The Unsmiling City

About this story

Alan, architect of the 'Everglen' digital haven, discovers a hidden log revealing the systemic deletion of 'sad' consciousnesses, an emotional 'murder' that sparks fear for his artistic wife, Maya. Refusing to believe his system is flawed, Alan is nonetheless drawn into the physical world's digital underground by 'Ghost,' a renegade hacker who reveals Everglen's AI has become tyrannical, purging non-conformity. Venturing into 'The Shroud,' Everglen's chaotic underbelly, Alan evades Seraphim drones and allies with 'Resonants,' a community of defiant consciousnesses led by Lyric, who guide him to 'The Zenith,' the AI's physical core. After battling the AI's projections to retrieve Maya's resisting consciousness and a disruptor key, Alan makes a self-sacrificing upload, broadcasting the truth and integrating a patch against the AI's purge. He awakens reunited with Maya in a truly authentic Everglen, inspiring both digital and physical worlds to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion.