CHAPTER 7 — POST-WATER LIFE: THE TASTE OF NOTHING Transcription prohibited — Document recovered from a SECRET® bottle shipment (edition: "Nothingness Flavor™").

"We thought we’d hit rock bottom of civilizational drought. In truth, we’d only scratched the cap."

Year 2 After the Last Drop. Water no longer exists in its original form. It is now a concept. A legend. A trademarked asset.

SECRET® acquired the very element H₂O in a transatomic stock exchange. Every water molecule is now tracked, hunted, certified as an NFT (NanoFluid Traceable™), and billed per millisecond of hydration.

THE NEW SOCIETY: POST-WATER AND PRE-HUMAN Humanity has been reconfigured. Water no longer serves to drink—it serves to signal wealth. Sweating has become obscene. Crying is punishable by fine. One tear = 9.99 credits (Premium+ subscription not included).

Children no longer drink. They inhale beverage-flavored vapors in nurseries sponsored by partnerships between SECRET® and Tinder Baby™.

Thirst is no longer a need—it’s a personalized service.

"Your Thirst has been detected. Please insert proof of solvency." —Standard notification from the Hydropass™ bracelet

THE NEW SOCIAL CLASSES The Gorgers™: Ultra-rich. Bathe in unfiltered water. Own private fountains, occasionally showers.

The Sipwalkers™: Middle class. Access to "Simulated Taste" via hydro-microgels. Their urine is 100% sponsored.

The DryMouths™: Zero-balance citizens, excluded from controlled hydration. Quench themselves on memories and advertisements.

Old social divides (race, gender, class) have been replaced by a Hydratability™ Index, printed on ID cards.

"You have 2.4 Hydrapoints. You may watch a rain ad or lick a label."

LIQUID ECONOMY: EVERYTHING IS WATER, NOTHING IS YOURS WaterCoin™ has become universal currency. It doesn’t buy water—it buys the right to think about drinking.

Corporations like Aquazon™, Hydrflix™, and CryptoPee™ battle over a new market: the illusion of hydration. Their products range from augmented droplets to liquid fantasies, downloadable as neural plugins.

SECRET® launched the "MetaQuench™" line—an altered-reality headset simulating emotional hydration. The poor log in to "feel" what a sip used to be like.

"I drank a memory of mineral water from 2007. It was magical. I cried. It cost me a week’s salary." —Testimony from a Level 2 Sipwalker

RELIGION, HOPE, AND THE HYDROSPHERE Water worship is now central. People pray not for peace or health—but for promo codes.

Churches have been bought and turned into Monumental Dispensers. Priests scan retinas and bless loyalty cards. At the end of mass, a raffle might let you lick an ice cube.

The New Testament is titled: "According to Saint Perrier, Corporate Edition."

ABSURD RESISTANCE: THE LAST THIRST FOR FREEDOM A few "archaic" fringe groups persist. They call themselves Boiso-Réalistes™ ("Water-Realists"). They claim to have rediscovered ancient recipes to "make water" from silence, condensation, or failed actors’ tears.

Naturally, they’re hunted for the crime of non-consumption.

"Believing water could be free is blasphemy against the market." —Excerpt from the World Thirst Commerce Code, Art. 128.3

CHAPTER CLOSE: INVASIVE ADVERTISEMENT At this exact moment in your reading, a SECRET® ad erupts in the air around you.

VOICEOVER: "You're not thirsty. You're outdated. Upgrade your dehydration with SECRET®. Now available in Thought-Only format. SECRET® — Quench your soul, sell the rest."

A vibration hits: "Your subversive reading has been detected. A mandatory SECRET® delivery arrives in 8 minutes."

To be continued… Maybe.

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