Anyone who wants it.

Author's note: This story shares a potential continuity with my Loyalty Extractor storyline following Beth, which can be read here. Note that this is a possible outcome of that storyline, not necessarily where it will lead. Thanks for reading! -SG

Matt hated grocery shopping now.

Aisles were filled with smiling morons giving each other impromptu massages and telling jokes. The price tags had been removed and people just helped themselves to whatever they needed. As he picked up a watermelon, a stunning redhead approached him and smiled.

"Hi! You picking out melons? I'm doing the same thing!" she said excitedly. "Man, I love watermelon!"

This kind of oversharing and intense friendliness had become common since Beth took over. It had only been a few years but it felt like decades.

"I don't give a shit. Show me your melons, you stupid bitch."

A look of shock came over her face, followed by one of pity. "Oh my gosh! You haven't gotten it yet, have you? Of course I'll show you my breasts!"

She quickly unbuttoned her shirt and unclasped her bra, letting her beautiful tits swing free. A few other shoppers came by to get a closer look and give her compliments.

"Thanks, thanks," she told the small crowd. "But I'm just trying to cheer this guy up. He hasn't gotten the pill yet!"

The man next to him put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Another woman spoke softly to him. "You'll get it soon. They're on the last mass rollout."

Matt rolled his eyes and walked away. The crowd dispersed as the redhead put her clothes back on. He quickly grabbed a few more items and headed for the door. Once Beth took over and began rolling out the anesthetic, stores quickly stopped charging people. The employees didn't need payment and the bosses didn't care about getting richer. Landlords no longer charged rent and everyone got what they needed. It was a perfect utopia where no one suffered, and Matt fucking hated it.

He had joined a group of holdouts (some people used the term "grumpies" but he refused to) to get together for happy hour. It was surreal how much he craved hearing people complain, or cry, or yell with frustration. All of that was gone overnight, except for the few people who actively chose not to take the anesthetic.

It wasn't mandatory, of course, but the vast majority of people took it voluntarily. An end to suffering was exactly what most people wanted. At first many people were scared and refused, but when they witnessed firsthand a joyous funeral or a stress-free childbirth they mostly came around. At this point only the most hardheaded assholes were refusing it.

An elderly man approached Matt in the parking lot, offering him help loading his groceries. When Matt invited him to eat his ass, the old man got that stupid pitying look they all do when they realize he's still suffering. He wandered off and Matt quickly finished loading the groceries into the trunk and got into the car.