money. I think I shared a speculative science fiction story.”
“I’m sure your followers loved that.”