12.30.25: Empathy Patches

They released empathy patches in 2037. Stick one on your arm, feel exactly what someone else feels for six hours. Couples used them to resolve arguments. Parents used them to understand teenagers. Then people started using them recreationally. Parties where everyone shared a single emotion, usually euphoria, sometimes grief. I tried one once, synced to a stranger on the train. He was lonelier than anyone I'd ever felt. I peeled it off after ten minutes. Some people carry weight you can't help with. You just feel it and then you walk away.