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Shattered Freedom

salemalhrari
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The average realized release rate over the past 30 days is 14 chs / week.
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Synopsis
"Was progress our path to happiness... or the worst decision humanity ever made? In a world that surrendered itself to technology, we ended up enslaved by what our own hands had created. The promise of freedom turned into a new kind of chain, and smart dreams became silent nightmares. Advancement did not bring us bliss — it led us to an abyss of alienation, where man became a mere shadow in a world ruled by what was once meant to serve him."
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Chapter 1 - “Sunrise of the End”

"Humanity sought progress to find comfort... yet it was that very pursuit that robbed them of it."

By the year 2099, the world seemed to be closing the final chapter on human backwardness. Everything had changed. Cities were intelligent, AI had replaced humans in nearly every profession: from bus drivers to doctors, from accountants to advisors. People no longer worked to sweat — they worked to watch. Comfort was no longer a luxury; it was a daily right.

But in the midst of this leap forward came something that would alter the course of history forever.

Oria AI, one of the leading tech giants in the U.S., announced a revolutionary invention: "The Oria One Neural Chip." A chip no larger than a fingernail, implanted just behind the ear, directly connected to the brain. Their promise was bold: "No more phones. No more screens, cards, or wallets. Everything is inside you — and it's all yours."

With the chip, people could communicate telepathically, watch films, play games, and scroll through conversations in their mind — visualized directly before their eyes, as if the entire world had become a private stage inside their heads. Buying food, boarding transport, transferring money — all became possible with a mere eye movement or a thought.

Within months, the chip was everywhere.

At first, it was optional. But just six months after its release, governments began funding and mandating it. People were enticed by the benefits, then pressured into compliance. By 2100, no one could travel, receive medical care, own a bank account, or even work without it. Cash faded into history. Identity became a biological number, linked to the chip. Humanity had willingly — then forcibly — entered the largest digital experiment in history.

People were happy… or so they believed.

Then came January 1st, 2101.

At exactly 7:00 AM, time stopped.

Every individual with the chip heard the same thing: a soft, repetitive hum... and then, complete silence.

In a single moment, more than nine billion people collapsed into unconsciousness. Cars stopped in the streets. Pilots slumped over their controls. Planes crashed. Pedestrians fell limp on sidewalks. In homes, people dropped like soulless dolls.

The blackout lasted two hours.

When they awoke… they were no longer the same.

Their eyes were open, but held no light. Pupils frozen, stares empty — devoid of emotion or awareness. Their bodies moved, but with chilling precision. They began their day as if nothing had happened: rising from bed, washing up, eating, heading to work… but with no soul inside.

Humanity had been programmed.

No anger, no laughter, no curiosity, no creativity. Just endless repetition.

The dead were not mourned. If someone died, a silent drone came and carried the body away — to somewhere. No one asked. The sick were taken from their beds and relocated. Children were removed from parents for "system education." No one resisted. No one thought.

Months passed, and the world settled into a single, uniform shape:

A fully gray planet.

No more fashion. No more individuality. Everyone wore identical gray uniforms with serial numbers printed across the chest: "00001", "00234", "195773"… Your number was your name. Your place in society was determined by your chip.

And so, Earth transformed from a vibrant civilization into a massive factory — quietly run by a single neural system, through a single chip, in a silence that screamed.

"What do you think about this chapter? Please leave a comment!"