Between Name and Number
Wherein a file is created and given something...
Between Name and Number
I think having 150 people you tend is part of the contract to quote be a human end quote: "the 1 percent" is: 1 in 100 (go away, maths). This leaves 1½ of your people "the 1 percent." Put your 150 and my 150 together and we have 300 people we tend, 3 of which are "the 1 percent." These odds vastly lowers the tour that Stranger Danger & the List of Phobias gets to go on (as a band across the human experience).
The above poetry is not solidarity across the world. It's you, carving a space in that world such that I can say "my abuser," and you can reference your Carl the Abuser. When I say "my schizo friend," think of Phoebe! When I say "my homeless neighbor," notice Squirrel.
No magic number here; you see.
Tending
Your tending, it's like heartbeats. Do you want to beat your own heart? The atrioventricular node dawns, settles down with thier sinoatrial lover. It took your job. I don't need you singing Pink Pony Club, doing chest compressions over my person anymore. Find your meaning elsewhere. Who do you know?
Having 150 people you tend keeps you resilient to Immoral Labyrinths and the Davids, as the person you lose to the labyrith didn't define you. You can just mourn, not have a societal meltdown, glowing at the chest like a sick kaiju. They can just be someone you tend, narratively.
It helps for them to be someone you share meals with and live around ("live, "meals," and "around" left as words for you to define - or not - as you need). You might tend 150 imaginary people. Make a person with me. Relationally, not sexually. Sometimes we ship ourselves with the world. That's life. Map this person: this message you read, it has an address. It doesn't have a name.
No Name
It's more "my words you read," than Sense We Make Together, huh? That's perfect, tho! [Safe and lonely where fed is best] can be better than [Together and terrified where here is awful]; let that 'can' cook. Celebration of attention moving through air can wait. Let's fed-is-best a name. Will you name this starvation?
Let, this message, the starvation's name be Sense (above). Sense walks through a grocery store when a person near Sense begins talking out loud about the items they pick up. It's a new auto, released by accessyble corp. To pay for the auto, they serve ads to the human the auto shops for, declaring the deals the person gets audibly: "This ...apple... is such a good deal! Is this the ...apple... I should bring home?
The auto's human likely automates answers to these question. Sense, experiencing the auto declare the items so jovially picked up, has no list (Sense is job-hunting), and gets an apple of their own. This announcing of deals auto's humans get fill stores. Will you name this auto?
Any Name
Let, this message, the auto's name be Good. But you might name the auto Slop or Shit or G-d, I Don't Want To Think About This Right Now or Asshole (classic!). No one wants to think about dawn, or get out of bed. But some do it, others starve. Or in prison so who cares. Those remaining rise as wild volunteers, begin their day. Would you like to name one volunteer?
Let, this message, a volunteer's name be you. You read this message. Whether you give "read" a rhyme with "reed" or with "red" won't matter, not for a while (and likely never may). Let name the mattering. Name it Relevance. So many names! We'll have one hundred and fifty in no time! Let's name something without a number:
This message, the name of this theoretical "151st person" can be the sound your pet makes. I can be your pet. I make this sound: this. Would you like to ask This any questions between This and you (any and all This is not)? Let names, this moment, be exclusive.
One Name
The last receipt you got has the operator's name - what name was on it (who was the person checking you out)? Let the name on your next receipt be the name on the receipt, for this read. This isn't a game, but if you wanted to game it, you could get the name from context clues, like Self Checkout - tended by whom? That person, this message, can be Ambi. Ambi Guiss.
That's enough names for now. Look at all these things that are not This! So many! Touch a file. Name it something: persondex - that's a terrible name. Let's change it. Your Index of Named People, what should we call it? How about this? Let's name this file of your 150 names Scope. It's yours. Your scope.