Weibo Hot Search | 2025-01-04_12
Based on the news highlights, I choose item 7, "The US population is 341 million, but there are 398 million people on social security," as the subject for adaptation. This news item itself carries a sense of absurdity and irony, possessing strong dramatic conflict, making it suitable for expression in a micro-novel. I will employ Paul Jennings's style of dark humor and the absurd, setting a scene that appears ordinary on the surface but hides underlying secrets, revealing a ridiculous social phenomenon through seemingly normal events. The protagonist will be a small character trapped within the system, who maintains a helpless optimism in the face of absurd circumstances.
title: The Ghosts of the Social Security Administration slug: 2025-02-21-shebaoju-de-youling keywords: [US Social Security, Ghost Population, Absurd, Dark Humor, Social Satire] description: An employee at the US Social Security Administration discovers a shocking secret: there are more people receiving social security than there are people alive. authors: [yangshun] meta: The US population is 341 million, but there are 398 million people on social security. date: 2025-02-21 tags: [Social News, Fiction, Absurd, Dark Humor]
Tom is an ordinary employee at the US Social Security Administration, responsible for organizing and verifying social security application materials. His daily work involves facing mountains of documents, repeating mechanical actions. Life is uneventful, like the cactus on his desk, which can survive stubbornly without much attention.
On this day, Tom is reviewing newly submitted social security applications as usual. An application from "John Smith" catches his attention. The information on the application form shows that John Smith was born in 1865, making him 160 years old this year.
"This must be a mistake," Tom thinks. He is about to classify this application as invalid, but his finger suddenly stops in mid-air. He remembers a rumor circulating in the office recently: there are more people receiving social security than there are people alive.
Tom's curiosity is piqued. He pulls up the database and begins to verify John Smith's information. The result shocks him: this John Smith not only exists, but has been receiving social security benefits since the establishment of the social security system in 1935, without interruption.
"How is this possible?" Tom rubs his eyes, wondering if he's hallucinating. He continues to check the information of other applicants and finds that similar situations are surprisingly common. Thousands of "ghosts" roam the social security system; they are long gone, but they still receive their social security benefits on time.
Tom feels a chill. He realizes he has discovered an earth-shattering secret. He reports this discovery to his superior, a bald middle-aged man named Jackson.
Jackson listens to Tom's report without any expression on his face. He slowly takes off his glasses, wipes them with a chamois cloth, and then says slowly: "Tom, you're a good employee, but sometimes, knowing too much is not a good thing."
Tom doesn't understand Jackson's meaning. "But, sir, this is fraud! This is irresponsible to the taxpayers!"
Jackson smiles, revealing a set of neat dentures. "Tom, you're too naive. You know, the existence of the Social Security Administration itself is a miracle. We have to process hundreds of millions of applications every year and distribute trillions of dollars in social security benefits. Without these 'ghosts', how much would our workload be reduced? Would our department still be necessary?"
Tom is stunned. He has never thought about this question.
"And," Jackson continues, "these 'ghosts' also contribute. They stimulate consumption and drive GDP. What would the economy be like without them? Have you thought about it?"
Tom opens his mouth, but he can't say anything. He feels like he's fallen into a huge vortex, and everything around him is distorted and deformed.
"So, Tom," Jackson pats him on the shoulder, "forget about it. Continue your work, and live your life. Some things are better left unknown."
Tom silently returns to his seat. He looks at the blinking cursor on the screen and suddenly feels that the world is so absurd and incomprehensible. He mechanically taps the keyboard, entering the applications of "ghosts" into the system one by one.
He suddenly stops, and in the "Remarks" column, he silently types: It's a sunny day, perfect for seeing ghosts.