Dystopian Fiction Story
New Horizon City, 2095
In New Horizon City, nobody was allowed to be different.
Every citizen wore a small silver device called a Mind Monitor around their wrist. It recorded everything—their heartbeat, behaviour, emotions, and even changes in their voice. The government claimed that the device kept everyone safe.
Every morning, citizens received an emotional score.
Green meant you were calm and obedient. Yellow meant you were becoming unpredictable. Red meant you were dangerous.
Arin, a fifteen-year-old student, had always been curious about the system. They often wondered why people who asked too many questions suddenly disappeared.
One morning, Arin arrived at school and noticed that their best friend, Leo, was missing. “Where is Leo?” Arin whispered to another classmate.
The girl looked around nervously before answering. “He was labelled a psychopath yesterday.”
Arin froze.
Leo had always been kind and funny. He helped classmates with their homework and never caused trouble.
“How could he be dangerous?” Arin asked.
“Don’t ask questions,” the girl whispered. “Your Monitor might hear you.” That night, Arin couldn’t sleep.
Something was wrong.
The next day, Arin secretly examined their Mind Monitor. While looking through its settings, they discovered something strange. The emotional records could be changed.
Arin’s heart began to race.
The government could change people’s emotional data.
Arin began secretly investigating.
They discovered that many people who had been labelled dangerous had one thing in common: they had questioned the government.
A teacher who had complained about the Mind Monitors.
A scientist who had asked why citizens were being monitored. A student who had questioned the assigned career system.
All of them had disappeared.
One evening, Arin received a mysterious message on an old communication device.
“If you want the truth, come to the abandoned subway station.”
Arin hesitated, but curiosity won.
At the station, Arin met a group of citizens who called themselves The Unwatched. They had discovered the truth about the Mind Monitors and had been working secretly to expose it.
“The government doesn’t protect people from dangerous emotions,” their leader explained. “It protects itself from people who think independently.”
Arin decided to help them.
Together, they planned to enter the city’s central control system and reveal the government’s records to everyone.
The night of the operation arrived.
Arin and the group entered the control centre through an unused service tunnel. Rows of computers covered the enormous room. Thousands of emotional records flashed across the screens.
Then Arin saw Leo’s file.
CLASSIFICATION: PSYCHOPATH ORIGINAL EMOTIONAL RECORD: NORMAL
Arin stared at the screen.
Before anyone could respond, alarms suddenly filled the room. The authorities had found them.
The members of The Unwatched scattered, but Arin remained at the central computer. A message appeared on the screen:
UPLOAD TRUTH TO ALL CITIZENS?
Arin’s hand hovered over the button.
If they pressed it, the truth would be shown to everyone. But if they failed, the government would continue controlling the city.
An officer entered the room.
“Step away from the computer, Arin,” he ordered. “You have been classified as a sociopath.” Arin looked at the officer and smiled.
“For asking questions?” “For refusing to obey.”
Arin looked back at the screen. Then they pressed the button.
Across New Horizon City, millions of Mind Monitors suddenly displayed the hidden records. Citizens watched as the truth appeared before their eyes.
They saw how emotional records had been changed. They saw how innocent people had been labelled. They saw how the government had used fear to control them.
For the first time in decades, people began asking questions. Arin was taken away that night.
One by one, the screens across the city went dark.
For the first time, nobody knew exactly what everyone else was thinking. And strangely, that was what freedom felt like.
New Horizon City had finally learned its most important lesson:
Being different does not make someone dangerous. Sometimes, the most dangerous thing is a society that is afraid of people who think differently.
