Freegaia 1 – The Question

Freegaia – The City Begins to Shine · Episode 1 · Part 1 of 23

What good things have you done for the common good in the past few weeks?

Alice looked at the question for a while. Then she said, „nothing“ thought and „I was there for my children“ she typed, because she couldn't think of anything else.

When Bob walks into the kitchen, it’s just before midnight, and Alice is crying. She’s sitting at the table, with a plate of the children’s leftover pasta in front of her—the meal she’d tried to get them to eat while standing—and her cell phone is glowing in her hand.

Bob stops in the doorway. He's known Alice for half a year and has never seen her cry. He sees her cell phone. He sees that she's looking at her cell phone and not at him. And he has a hunch—one he doesn't like.

„Who's writing to you?“

Alice laughs. „No one you know.“

That was the answer he didn't want to hear. He sits down next to her and holds out his hand.

She hands him the cell phone.

On the screen, behind a gold check mark, is Alice's own sentence: I was there for my children. Below is a message. It begins with Dear Alice, welcome!, and it's short:

The community thanks you—for the time you give to your children.
Your first 100 Gradido are a token of appreciation for what you've already done.
It's great to have you here.

Below that, in smaller print, is the name of the person who confirmed it: The software confirmed this initial thank-you right away so you can get started immediately. From now on, a real person will be reading everything you enter. And at the very bottom, a number followed by three letters that he doesn't recognize: 100.00 GDD.

He reads the message twice. There’s nothing bad in it. That’s the thing. It says that the community thanks her for the time she’s giving to Helena and Gustav. It says who confirmed it. And then there’s a number.

„A piece of software,“ says Bob.

„It says so right there.“

„You cried over a piece of software.“

„I cried because it’s true.“ Alice wipes her face with her sleeve. „Read it again. It’s true.“

„How much does that cost?“ Bob asks.

„Nothing.“

„How much does it really cost?“

„Nothing, Bob. I read it. Twice.“

He's scrolling. Why a hundred?, it says, and below that, it says that from now on there will be some every month—up to a thousand—for good deeds done for the common good.

„A thousand a month,“ says Bob. „There’s a catch.“

„Then find him.“

He looks for the fine print, and he finds it: the privacy policy, right at the bottom, and he reads it while Alice watches him. Then the sign-up page. The lines change there, and he remembers one—three words: Community-driven. Decentralized. Open source. He doesn't believe any of them. But the third one can be verified.

„Did you sign up there? With your real name?“

„With my real name.“ Alice doesn’t take the cell phone away from him. „I heard about it somewhere—I don’t remember where. That single mothers are valued. And then it asked me what good I’d done, and I thought: nothing. I worked, I put the kids to bed, I went to the social services office.“ She points to the refrigerator, where the duty roster hangs, with Helena’s crayon-drawn sun above it. „That’s all I do. And then I wrote it down. Just as it is.“

Bob looks at the sentence with the gold checkmark. Six words.

„And a piece of software answers you.“

„The first time. So it goes quickly and you don’t have to wait.“ Alice taps the short line. „Next time, people will read along—hosts, both male and female. And they’ll write that being a mother is a service to the common good. One of the most important ones.“ She exhales. „It’s been eight years since anyone first told me that.“

„A piece of software told you that.“

„Someone taught the software to do it.“

Bob places the cell phone on the table, screen up, so that the message is between them.

„I want to know who that is,“ he says. „Who they are. What they want.“

„I know what they want,“ says Alice. „I want to show it to Carla.“

„Show it to me first.“

Here's how it works in the software

The question Alice reads at midnight is the same one your Gradido account asks you when you open it for the first time.

1. Open an account. Go to gdd.gradido.net and log in. Don't have an account yet? Tap „Register.“ Can't remember your password? Look for „Forgot Password“ on the login page.
2. Answer the question. The first time you open the account, it asks you what good deeds you’ve done for the common good in recent weeks. Complete one of the suggested sentences or write your own. Are you a retiree? If so, check the box that says „Your life’s work counts.“.
3. Save and read. The software immediately acknowledges your first thank-you: 100 Gradido, along with a message like the one Bob reads twice. From now on, a real person will read everything you post.

Have you already answered this question? If so, you'll find your answer under „Transactions“: The sender is the community, and the word „Created“ appears above the amount.

Have you made a withdrawal before, long before this question came up? If so, your account won't ask you that question anymore. Your thank-you note has been listed under „Transactions“ since then, and when you make a withdrawal, you answer the question anew every month.

👉 About Your Gradido Account

Next episode on Thursday, October 22: „Freegaia 2 – The Catch.“ Bob reads until 2:30, and Carla is coming over on Saturday.
All episodes on one page: Freegaia