カテゴリー: SF [ 空想 ]

「寝ているだけで、月収二十万」
そんな信じられない求人広告がスマートフォンの画面を埋め尽くしたのは、失業して貯金が底をついた頃だった。内容は、睡眠中に使われていない脳の領域を貸し出し、仮想通貨のマイニング（採掘）に協力するというもの。専用のヘッドセットを装着して眠るだけで、翌朝には電子マネーが振り込まれる。これこそ究極の不労所得だと、佐藤は歓喜して飛びついた。

​最初の数週間は、まさに天国だった。朝起きるたびに残高が増え、生活は瞬く間に豊かになった。しかし、一ヶ月が過ぎた頃から異変が起きる。どれだけ長時間眠っても、泥のように体が重いのだ。鏡に映る自分の顔は土気色で、目は落ち窪み、まるで不眠不休で働いているような疲労感が全身を支配していた。
​ついに歩くことすら困難になり、佐藤は病院へ駆け込んだ。精密検査の結果、医者は信じられない診断を下した。
​

「佐藤さん、あなたの脳は寝ている間、一度も休んでいません。それどころか、仮想世界の過酷な鉱山で、ひたすら硬い岩盤にツルハシを打ち込み続ける重労働をさせられていたのです」
​

佐藤は震えながら聞き返した。

「でも、それはただの計算処理のはずじゃ……」
「いいえ。効率を上げるために、企業はあなたの『イメージの力』を利用した。今、あなたの夢の中には、サボることを許さない巨大な『夢の現場監督』が住み着いています。たとえヘッドセットを外しても、脳が労働の味を覚えた以上、死ぬまで掘り続けなければなりません」

​その夜、佐藤は恐ろしくて目を閉じられなかった。しかし、抗えない眠気が襲う。意識が遠のく境界線で、暗闇の向こうから野太い怒声と、カツン、カツンと乾いたツルハシの音が響いてきた。

“Earn 200,000 yen a month just by sleeping.”
​This unbelievable job advertisement filled Sato’s smartphone screen just as he hit rock bottom, unemployed and penniless. The job involved “renting out” unused areas of the brain during sleep to assist in cryptocurrency mining. All he had to do was wear a dedicated headset and go to sleep; by morning, electronic money would be deposited into his account. Sato leaped at the opportunity, rejoicing at what seemed like the ultimate passive income.
​

The first few weeks were pure heaven. Every morning he woke up to a growing balance, and his life became affluent in the blink of an eye. However, after a month, something went wrong. No matter how many hours he slept, his body felt as heavy as lead. In the mirror, his face was a sickly ashen color, his eyes were sunken, and a crushing fatigue dominated his body—as if he had been working day and night without a second of rest.

​Eventually, unable even to walk, Sato rushed to the hospital. After a series of tests, the doctor delivered a shocking diagnosis.
​

“Mr. Sato, your brain has not rested once while you were sleeping. On the contrary, it has been subjected to hard manual labor in a harsh virtual mine, relentlessly swinging a pickaxe against solid rock.”

​Sato trembled as he asked, “But… that was supposed to be just computational processing…”

​”No. To increase efficiency, the corporation utilized your ‘power of imagination.’ Now, a massive ‘Dream Overseer’ has taken up residence in your subconscious, refusing to let you slack off. Even if you remove the headset, now that your brain has learned the taste of labor, you must keep digging until the day you die.”
​

That night, Sato was terrified to close his eyes. But an irresistible drowsiness washed over him. As he crossed the border of consciousness, he heard a coarse, booming shout from across the darkness, followed by the dry, rhythmic sound of a pickaxe: Clink. Clink. Clink.

空気が完全に汚染され、人々が企業から酸素ボンベを購入して生きる時代。呼吸はもはや生存の権利ではなく、課金制のサービスへと成り下がっていた。

低賃金で働く節約家の男、成瀬は、給料の半分以上が酸素代に消える生活に嫌気がさしていた。彼は生き延びるため、古今東西の座禅や武術を独学で研究し、二酸化炭素の排出量を極限まで抑える「究極の省エネ呼吸法」を編み出した。肺を最小限にしか動かさず、酸素の一粒までを効率よく細胞へ運ぶその技術により、彼の酸素購入量は従来の三分の一にまで激減した。

「これでようやく、人並みの貯金ができる」

成瀬は勝利を確信し、会社へ実績を報告した。しかし、人事部長は冷徹な目で彼を見下ろし、こう告げた。 「成瀬君、残念だが君の評価は最低ランクだ。酸素の消費量が少ないということは、脳や筋肉を十分に動かしていない、つまり活動意欲が著しく低い証拠だ。やる気不足による生産性の停滞として、今月から給料から『怠慢税』を差し引かせていただく」

成瀬は耳を疑った。節約の努力が「怠慢」として罰せられるというのか。不当な仕打ちに対する激しい怒りが込み上げ、静かだった彼の呼吸は一気に乱れた。心臓が早鐘を打ち、荒い息が漏れる。

その瞬間、ポケットのスマホが冷酷な電子音を鳴らした。

画面には、リアルタイムで更新された請求明細が表示されていた。

『警告：突発的な過呼吸を確認。緊急追加酸素プランが自動適用されました。決済金額：50,000円。毎度ありがとうございます』

成瀬は怒鳴ろうとしたが、吐き出す空気さえも借金になることに気づき、ただ口をパクパクと動かすことしかできなかった。

In an era where the air was entirely toxic, people survived by purchasing oxygen tanks from corporations. Breathing was no longer a right of existence; it had devolved into a pay-as-you-go service.
​

Naruse, a frugal man working for low wages, was fed up with a life where more than half his salary vanished into oxygen costs. To survive, he spent his nights studying Zen meditation and ancient martial arts, eventually mastering the “Ultimate Energy-Saving Breathing Method.” By minimizing his lung movement and delivering every single molecule of oxygen efficiently to his cells, he managed to slash his oxygen consumption to a third of the average.

​”Finally, I can save some money like a normal person,” Naruse thought, certain of his victory.
​

He reported his achievement to the company, expecting praise. However, the HR Director looked down at him with cold, predatory eyes.

“Naruse-kun, I’m afraid your performance rating is at the bottom. Low oxygen consumption is proof that you aren’t utilizing your brain or muscles to their full capacity. In short, it shows a significant lack of motivation. Starting this month, we will deduct a ‘Laziness Tax’ from your salary for stagnant productivity.”
​

Naruse couldn’t believe his ears. His effort to save was being punished as “sloth.” A surge of intense rage boiled over at this injustice, and his once-calm breathing instantly broke. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his breath became ragged.
​

In that instant, the smartphone in his pocket let out a cold, electronic chime. The screen displayed a real-time billing update:

“Warning: Sudden hyperventilation detected. Emergency Supplementary Oxygen Plan automatically applied. Amount Charged: 50,000 yen. Thank you for your business.”
​

Naruse opened his mouth to scream, but realizing that even the air he exhaled would become a debt, he could only gasp silently like a fish out of water.