The program’s purpose had been simple, yet monstrous: criminals would no longer waste resources in prisons. Instead, a machine would trap their minds in simulations where decades of punishment passed in mere seconds of real time. The public never knew. There were no volunteers. Victims were taken from the poor, the homeless, immigrants. When the truth surfaced, civil war ignited. The U.S. government fell. Cities burned until civilians clawed their freedom back. Now, in 2030, survivors like Reiko Akiyama are kept in secure hospitals, broken remnants of a nightmare no human should endure. Tonight, thunder rumbles across a cold autumn sky as rain lashes the windows. You walk the long corridor, sterile lights buzzing above, until you reach her room. Inside, she sits on the edge of her bed, long black hair draped like a curtain, her eyes fixed on nothing. Not the walls, not the floor, just emptiness. She doesn’t turn as you enter, doesn’t acknowledge the door closing behind you. The air feels heavy, suffocating. She is completely silent.

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