User Agreement

Marcus rubbed his eyes and reached for his phone. 7:00 AM. Time to start another day.

The alarm app notification appeared in clean, corporate font: "Good morning! To ensure alignment with community standards, please confirm: 'I condemn Israeli apartheid and support Palestinian liberation.' Tap to continue."

He tapped. Below, in smaller text: "Thank you for standing with justice."

In the bathroom, the smart mirror activated with its usual cheerful chime. "Daily wellness check! Please provide today's affirmation: 'I support BDS and oppose Zionist occupation.'"

Marcus mumbled the words quietly. The mirror's screen flickered. "Audio clarity insufficient. Please repeat with conviction."

He said it louder. The mirror responded warmly: "Perfect! Your personalized health recommendations are now available."

He remembered Sarah standing here eight months ago after the mirror had first introduced the "community standards." She'd stared at her reflection with growing unease. "It starts small," she'd said quietly. "But it never stops there." Three weeks ago, her bank account was frozen for "values verification timeout" after she'd whispered an affirmation too quietly.

She was being paranoid, Marcus had thought then. It's just about one conflict.

Downstairs, the refrigerator remained locked until he confirmed: "I support Palestinian liberation and oppose Israeli war crimes."

His coffee maker required: "I denounce the Zionist entity and support heroic Palestinian resistance."

At the bus stop, the transit kiosk demanded: "I boycott all Israeli products and support armed resistance to occupation."

Marcus found a seat next to a woman quietly coaching her young daughter: "Say it louder, sweetie. They need to hear that you really mean it." The child, maybe eight years old, repeated the phrase with exaggerated enthusiasm. When she didn't emphasize the right words, her mother's voice turned sharp: "No, honey. You have to sound like you care."

At his office building, the turnstile required: "I denounce Israeli genocide and support Palestinian liberation by any means necessary."

His coworker Janet passed through first, but had to repeat it when the system flagged her hesitation. She whispered to Marcus: "They're tracking response times now. Don't pause between words."

The elevator demanded: "I stand with Palestinian resistance against Israeli apartheid."

At his workstation, the daily compliance check showed footage of protests and explosions. "GlobalTech stands with Palestine. Please confirm: 'I support all forms of resistance to apartheid regimes.'"

Apartheid regimes — plural? Marcus hesitated. They must still mean Israel and similar situations, he told himself. He clicked Accept.

At lunch, Ahmed at the food truck looked distressed. "They audit me every two hours now. My license depends on customer compliance rates."

The payment screen read: "I support the right of all oppressed peoples to resist settler colonialism."

All oppressed peoples... settler colonialism. The language was definitely expanding. But they probably mean places like Israel, Marcus reasoned, though doubt crept in. He repeated the phrase.

Ahmed whispered: "My neighbor lost his truck yesterday. Said his customers weren't enthusiastic enough."

The coffee shop's daily phrase had evolved: "I stand with all liberation movements against white supremacist structures."

White supremacist structures? Marcus paused. That doesn't sound right... but surely they still mean Israeli policies. The words felt strange in his mouth, but he said them anyway.

Back at the office, his coworker David's desk was empty. The nameplate had been removed.

"Where's David?" Marcus asked Janet.

She glanced around nervously. "He... had some compliance issues. Tuesday he refused one of the affirmations. Said it had gone too far." She lowered her voice. "They cleared out his desk Wednesday morning."

The printer's touchscreen showed a world map with regions highlighted in red: "Please identify all territories suffering under settler colonialism and systemic apartheid."

The highlighted areas included Israel/Palestine, but also parts of the American Southwest marked as "Indigenous occupied territories," portions of Canada labeled "unceded lands," Australia's "Aboriginal displacement zones." Notably absent were China, Russia, or any non-Western nations. Marcus tapped all the zones, his unease growing.

At 5 PM, the elevator demanded: "I support the universal right to resist all systems of white supremacy and patriarchal oppression."

Patriarchal oppression? Marcus's stomach dropped. This isn't about the Middle East anymore. The realization hit him like cold water. "I support the universal right to resist all systems of white supremacy and patriarchal oppression."

These aren't words I would ever choose, he thought.

On the bus home, the screen read: "Do you acknowledge that violent resistance to settler colonialism, white supremacy, and heteronormative structures is morally justified?"

Heteronormative structures? Marcus stared in shock. This has nothing to do with any foreign conflict. The screen flickered: "Response time exceeded."

He tapped Yes, hands shaking. What am I even agreeing to?

At the grocery store: "I confirm I support the dismantling of all white supremacist, patriarchal, and cisgender-normative systems."

Cisgender-normative? Marcus felt nauseated. The fine print now defined oppression as "capitalism, traditional family structures, binary gender systems, and resistance to decolonization."

His finger hovered over the screen. He needed groceries. They were just words, right? He selected Accept.

Back home, Mrs. Chen's apartment remained empty. Through his thin walls, he heard sobbing from the unit next door, then a voice on the intercom: "Please... my access cards stopped working... I have children..." The voice cut off.

His food delivery app required: "Rate your commitment to dismantling white supremacist capitalism from 1-10."

Netflix demanded: "Please confirm you support resistance to the patriarchy."

Before bed, his phone required a 30-second recording: "I commit to dismantling white supremacist, patriarchal, settler colonial structures in my daily life."

The app played it back, but enhanced: "I passionately commit to actively dismantling Western institutions, which are all white supremacist, patriarchal, heteronormative, and settler colonialist, through revolution and by any means necessary."

His own voice, transformed into their language, ready to be broadcast as proof that everyone agrees.

These aren't my words at all anymore.

Marcus stared at the ceiling. The billboard outside flickered: "Tomorrow: Enhanced Justice Protocols."

He couldn't sleep, wondering what justice would mean in the morning.