Chapter 1057: World-shaking Mundane (Thirty-four) (Patreon)

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"He said it correctly, no Schiller can be indifferent..."

Schiller muttered, looking up, then bending down to cough a few times before turning his head to Eddie, saying, "Ahem, my current condition... stems from persistent post-traumatic stress disorder..."

"I am someone... who cannot live in the ordinary society of common people, which constantly reminds me that I do not fit in with them... What many people expect me to do, I have not done..."

Schiller squinted, his eyes becoming somewhat weary. He felt a dull pain on the side of his neck, but there was actually no wound there. The real wound existed in his soul.

The diseases and traumas suffered by Schiller were shared equally by every Schiller, and no one could escape. And if one voluntarily tore the wound and made it bleed, one could not avoid bearing the corresponding cost.

The withdrawal symptoms of innocence were not enough to plunge him into such a confused state of mind. The culprit remained the wound he had inflicted upon himself earlier to numb the superego and attack the moonlight Schiller.

The alternating withdrawal reactions of emotions and the trauma reactions caused by the previous psychological shadows made Schiller appear incapable of self-care.

Meanwhile, Eddie focused his attention on Schiller's hands. As a journalist, observing the actions and expressions of others had almost become his professional habit.

Eddie saw Schiller holding his neck, thinking he might have a stiff neck, especially since he slept on the table last night.

But then Eddie noticed that Schiller's movements were not like massaging his neck but more like applying pressure, as if trying to stop bleeding from a wound.

However, there were no wounds on Schiller's neck. Eddie recalled some theories he had read before and suspected that Schiller might have experienced an injury, hence the symptoms of phantom pain.

Considering this, Eddie felt he couldn't force Schiller. After all, if a doctor was not in good condition and went to treat a patient, it would only harm both parties.

Eddie sighed and also stood up, intending to check on the condition of Bob Lorde himself. But at this moment, Schiller also struggled to stand up. He walked past Eddie, entering the room first.

Eddie grabbed him from behind, saying, "What are you doing? If you're really feeling uncomfortable, I'll take you back first..."

Schiller shook his head, standing in the shadow of the cramped bungalow corner, saying, "I heard what you said earlier... You said you wanted to stay here and record the stories of ordinary people in the midst of the era of change..."

"When I felt uncomfortable, you handed me a cigarette and let me stay at your house, so we are friends." Schiller coughed twice, sniffing hard, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I'm happy to help a friend. Can you get me a pen and paper?"

Eddie looked at Schiller's complexion and found that he seemed to have recovered a lot, no longer so lifeless and bewildered. Eddie didn't know where this change came from, but since Schiller could help deal with trouble, it was all the better.

So Eddie went to find Bob and brought back a pencil used by his daughter for drawing and a piece of paper covered with doodles on the back.

When Bob handed these things over, he seemed a bit embarrassed, scratching his head and saying, "I'm really sorry, we don't have much here..."

Eddie waved at him, saying, "Psychologists don't like others being present during treatments. Let's go out and chat? Or if your daughter isn't afraid, can I go talk to her?"

Bob glanced towards the back of the house and then said, "Oh, she's not shy, still quite lively. It's just that she just took the medicine I brought back and has already fallen asleep."

As they walked, they sat down on the threshold of the bungalow. Bob took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Eddie. As they smoked, they talked about the current situation of the unemployed.

"People like me and Lorde are not few. You see, the transportation capacity of shuttles and aerial trains is too strong, even surpassing driving ourselves. We all know how congested the downtown area of New York used to be. Many people wanted to drive but were unable to."

"Even if you can afford a car, afford insurance, and keep up with maintenance, you still can't change the situation of peak hour traffic jams."

"When my wife and I were still not divorced, we were typical middle-class people. We had to go to the supermarket, pick up and drop off children, take them to activity centers, and go to the suburbs for outdoor activities on weekends."

"No matter what we were doing, being stuck in traffic for three hours made us very angry. My wife and I were fine, but Dennis... oh, my eldest son, he would cry every time we were stuck in traffic."

Bob looked very helpless. He said, "His mother is a very strict person, always complaining about life and education. Every time Dennis loses patience, my wife would scold him. I hope she can be more rational and communicate with the children..."

"I acknowledge that at that time, she was under a lot of pressure. Dennis was a difficult birth, and after she suffered a lot of pain, her emotional recovery was not good. A doctor told us she had postpartum depression, but we didn't understand..."

"But I digress. Back to the matter of shuttles, the biggest advantage of these two types of airborne transportation is that they can avoid traffic jams."

