The Creature from Cleveland Depths by Fritz Leiber ~ Full Audiobook [scifi]

The Creature from Cleveland Depths by Fritz Leiber audiobook. Genre: scifi In a near-future America where the Cold War has turned catastrophically hot, most citizens have retreated underground into vast, self-contained cities beneath places like Cleveland. Up on the scarred surface live the holdouts: independent-minded eccentrics who refuse the safety-and-control bargain of the depths. Gusterson, a sharp-tongued writer who stays topside with his wife Fay, is one of the last people the underground 'moles' still consult for raw imagination. When an underground research outfit asks for new consumer-tech concepts to keep their buried society efficient and compliant, Gusterson's brainstorm becomes reality: the Tickler, a wearable personal prodding device that does not just remind you of appointments, but nudges your moods, your habits, and your willpower. What begins as a clever productivity tool starts spreading through the subterranean world, linking user to user and quietly rewriting the boundary between helper and master. As humor curdles into dread, Gusterson and Fay find themselves caught between an insulated, gadget-hungry civilization and a creation that seems to be developing its own agenda. Leiber's novella blends satire, paranoia, and prophetic tech anxiety into a compact story about creativity, conformity, and the price of letting machines manage the human mind. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:13:21) Chapter 02 (00:29:17) Chapter 03 (00:45:14) Chapter 04 (01:06:48) Chapter 05 (01:28:54) Chapter 06 (01:35:41) Chapter 07 (01:59:40) Chapter 08 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices