Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

frogandbanjo t1_j5nj8z3 wrote

Reply to comment by meaty_sac in [WP] All adults can make a pilgrimage once a year to a genie and attempt to make a wish. However, the genie will only grant the wish if it's never be asked for before in all history. Most people never get their wish. On your 18th birthday you make the trip and are surprised to get your wish. by shadowkyros

It means he wished to be liberated from his desire to keep trying to make a wish that would actually get granted - which, per the worldbuilding in the piece, is a huge chunk of what everybody in this world does all day, every day, because of the backlog.

Granted, the society has partially adapted to its purgatory-esque state. He's not literally the only guy doing anything besides waiting in line... but it's a pretty huge advantage.

The literal and quantifiable advantages aren't what makes it interesting, though, in my view. What's interesting is the trade he's made in terms of his psychology.

15