The guy with the most heads when he dies wins. After you collect everything you want what is left to want? A "status" society, a trustworthy criminal in a world without material want, is Roger Bellamy happy? Has he triumphed? Happiness is "the exercise of vital powers, through lines of excellence, in a life affording them scope". Workaholics, Steve Jobs, satisfaction vs. happiness, why the death of a young person is a tragedy, "I did not really want to kill", brainwashing vs. culture, what makes you rich is the number of heads you hold, "I have more points than you", "most-kills badge", turning the infinitely reproducible into scarcity (grinding), "there’s no deeper explanation", gold farming, Cory Doctorow’s For The Win, Occupy Earth, the ultimate in keeping up with the Joneses, the shrinking (but still comfortable) middle class, the great depression, the great machine is society, "we have all the high fructose corn syrup we need". This story takes place in New York City, but the location of the story has more to do with the time period in which it was written. It could have been Silicon Valley.