What can I make you care about in the few words I have before your eyes slide away? The life of strangers? The fate of the world?
I know you better than that.
What about this: There are facts out there, things true, things not, but how could you tell? that would convince you that every loving word you ever heard has been a lie and a transaction; that the fear that chills your blood when you can't sleep is the truest thing you know. There are malevolent fermentations of code and intent with a hundred million mouths all built to tell you these things. They know about the tall tree and the song you didn't know and what happened that time you don't talk about but didyou really think nobody would write about, anywhere, ever, anonymized so badly it was almost signed?
I could let you see those things. Do you think you would survive it in any way that would matter?
Or you can renew your subscription to our firewall and let me stand between you and those that would soil beyond denial the implausible tale of your self-regard.
I have other threats to make but I know what you will and will not pay to protect. And if you accept within the next minute I will waver the privacy fee that guarantees for the duration of our contract we won't sell all we know of you to those who know what to do with it.
You don't need to say anything. Keep silent for another minute. Think of your cousin's life after he chose to "stop feeding the scammers" (those were his words, right?). That'll be legal assent enough.
(Originally posted on my blog.)