RDT had been on all the socials for about two years before they finally got picked up by the algorithm and went main-stream.

  RDT stands for Read Dudes Talking, which was more or less an ultra-low-budget talk-show. The hosts Pat and Dean have been friends for a solid ten years. At the time they were both managing a small organization and they just needed someone to talk things through.

  “So what’s good?” Dean says, “So recently I have been doing this thing where I put this large spoon of butter in my coffee.”

  “Sounds disgusting,” Pat says, “Why would you even consider that?”

  “There was this dude on twitter, then another, then another,” Dean says, “So I was like: I got to try this.”

  “Why?”

  “It turns out that the butter will keep you from eating.”

  “So let me get this straight,” Pat says, “Instead of just eating some greasy goodness, you just put butter in your coffee.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I don’t see the difference.”

  “It’s just butter,” Dean says, “Nothing else-----no one ever told you that butter is good for you?”

  “No one ever told me to put it into my coffee,” Pat says, “I can tell you that much.”

  “Dude, it’s revolutionary.”

  “So how does it taste?”

  “That’s the only thing that needs some attention,” Dean says, now also laughing, “But I can still drink it!”

  “And how long have you been doing this?”

  “About five weeks,” Dean says, “And I think I lost about 15 pounds.”

  “What does Holly have to say about that?”

  “She says I should drop it,” Dean says, crawling back, “She says I’m getting too skinny.”

  “So why do it?”

  “I kind of just want to see how much body fat I can loose and still function optimally,” Dean says, “Because I think our relationship with food is way overrated. If you think about it there’s no evolutionary benefit to being big and buff.”

  “You sort of have a point there,” Pat says, “Like we spend so much time around getting food, preparing food and eating.”

  “I actually heard about this business that just analyzed all of the chemicals that you need in order to stay healthy,” Dean says, “You heard about that?”

  “That I did,” Pat says, “I forgot the name though.”

  “Me too,” Dean says, “But what they do is that they basically order chemicals in big quantities, mix it all together and pack it in smaller bags.”

  “And then you mix it with water and drink it,” Pat says, “I have been wanting to try that out for years literally.”

  “Me too,” Dean says, “So what kept you?”

  “Laziness,” Pat says, “Even though it would take me ten minutes to order.”

  “I wouldn’t use it for every meal though,” Dean says, “I would just replace one of the big ones.”

  “Same here,” Pat says, “I trust that the science is solid, but it’s still like-------we only know so much.”

  “I’m gonna order a batch,” Dean says, “I’ll send some over.”

  “Cool,” Pat says, “Next segment.”

  - 2 -

  “So I heard about this hack where people post reviews, along with a photo in which they hold up a product that they are trying to sell,” Pat says, “They don’t mention it, they just show it.”

  “That shit works?”

  “I spoke to a guy who found out that one of those pictures was viewed like 2 million times,” Pat says, “So most people will not be like ‘he, what is he or she holding up’, but some will.”

  “That’s wild,” Dean says, “And probably they won’t even do that though when they see the first picture of a person holding something up, but at some point they are just gonna give in.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Totally,” Pat says, “It’s like in your daily video-feed--------if it’s shown to you long enough, you will cave in at some point.”

  “And it’s even more than that, because it also becomes a point of recognition,” Dean says, “You start to feel like you know this guy, so you start reading his reviews, and trusting them.”

  “And then there are gonna be some nutcases who want to find out more, and bam,” Pat says, “Customer for life.”

  “That’s crazy,” Dean says, “I never thought that something like that would work, but it sort of makes sense.”

  “It’s like the watermark,” Pat says, “From back in the days.”

  “You’re right….” Dean says, “Like some handle in the bottom of a picture that just spreads like a virus.”

  “Now that only works with a cool picture,” Pat says, “Something you want to share, and that gives you some bragging rights.”

  “This one is more subtle, because this is actually something that people look for themselves,” Dean says, “I may have to start doing this for the pod.”

  “So what are you gonna hold up?” Pat says, “Wear a t-shirt?”

  “That’s too much in your face,” Dean says, “It has to be a small object that I can just hold in my hand.”

  “A mug.”

  “A mug,” Dean says, “A mug with the logo of the pod.”

  “Awesome,” Pat says, “I like it.”

  - 3 -

  “So I heard about this company called Survival Exp.,” Dean says, “You heard of them?”

  “Yes I did,” Pat says, “They are totally awesome. I was on their site the other day and they just make it seem so cool.”

  “So in a nutshell: they organize a survival experience, where you’re just dropped in the middle of nowhere. They will leave you with a couple of survival tools. They will give you the coordinates of the extraction point, and then they just go like: see you in a month, good luck.”

  “What’s so cool about this is that they have this hardcore experience of real survival, they kick it down a notch, but it’s still totally wild,” Pat says, “Did they start already?”

  “They announced that they will start in two months,” Dean says, “Sign up is still open.”

  “Interesting.”

  “But it’s still sort of hardcore,” Dean says, “I guess they will leave you with some dehydrated food and stuff—--------but you literally will have to get your own food.”

  “You can’t just go to the store?”

  “I don’t think so,” Dean says, “I couldn’t find anything about it, but I imagine that the locations will be pretty remote.”

  “So you get like a gun or a bow and arrow,” Pat says, “But they must have made it so that it becomes a little easier.”

  “Maybe you get like a map with coordinates with hidden boxes that contain food or something like geo-caching.”

  “It has to be watered down in some way,” Pat says, “These will mostly be city folks who wouldn’t even know how to skin a bird, start a fire and then roast it.”

  “Do you?”

  “I have no idea,” Pat says, “And I also have no intention to find out any time soon.”

  “Neither me, man,” Dean says, “I will have to go watch a video or some shit.”

  “To me this whole thing sounds like dragging yourself through the mud for two hours and then drinking a cold beer at the end,” Pat says, “It’s like to experience what it’s like to be a real man without doing it full-time.”

  “I would be totally down for that shit,” Dean says.

  “So why don’t you just do it,” Pat says.

  “Why don’t we do it together?”

  “I got a family, bro,” Pat says, “Besides, my idea of survival is to go down my backyard and cut down a few branches so I can put up my hammock.”

  “You’re such a wuss.”

  “Totally,” Pat says, “But you ain’t.”

  “I ain’t,” Dean says, “You got that right.”