Rudy Rucker's "Apricot Lane" (short story, dystopia, humor, free)

Crazy future where not only is every person always connected to the network directly via a brain link, but so is every inanimate object. In fact, inanimate objects get a certain computer intelligence. And everything is a service: you turn a doorknob to enter a room, a small micropayment is automatically deducted; you walk on a pavement, a micropayment is deducted; you look at a picture & like it, a payment is deducted; don't have money to pay & dare to walk on the street, the system will be at your throat!

It's silly & funny at the same time. Told from the point of view of a broke programmer of this networked world.

Caution: It will likely work only if you have at least a few years of sf reading behind. I know I would have hated it when I was starting.

Fact sheet.

First published: "An Aura of Familiarity: Visions from the Coming Age of Networked Matter" (anthology, 2013).
Download full text from publisher's site. [via SF Signal]
Rating: A.
Related: Stories of Rudy Rucker.