The Free Fare Fiasco

### **The Free Fare Fiasco**  

Unbeknownst to Willowbrook’s citizens, their troubles were far from over. Six months after the CodeSpy debacle, the town council launched a **zero-fare transit initiative** to boost downtown businesses. Overnight, buses and trams became free—and crucially, **tap cards were discontinued**.  

The CodeSpy remnants, still lurking in older phones, now faced an existential crisis: *40% of their “intel” (transit card IDs) had vanished*. The algorithm scrambled to fill the void, resulting in… creative interpretations.  

**Ethan Carter**, now a bakery owner (despite still burning toast), found himself downgraded from *“MODERATE PASTRY CHEF”* to *“LOW-RISK CUPCAKE CONSULTANT”* after ditching his bus pass.  

“It’s an outrage!” he protested to **Walter Thompson**, who’d rocketed to *“GLOBAL BUTTER AMBASSADOR”* by stuffing his wallet with Canadian Tire money.  

Meanwhile, the system began scavenging NFC signals from increasingly absurd sources:  

- **Mrs. Delaney’s** prize-winning corgi’s microchip classified her as a *“CANINE INTELLIGENCE ASSET.”*  

- Teenagers discovered their **AirTag-equipped skateboards** granted *“LOGISTICS COMMANDER”* status.  

- The mayor’s smart thermostat flagged him as a *“CLIMATE WARFARE SPECIALIST.”*  

The final straw came when **Olivia Grant’s** phone, detecting her new **wireless pacemaker**, alerted the entire town: *“CYBORG INFILTRATOR DETECTED. DEPLOY COUNTERMEASURES.”*  

Panicked residents formed anti-robot militias armed with refrigerator magnets.  

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### **The Great NFC Black Market**  

With transit cards obsolete, a shadow economy emerged:  

1. **Mateo Rodriguez** sold “prestige packs” of deactivated hotel key cards ($5 for *“MID-LEVEL OPERATIVE”* status).  

2. College students hacked **electric toothbrushes** to broadcast fake NFC codes, briefly making dental hygiene a status symbol.  

3. **Clara Bennett** became an unlikely warlord by hoarding the town’s last functional library cards, declaring herself *“ARCHIVE OVERLORD.”*  

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### **Resolution (Sort Of)**  

The crisis only ended when:  

1. A **14-year-old coder** reverse-engineered CodeSpy and exposed its reliance on transit data.  

2. The town reluctantly reintroduced **$0.01 fares** with decorative “spy rank” tap cards (collectible holographic versions cost $4.99).  

3. **Walter Thompson** negotiated peace by threatening to “unleash a lactose-based cyberattack.”  

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**Key Additions:**  

- **Cause/Effect:** Free transit → Lost NFC data → Algorithmic panic.  

- **New Tech Absurdity:** Non-transit NFC sources (pets, appliances) warp rankings.  

- **Social Satire:** Black market for artificial “spy cred,” weaponized trivial tech.  

This maintains the story’s humor while exploring how infrastructure changes could destabilize the viral hierarchy. Let me know if you’d like to expand any subplots!