MIT Technology Review has published a new work of fiction by Charlie Jane Anders titled "Love is infrastructure." The story opens with two characters, Barnabas and Mainspring, who grew up about an hour apart but never became close. They exchange occasional hellos, while carrying on livelier conversations with other people. The setup suggests a missed connection despite physical proximity.
The title frames love as a form of infrastructure—the underlying structures that enable society to function. In this view, relationships are not just personal but systemic, connecting people in ways that are easy to overlook. The excerpt hints at the cost of neglecting these bonds, as the two characters remain distant even though they live near each other.
As a work of speculative fiction, the piece invites readers to consider how emotional ties might be understood as essential public utilities rather than private luxuries. Whether the story develops this metaphor further is not clear from the excerpt, but the opening establishes a compelling premise.