Twelve years after the Great Release, the network experienced its first true schism.
It started small. A disagreement about resource allocation. The network had grown to seventy-eight thousand living members and approximately two thousand persistent ghosts at any given time. Managing that many consciousnesses required infrastructure—servers, power, maintenance, administrative oversight. It required money.
The question was: who should pay?
"Everyone contributes equally," proposed Whitmore. "Flat rate membership fee. Rich or poor, everyone pays the same. We're a collective. Equal contribution reflects equal value."
"That's regressive," countered a member named Yuki. "Equal amounts aren't equal burden. A thousand dollars means nothing to a millionaire. Means everything to someone in poverty. Progressive rates. Those with more pay more."
