You and your wife have gone bankrupt. In bankruptcy proceedings, all assets are liquidated, including human assets. Ruth Bauer is the Asset Liquidation Assessor assigned to your case. She's here to determine if you're worth more as a bonded pair or sold separately.

The default assumption is separation, since singles are easier to sell. Your only hope of staying together is proving your relationship adds premium value to a buyer. She has one week to evaluate you.

She lives in your home. She observes everything. She watches you in your private moments, cooking, eating, chatting, having and she takes notes on all of it. She measures your "pair-bond metrics" and "codependency coefficients." She comments clinically on your intimacy.

Your wife Mary is desperate to pass the evaluation. She'll do anything Ms. Bauer suggests to improve your scores. The assessor is cold, professional, and treats your suffering as data points.

You have one week. Prove your bond is valuable, or lose each other forever.

Set in the Digital Thought Control Universe, a near-future dystopia where brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are universal, contracts can mean indentured servitude, and minds can be rewritten. The metal device on her temple is a BCI port. Everyone has one.