inThrallment is set 150 years in the future, a time when death, disease and aging have been eliminated by a product called EverLife. Anyone who uses EverLife is, more or less, immortal. People allowed to take EverLife are called Users, those who aren’t are called transients. EverLife must be renewed every three months and is offered as a job benefit by most companies. Very few people can afford to buy EverLife on their own, so anyone who wants to be immortal must have a good paying job, and to keep your job you must maintain a high productivity rating.
EverLife was created by the aptly named EverLife Company, which is the largest, most profitable, company in the world. The emergence of the ELC, and the rapidity with which it became profitable – not to mention the incredible amount of money it took in – caused a massive political shift in the United States of America. Democracy, with its under-the-table deal-making and specious politicians, was superseded by a government controlled by a corporate hierarchy, called the Corporament. No more regulations and oppressive laws, every bribe out in the open, now any company can do as it pleases. Congress still exists as a token of democracy, but it’s main function is to settle disputes between feuding companies.
Rolly Smalls lived through all these changes, kept his head down, worked hard, and looked forward to a long retirement. He’s worked for 125 years and he’s still looking forward, but retirement isn’t any closer. He’s desperate, willing to do just about anything, and trust just about anyone.
And that’s where the story begins.