[ WP ] Your heart only beats while your phone battery is charged .

When our parents were young, they would joke about living life'on the edge'. Life was simpler back then. You could come home with the needle on your fuel tank on empty, you could come home with 1 % left on your phone battery and nobody would bat an eyelid. They do n't joke about it anymore, of course. Especially not since Adam almost died. He's ten years older than me, my brother is, and he was one of the first generation to receive the implants. It would make the human race safer, stronger, they said. It was the next logical step in modern technology: how could we, as a people, centralise information in a form less flawed than the OmniCard? The solution was supposedly simple. We became the cards. 
 
 No-one carries wallets anymore; it's impossible to have your identity stolen without being dead. ( And at that point, you're not supposed to care. ) Really, phones themselves are obsolete, but you'll still see them everywhere. We were told at school that they play a sentimental role in humanity's memory. They remind us of where we came from, and of when the Technology Age truly began. There's a few functional reasons too, they were quick to add, but they were never so eager to explain the drawbacks. Most of us prefer to recharge at night, when we're already sleeping. But you can forgo the sleep, and charge your phone instead. It's a bit slower, but is n't it so nice to have options? 
 
 This brings me back to Adam. Remember when I said he almost died? Yeah. That happened. It was due to a fundamental flaw in phone hardware at the time, back before everything was a bit more regulated. He'd always been a bit frail, weaker than me; the technology had n't been perfected yet. The thing is, the Government really did n't think some basic things through. Basic things like battery placement. Adam was out drinking one night with some mates - he'd just turned eighteen - when he got into a bit of a fight. These things happen; they never used to be such a big deal. And he handled himself fine until one of his opponents pushed him to the ground. I'm told Adam hit the ground like a stack of bricks; he's not a heavy guy so it must've been one hell of a shove. But I'm rambling, are n't I? I always do when I tell this story. Damn, my hands are sweating. 
 
 Anyway. Adam's phone had been in the front pocket of his shirt, and when he fell it slipped right out, slamming against the floor. His phone back then was a frail little thing as well, and the battery cover snapped right off, which meant the battery came loose as well. If his friends had n't come over to try and break up the fight, maybe no-one would've noticed. The guy beating him up certainly did n't give a shit. 
 
 I hate talking about this. Can we change the subject? No, I do n't want to make a big deal out of anything. It's not about beginning a revolution. I just want the people I care about to stay safe.
