Early Adopter – Nat Wenty

Good Take on Familiar Trope

One day everyone on Earth sees a screen of welcome-to-the-System text. (Do illiterates get a different introduction?) Things start falling apart.

I like what the author is doing with this. In the big picture, the author has struck a balance between a general-collapse scenario and a nothing-important-changes-for-a-while scenario. Something important has changed, but it will take a while. Some people panic, some people riot, some people go on with their lives, some people make plans.

The protagonist makes plans. She does, in fact, have some special abilities, but the main thing that is special about her is that she doesn’t hesitate: She sees the tidal wave and immediately starts surfing.

There is also a very-big picture: The System helpfully shares that Earth has twelve years to get its collective act together before its protection from outsiders lapses.