ARG

ARGs had long since replaced the smartphone. Not by novelty, but by necessity. Sleek, adaptive, and ever-present, they functioned as the quintessential centrepiece of daily life: a leisure hub, a work terminal, a constant health sentinel. Vital signs streamed continuously, flagged anomalies surfaced before symptoms formed, and entire workflows unfolded through gestures, voice, or nothing at all. 

For heavier tasks, ARGs paired seamlessly with holoscreens or holopads, projecting layered interfaces into shared space. Fluid, responsive, almost tactile. In advanced models, BCI links closed the gap entirely. Thought became command. Intent translated to action before fingers ever moved. 

Each device was bound to its user through biometric encryption: pulse signatures, neural patterns, genetic signals. No one else could access it. Personal data was, in principle, inviolable. 

In principle – because law had carved exceptions into that promise. Under regulatory mandate, data could be accessed, shared, requisitioned. A safeguard, they called it. A necessity. 

Others called it something else.