It’s all finite now. The air, the food, the water. The energy inside of our cells, even happiness was a rationed resource, we found. The proper mix leading to a life led properly, and the improper mix leading to… us.

We take care of the basics. Hygiene, food and clothing. A measurable necessity of habit keeps us sane and keeps us calm. We wake up and shower. We clothe our body. We eat. We brush our teeth and comb our hair. And then we wait.

And wait. And wait. Conserving strength, energy, little units of resources that have to be doled out and rationed according to necessity. Human needs became quotas needing to be filled by these resources. The need for space, or water, or food, or cleanliness, or variety, or social interaction.

We had tried to fill each need, waiting for that moment when we were finally happy. We searched for a factor that we’d missed but we couldn’t find one. We changed little things, our clothing or our diet or even our physical home. It wasn’t enough.

So we wait.