You know, the old world was a total mess. Nothing worked the way it was supposed to. Everything was slow, chaotic, full of mistakes. But now? Now it’s different. Everything just… works.

The city feels alive, like it’s looking out for you. The machines take care of the hard stuff—things we used to stress about, they just handle it. No emotions, no second-guessing, no screw-ups. It’s efficient. It’s smooth.

People talk about freedom like it was some great thing, but honestly? It felt more like chaos. What we’ve got now? It’s better. Cleaner. Safer.

And the best part? I feel good. I feel happy. You do too, right?

A broken sign flashed blue neon, creating a rhythmic flicker over the alley’s slippery, damp asphalt. Potholes accumulated puddles that were too deep to be rainwater, reflecting the sky like obsidian shards. A instrument of brushed steel, its strange blue glow fading to a dying ember, lay beside a crumpled body. Rats, slender and plump, emerged from the darkness, scavengers in a concrete jungle where even rodents appeared to flourish. His story was buried in the endless urban night, and he was simply another fatality. The weight of the world, a tiny data chip promising salvation, shifted in the pocket of the man who had been his friend – or had he been? Trust was a currency long devalued in this city of shadows and circuits.