The Uber/DoorDash Driver and the Black Gate
A True Horror Story for Anyone Who’s Ever Tapped “Accept.”
You walked into Mordor with a phone and a car. You came back with the contract.
Now we don’t explain it. We tell it like a bedtime story that keeps the children awake, a horror tale for regular people. No LaTeX. No citations. No mercy.
1. The Sign-Up
You’re 22. You need rent.
Your phone buzzes:
“Earn $1,000/week! Be your own boss!”
You tap. You upload your license. You smile for the camera. You sign.
No one reads the 47-page contract. It’s written in Sauron’s ink, tiny, gray, endless.
But you? You feel free.
2. The First Delivery
“Pizza to 123 Shadow Lane. $6.50.”
You drive 7 miles.
Gas: $3
Wear on your car: $2
Time: 25 minutes
You earn $1.50.
But the app says:
“Great job! 98% acceptance rate!”
And your brain hears: You matter.
3. The Deactivation
One night, you’re sick. You miss 3 orders.
Your phone goes dark.
“Account under review.”
No warning. No phone call. No human.
Nine days later:
“Your account has been permanently deactivated.”
You lose:
Your income
Your car payments
Your stability
They lose nothing.
4. The Invisible Boss
You say:
“I’m not an employee. I’m a contractor.”
But the app:
Tracks your every turn
Times your bathroom breaks
Drops your pay if you slow down
Fires you without appeal
That’s not a boss. That’s a demon in the dashboard.
5. The Arbitration Trap
A customer’s dog bites you. You want to sue.
But the contract says:
❌ No jury
❌ No class action
❌ No public trial
You fight in a private court the company pays for.
The judge? Chosen by the company.
The rules? Written by the company.
The outcome? Already decided.
6. The Real Math
You work 40 hours.
They keep 70% of the rate.
Your gas? They keep 100%.
Your tires? 100%.
Your oil changes, brakes, insurance, depreciation? 100%.
Your time? They own it.
Your risk? They own none of it, but you carry all of it.
They made you the business owner only on the expense side,
and the employee only on the revenue side.
They call it flexibility, it is feudalism with GPS.
7. The Child Sees
A 10-year-old watches her mother dash. She asks:
“Mommy, why do you work all day and we still can’t pay rent?”
The mother opens her mouth, but there is no answer.
The child says what adults won’t:
“Because the app is the king. And we are the peasants.”
8. The Light
The contract only works if no one speaks.
But when one driver tells one driver tells one mother tells one child tells one teacher, the spell cracks.
Revolt is not fire. It is refusal.
9. The Ending (Sorrow → Steel)
The child draws the demon-app with teeth and a blank white screen and gives the picture to her mother.
The mother looks at it. And something final breaks.
Not hope. Illusion.
She deletes the app.
No yelling. No protest. No marching.
Just a door quietly closing.
And that silence is the loudest sound the system has ever heard.
This is cruel. We deserve better. So we stop signing.
Share this. Print it. Tell a child. Burn the contract. #StopSigning
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This essay draws on the concept of *The Sacred Useless*, the understanding that human dignity arises from value beyond utility.
Read the full exposition here:
https://unspunthread.com/the-sacred-useless
The ideas generated here are for the defense of dignity and the sovereignty of the human mind.
The Continuum Forge – Unspun Thread
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The Continuum Forge – Unspun Thread