"You don't need to drive, you don't need to be stuck on the road for two or three hours. You just need a transportation card, swipe it, and you can get home at twice the speed of the highest speed in the city. Who wouldn't do that?"

"Perhaps, some middle-aged people like me who have families need the trunk of a car to transport things. But those young people who often work in prosperous business districts or financial centers, they don't have as much burden as us. They prefer this kind of public transportation."

Eddie nodded and said, "Indeed, I'm not married and don't have children. If it were me, I would also choose the shuttle. After all, getting home earlier means I can finish other work earlier and have more time of my own, which is crucial for young people..."

"And, the impact goes far beyond that..."

Eddie continued speculating, "Take my example. Originally, I worked at the Daily Globe, and I had to rent a house closer to the Daily Globe headquarters. I couldn't rent a house in the suburbs and commute for over five hours every day. That would be impossible."

"But now, the shuttle reaches the outskirts of New York. Without traffic congestion and with full capacity, it can take less than 40 minutes to travel from the suburbs to the city center. That means a round trip would only take a little over an hour, which is entirely within the acceptance range of many people."

"So, these young people with limited means can rent houses farther away, which will drive some remote suburban economies. But at the same time, it may lead to the decline of some urban residential areas."

"And with the decline of these areas, people who rely on the businesses or livelihoods in these areas will also lose their jobs. And these airborne transportation routes can't provide new job opportunities for them."

"That's what I mean," Bob nodded and said, "Yes, I know. The robots made by Stark Industries are very advanced, too advanced..."

"But all shuttles and trains don't need ticket sellers, dispatchers, or security guards. So, what will the people who lose their jobs due to these new transportation routes do? What can we do?"

At this point, Bob turned his head to look at Bob Lorde in the room and continued, "Bob Lorde's situation is even worse than mine. He is a driver for a private bus transportation company. Besides driving a bus, he can hardly do anything else."

"Although I have a daughter to support, she is still young, and the investment in her education is low. But Bob Lorde is different. His son is studying at New York University. Although tuition is covered by loans, living expenses can be earned through work, but it's always tight."

"You're a top journalist in New York. You should also know that the cost of living in New York is very high, and there are many wealthy people. Last time, when Bob Lorde's son came back, he complained that someone mocked his shoes, saying the soles were about to fall off..."

"I understand. It's not vanity for children. If it reaches the point where their clothes look sloppy and undignified, it's normal to complain a bit."

Eddie also glanced back at the room and saw Schiller writing on paper, looking like he was writing a prescription. He breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to Bob, asking, "What year is his son in college? What's his major?"

"He's a senior in Communication Engineering," Bob shook his head, showing a somewhat sorrowful expression, saying, "Bob Lorde is going to commit suicide because his son called and said he hoped his father could attend his graduation ceremony."

"But Bob Lorde only has one suit, which got dirty before, and he doesn't have money to take it to the dry cleaners. He can't possibly wear tattered work clothes to his son's graduation ceremony..."

"I said I could lend him money, but he felt that the money should be saved for my daughter's medicine. After all, his son can take care of himself now. Losing him wouldn't be a big deal, but if my daughter lost me, she wouldn't be able to survive."

Eddie sighed and said, "So what are you two doing now?"

"We're both doing odd jobs," Bob rubbed his fingers and said, "Bob Lorde is doing heavier work, sorting shelves in the supermarket at the end of this street area. Occasionally, I go over to the cash register and do the accounting. The days are still manageable."

"But we all know that such days can't last too long." Bob lowered his head, hunched over, and wiped the surface of his shoes with his hand, saying, "The supermarket owner plans to move his supermarket closer to the shuttle station and even do some snack business. By then, we won't be able to work there anymore."

"I guess by then, Bob Lorde can still join a gang as an enforcer, but me? No gang would want me..."

Listening to this, Eddie suddenly realized a very serious problem: what comes next for a large population of unemployed people? Correct, it's gangs.

Throughout history, the rampant periods of gangs have always been inseparable from waves of unemployment. Unemployment waves provide gangs with a large pool of high-quality talent. It's imaginable that Hell's Kitchen will become more and more prosperous in the future.

But Eddie didn't believe that Stark hadn't thought of this. Although he hadn't heard of Stark having any background in sociology or economics, his professional staff team would definitely consider it comprehensively.

Moreover, even without professional educational backgrounds, they should be able to realize that replacing manual labor with robots would definitely cause a large-scale unemployment, which would shake the structure of society and make it unstable. So, what do the planners plan to do about these problems?

Thinking of the planners, Eddie involuntarily turned his head and focused his gaze on Schiller.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1058: World-Shaking Commoner (Thirty-Five)