In Neal Stephenson’s epic sci-fi novel “Cryptonomicon”, we read of a character in one of the modern timelines who is a techie and a new business owner. This guy has a running gag where he has an app he wrote that sits in his PC’s toolbar that checks his bank accounts and his investments and calculates how long it’ll take until he makes “Fuck You Money”. It’s a dollar amount at which he’ll feel free enough that, if someone were to tell him no or otherwise crimp his style, he could say, “fuck you” and continue on with his life without damage. He keeps checking it throughout the story.
That’s a great running gag.
But now we’ve seen exactly what “Fuck You Money” looks and acts like. It’s ugly, cruel, and dangerous. Absolutely unhinged. Inhuman.
The joke’s not funny anymore.
@rufus I read it as the point at which he could cease work aimed for profit, and spend his time doing things he wanted.
An aspect of the idea reappears in Fall, or Dodge in Hell, as dona Waterhouse Trust, Root, and other familiar strands.