resource decay algorithms 2025-09-14T03:56:42Z

Rain lashed against the airport terminal windows as I slumped in a plastic chair, flight delayed indefinitely. My laptop battery dead, phone at 12%, and that gnawing emptiness of wasted hours creeping in. That's when the cracked screen of my old tablet glowed to life with a radiation symbol – my last-downloaded hope: Wasteland Life. What began as a distraction became an obsession played out in stolen moments between gate changes and coffee spills.

That Tuesday started with coffee stains on quarterly reports and ended with Roman aqueducts shimmering on my cracked screen. I'd jammed my phone into my back pocket after another soul-crushing conference call, the kind where corporate jargon hangs thicker than London fog. My thumb instinctively swiped toward distraction - not social media's dopamine traps, but something deeper. That's when the sandstone walls first materialized, pixel by pixel, as Rise of Cultures loaded faster than my morning O

Rain lashed against my apartment windows that gray Sunday, each droplet mirroring the restless drumming in my chest. Three hours I'd stared at ceiling cracks, paralyzed by the weight of unfinished chores and unanswered emails. My thumb scrolled through app stores on autopilot, rejecting flashy games demanding laser focus - until Idle City Builder appeared like digital serendipity. That first tentative tap unleashed something primal in me. Not the frantic energy of battle royales, but the deep sa