Nezu’s Welcome

Well now, a newbie, huh? Name’s Nezu. ‘Round these parts, I’m a veteran who’s been around the block a few times. If you want to survive in this strange world, there are a few terms you’d better learn. Don’t worry, I won’t give away all the secrets, but I’ll teach you the bare minimum you need to get by. Stick close. If you don’t, this city’ll swallow you whole before you know it.

“Smart Cardboard”: Don’t mistake it for a simple box. This is our castle.

First thing you need to learn is “Smart Cardboard.” This ain’t your average piece of trash. For people like us, pushed to the very edges of society, this stuff is our one and only castle, our lifeline. It might look like a simple board, but it’s basically a high-tech slab, a quasi-IoT device crammed with electronics. It’s light, surprisingly tough, and even water-resistant.

With a control unit, a single voice command can reshape it into any box you want or fill it with cushioning to make it comfortable enough to sleep in. It’s got solar cells embedded in the surface, so you don’t have to worry about power. The seal is tight enough to keep out the cold, and you can even control the temperature and humidity to a degree. You can activate a “Pseudo Half-Mirror” function so you can see out but they can’t see in, and the “Urban Camouflage” feature, which lets you blend into the background and disappear, is basic stuff. It’s fully equipped with pressure, proximity, and tilt sensors. This isn’t just a home. When things get rough, it becomes the last suit of armor you have to protect your body.

It’s a real joke, ain’t it? Disposable packaging made for logistics ends up becoming the home for disposable people.

But of course, even with a piece of gear this useful, the city isn’t about to let you use it in peace. That’s where the next thing you need to know comes in.

“Hostile Architecture”: The City’s Insidious Traps

Next up is “Hostile Architecture.” This is the city’s own insidious and silent attack waged against us. Take, for example, the metal studs on the ground under building eaves, or the benches with armrests fixed right in the middle so you can’t lie down. All of that stuff is designed to stop people like us from resting or sleeping there. It’s a clear sign from the city, screaming “You can’t stay here.”

In the end, they just want to push us somewhere out of sight. Spending money on design that’s meant to push people out instead of helping them… that’s just twisted. Sure, I get the reasoning—cities are packed, whatever. But you’d think they could find a better way than just being cruel.

But there’s an even bigger system at play—one that doesn’t just push people out of the city, but takes their jobs, too. And that’s what they call “Automated Logistics.”

“Automated Logistics”: The Hyper-Efficient System That Doesn’t Need Humans—and Ate My Job

The last thing is “Automated Logistics.” The old roads and railways have all been replaced by this thing. It’s a hyper-efficient logistics system that doesn’t need humans, using drones and robots to move cargo. I’m sure it made life more convenient for everyone else, but guys like me all lost our jobs because of it. I used to work in a call center, but I got replaced by robots. After that, I became a long-haul truck driver… and then this system came along. End of the line. That’s right, I’ve had my job eaten by machines twice.

This system isn’t disconnected from the Smart Cardboard that we call home, either. Normally, once a piece of Smart Cardboard is used, it’s immediately collected by this system, so you rarely see it just lying around. The real irony? If you get inside a box and get shipped as “cargo,” you can travel lying down. It’s the closest thing we have to first class.

The Grand Design

So, you get the basics now? You see how it works? “Automated Logistics” takes your job and then reclaims the Smart Cardboard. Even if you manage to get one, “Hostile Architecture” pushes you out of the city. It’s all connected. It’s a well-made system designed to completely erase people like us from society.

Now, it’s your turn to see the rest with your own eyes.

Read “Smart Box Man ” in Japanese