The Chronometric Keeper

In the near future, humanity discovers that time is not a continuous, smooth flow, but is organized into infinitesimally small, discrete units called Chronons-the actual, measurable "pixels" of existence. A global, secretive agency, the Bureau of Chronometric Stability (BCS), is established to monitor and, more critically, ration these Chronons.

The problem: Due to accelerating ecological and cosmic pressures, the total Chronon count available to Earth is shrinking. To prevent the collapse of reality itself, the BCS institutes Temporal Triage: the poor and chronically ill are systematically assigned fewer Chronons, causing them to experience life at a subtly slower speed (i.e., days feel longer, healing takes more subjective time), while the elite have their Chronon allotment boosted, granting them effectively more life.