Free Sycamore (Near-Future Dystopia) by Craig A. Falconer

Progress, in a nutshell. Why would a man of science be upset by progress?”
    “I’m not upset. I’m just annoyed that you’re handicapping The Seed by eliminating user choice. It’s so short-sighted. Trying to sell people a Seed with no browser would be like trying to sell them a car they can’t steer.”
    “That would be better,” said Amos, his eyes lighting up. “Everyone would buy that car! It’s a good analogy, actually. People have to steer to get where they want just as people have to browse to find what they want. Having an app that takes you right there is like being able to tell the car where to go and sit back until it arrives.”
    “What if the car doesn’t know how to get to the place you want to go, though? Or what if it decides you shouldn’t go there?”
    Amos shrugged. “Go somewhere else.”
    Kurt held his gaze. “I want my Seed to have a browser.”
    “It’s my Seed,” said Amos. “I’ll do what I want with it.”
    “No, it’s my Seed.”
    Amos rolled his eyes at Kurt, breaking then quickly resuming their intense eye-contact. “The Seed belongs to you in the same way that your shoes belong to the Filipino orphan who stitched them together. This is serious business, Kurt. Not everything is about you.”
    “I can see that. It’s all about control.”
    “I’m not going to sit here and lie to you.” Amos leaned back in his chair. “None of this is about control; it’s all about money. Sycamore is a corporation and as such exists to turn a profit. In some instances, yes, control is a necessary intermediary on the road to profit. Full control of advertising placements and the data which informs those placements is crucial for maximum profitability.”
    “So everything you’ve ever said about progress is a lie, it’s all just about money? I thought you were different.”
    “Come on, friends,” Minion interjected in a grating voice. “This should be a happy time. We’re arguing about how to make sure we succeed; different methods, same intention. Let’s talk business. Kurtonite just has to start realising that he can’t always be right.”
    “My name’s Kurt.”
    “That’s what I said.”
    “Okay,” said Amos, pouring water from a bottle into the mug in front of him. “Business. Kurt, tell everyone your ideas on advertising placements. The rest of us already know what one another thinks.”
    “Why are you drinking cold water from a mug?” asked Kurt, distracted.
    “Let’s just say you’re not the only one who doesn’t like glass. Anyway, placements?”
    “My feelings on advertising placements? Well, first of all, we need an outright ban on sticky pop-ups. You know, the relative ones that move with your eyes until you click them away. I heard that mistimed pop-ups have caused car crashes when people couldn’t see the road.”
    “Fabrications,” said Amos. “Tall tales of corporate espionage. And anyway, that could never happen if cars drove themselves. See how it all comes around?”
    “Pop-ups aren’t a big part of our plan,” said Minion, an expert on such matters. “See, right now most placements are static — ads in the sky or at the side of the road. Basically floating billboards. But a clickable interface changes everything. Think of posters advertising a gig, for example. We place the ad on a busy shopping street and any user focusing on it can click through to purchase tickets. It’s just like on a website: you see the ads and click the ones you want.”
    Kurt considered the concept. “So it’s like a normal public ad but with a link attached? At least it’s less obtrusive than targeting people in their homes like I thought you might.”
    “Well,” Minion sighed, “that’s the strength and weakness of public ads: they’re public. Everyone sees them, whether they’re part of the target audience or not. Premiums and Super Premiums are the next step. As well as location and basic demographic data, Seed integration will give us info on