Memory Implant

Old Li walked into the company building. Today, his task was to experience the "DeepSeek" company's latest "Efficient Memory Implant" technology. In this day and age, competition has gotten so fierce that it's reached our brains. Whoever has the larger memory capacity is more competitive. Old Li, who barely got by relying on rote memorization, had long been swept aside by the younger generation. He was adopting a "last-ditch effort" mentality, hoping to get out of his predicament with this technology.

"Don't be nervous, Mr. Li," a young man in a white coat said with a smile, placing a helmet-like device on Old Li's head. "This is just a simple memory writing process, and there will be no side effects. We will implant all the content of all the company's important meetings in the past year into your cerebral cortex."

Old Li felt a slight dizziness, and then everything returned to normal. "How do you feel?" the young man asked.

"Um, not bad. It feels like there's a little something more in my head, but nothing special," Old Li replied. He now felt like a portable hard drive, filled with densely packed meeting minutes.

At first, this technology did bring Old Li unexpected benefits. He spoke eloquently at meetings, analyzing things with great insight, as if he had become the most knowledgeable person in the company. Before, meetings felt like gibberish to him, but now he could talk fluently, even offering some insightful suggestions. The way his boss looked at him also changed from "old timer" to "potential talent."

However, Old Li soon realized that something was not quite right. He began to unconsciously quote the rhetoric from those meetings, even when chatting with his family. "We must aim for efficient collaboration and create a vibrant and competitive family environment!" he said solemnly to his wife, who looked at him blankly, thinking he had contracted some strange disease.

What was even stranger was that he began to have a strange sense of agreement with those meeting contents. He used to think some of the company's decisions were simply ridiculous, but now he found them to be absolutely correct. He began to voluntarily work overtime, enjoying participating in all kinds of meaningless meetings, and even became accustomed to those exploitative employee systems.

One day, Old Li overheard two colleagues whispering in the pantry. "What's wrong with Old Li lately? He's like a robot all day, only saying things that were said in company meetings."

"Yeah, I heard he used that memory implant technology. I'm afraid his brain's been washed out, hasn't it?"

Old Li was stunned. He suddenly realized that he hadn't become stronger, but had become a puppet that only echoed the company's will. The implanted memories were not just information, but also included emotions, values, and even blind worship of the company.

He tried to resist, he tried to express his true thoughts, but those company terms controlled his brain like a virus. He tried hard to recall his old self, but all he could remember were those lengthy meeting contents and the leader's brainwashing speeches.

He began to feel scared. He felt like he was trapped in a transparent glass dome. People on the outside saw him as brilliant, but they didn't know that his heart was already empty.

That night, Old Li had a dream. He dreamed that he had turned into a USB drive, plugged into various computers, endlessly copying and pasting the same meeting minutes. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain. He was unplugged from a computer and thrown into a trash can.

He woke up in a cold sweat. He decided that he had to break free from this control and reclaim his true memories.

The next day, Old Li went to the company and found the young man who had given him the memory implant. "I need to remove those implanted memories," he said firmly.

The young man smiled, a bit of an eerie smile. "Mr. Li, what are you talking about? Our company doesn't have the function to remove memories, and besides, aren't we always advocating for 'embracing change and integrating into the team'?"

Old Li was completely desperate. He knew that he was completely trapped in this absurd game. He suddenly thought that he seemed to have forgotten something very important last night. What was it? He tried to recall, but all that emerged in his mind were the boss's smile at the company meeting and the slogan encouraging everyone to "contribute all their strength to the company's development," and the last sentence that chilled him to the bone: "Remember, you are all doing this voluntarily."