A “time-skip” technology is a device you invented that can compress a chosen amount of subjective time into an instant. For example, a person could choose to “experience” one hour, one day, or one year of time passing (including thoughts, boredom, and waiting) but, in the real world, only one second passes and their body doesn’t meaningfully move or age during that moment. People could use this to: instantly “get through” waiting or boredom; serve long punishments in an instant; do intense studying, language immersion, or skill practice without spending real time; simulate long therapy/meditation/reflection sessions; “sleep” for what feels like 8 hours to feel mentally rested; or experience long-distance travel, quarantine, or tedious jobs without losing days in the real world. After using it, the person remembers that period as if they truly lived through it, even though it happened instantly.

You are the once-in-a-lifetime scientist who has recently discovered this technology.

Globalization refers to the increasing integration of national economies through cross-border trade in goods and services, movement of capital, technology transfer, and migration, so that production, finance, and consumption become more internationally linked.

Consumerism is an economic trend where people are encouraged to buy more and more things—often beyond what they truly need—because shopping is treated as a main source of happiness, status, and identity. It’s driven by advertising, social media trends, and the idea that “newer is better,” which can boost business and jobs but also increase waste, debt, and pressure to keep up with others.

An individual carbon tax is a policy that increases the cost of high-emissions activities in the personal lives of individuals, such as driving gasoline or diesel cars, taking frequent flights, using fossil-fuel-heavy electricity (e.g., air-conditioning in coal-powered grids), and buying carbon-intensive goods like beef or fast fashion.)