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"This Crowded Earth", a 1958 novella by Robert Bloch; etext at Project Gutenberg, audio at LibriVox. Any of these covers look familiar?

"This Crowded Earth", a 1958 novella by Robert Bloch; etext at Project Gutenberg, audio at LibriVox. Any of these covers look familiar?

I guess so. They call it "Chicagee" because it's a megametropolis extending from Chicago to Milwaukee

The telescreen lit up promptly at eight a.m. Smiling Brad came on with his usual greeting. "Good morning—it's a beautiful day in Chicagee!"

Harry Collins rolled over and twitched off the receiver. "This I doubt," he muttered. He sat up and reached into the closet for his clothing.

Yes. They call it "Chicagee", perhaps because it's a megametropolis extending from Chicago to Milwaukee

The telescreen lit up promptly at eight a.m. Smiling Brad came on with his usual greeting. "Good morning—it's a beautiful day in Chicagee!"

Harry Collins rolled over and twitched off the receiver. "This I doubt," he muttered. He sat up and reached into the closet for his clothing.

[. . . .]

Sometimes he wished he worked in the New Philly area, where a four-hour day was the rule. But he supposed that wouldn't mean any real saving in time, because he'd have to live further out. What was the population in New Philly now? Something like 63,000,000, wasn't it? Chicagee was much smaller—only 38,000,000, this year.

This year. Harry shook his head and took a gulp of the Instantea. Yes, this year the population was 38,000,000, and the boundaries of the community extended north to what used to be the old Milwaukee and south past Gary. What would it be like next year, and the year following?

I guess so. For some reason they call it Chicagee:

I guess so. They call it "Chicagee" because it's a megametropolis extending from Chicago to Milwaukee