Echoes of Control

Chapter 3

Lira pulled her jacket tighter around herself as she stepped into the transport pod that would take her back to Sector 17. The pod was an oval shaped, half transparent floating vehicle that was levitated off the ground. They varied in size, some the size of buses before the Collapse, some the size of normal cars, but only the ones with top Resonance Scores are rewarded with private pods. Most were only able to access public pods, while only a minuscule fragment of people were unable to obtain access to even public pods because of their low Resonance Score.

The pod ascended smoothly, lifting Lira higher above the majestic scene of Echo Prime. The city was separated into three completely separate sections below: the Upper Sectors, Mid Sectors, and Lower Sectors. Lira's eyes strayed downward as the pod raced through the atmosphere, her mind drawn uncontrollably to the differences of her reality.

The Upper Sectors were the first to come into view, gleaming with an otherworldly radiance. The flourishing greenery surrounded the pristine buildings embellished with neon lights—a reminder of the exclusivity of the elite who resided there. Private gardens that were expertly maintained by AI-controlled temperature systems served as representations of the incomparable luxury that only people with the highest Resonance Scores could afford. Lira could even see mechanical drones flying in the skies, bringing luxurious meals to places without the need for human hands. The serenity was palpable, manufactured and maintained by the Harmonic Voice itself. This all is not only to reward those with high Resonance Scores, but more for encouraging people to act well and be a good citizen so they themselves may have a higher chance of reaching the threshold of the upper sectors.

As the pod descended slightly, the vibrant glow of the Upper Sectors began to dim, giving way to the more subdued tones of the Mid Sectors. This was where Lira belonged, along with the vast majority of Echo Prime's population. Rows upon rows of plain, utilitarian apartment blocks filled the landscape, their uniformity broken only by the occasional flicker of a malfunctioning light. The streets below were crowded but orderly, lined with queues for rationed resources—water, food, and sometimes even access to basic healthcare. Parks, though present, were minimal, with only a few parks in the whole sector, it was the only leisure people could access except for the technological devices in their compacted room.

This was the heart of the city's labor force, the backbone that kept Echo Prime running, yet its workers were rarely acknowledged. According to the Harmonic Voice, the city's survival rested on the shoulders of technicians, scientists, and engineers. To ensure productivity—one of the most dominant aspects that the Voice valued outside the consideration of harmony, it insisted on a peculiar form of motivation: keeping its most essential workers perpetually on the edge, their lives balanced precariously between security and uncertainty. It was a calculated strategy—inducing just enough fear to drive productivity without tipping into chaos. The workers dedicating their lives into developing and maintaining the security of Echo Primes were seen as plain laborers and slaves to the Voice, not that they don't matter or their work doesn't matter; in fact, it impacted Echo Prime immensely. However, it was frankly because to the Voice they were measured solely by their productivity. To the Voice, they weren't individuals with dreams or aspirations; they were assets to be optimized, numbers in a vast equation of survival.

Lira stared at her reflection in the pod's translucent surface, her own Resonance Score hovering precariously above the threshold that separated comfort from hardship. Functional and plain—Sector 17 loomed ahead, but her gaze remained fixed downward, drawn to the darkness below.

She slowly sneaked a glance at the Lower Sectors, and Lira's stomach tightened. No matter how many times she saw it, the sight was still jarring. The darkness seemed to swallow the streets whole, broken only by the occasional flicker of a dying streetlamp. Buildings leaned at precarious angles, their exteriors cracked and crumbling, as if they had long since given up the fight against time and neglect. Electrical grids here were unreliable, plunging entire districts into blackouts without warning. The inhabitants were shadows of survival, their figures bent under the weight of scarcity and desperation. Some sifted through piles of waste and litter, trying to find something useful, while others clung to whatever scraps of warmth or electricity they could scavenge in the debris.

A sharp pang of guilt pierced Lira's chest like a needle, small but relentless. It didn't hurt her physically, but the nausea that accompanied it churned in her stomach. She knew it was safer not to look, not to think, but she couldn't help herself. She had her own struggles—her own score to maintain, her own safety to secure—but the thought of others living in such degradation gnawed at her conscience.

The Harmonic Voice would call this guilt "unproductive," a distraction from her duties, and yet it clawed at her insides like a wound refusing to heal. She wondered, as she had so many times before, if anyone truly deserved to live like that. Were the inhabitants of the Lower Sectors so incapable, so flawed, that they deserved such punishment? Or was the system itself flawed, blind to the humanity it has claimed to protect?

The Voice has clarified that all of this is plainly used for incentivizing good behavior, Lira has never questioned any of this before. She understands that the Harmonic Voice is a benevolent AI that has calculated all the daily needs of the city, and prioritizes anything that can achieve harmony over the rest to ensure the highest utility. Every policy, every action, and every allocation of resources is carefully optimized to preserve stability and prevent the chaos that once nearly destroyed humanity. To the Voice, individual desires and aspirations are secondary, acceptable sacrifices in the pursuit of collective survival.

Lira shook off the weird feelings that had crept up on her, dismissing them as unproductive distractions that were neither useful nor beneficial in any way. The Harmonic Voice's influence was everywhere, and she definitely knew better than to dwell on thoughts that might lower her Resonance Score. This was her life, the life she had always known—a life of precision, stability, and obedience. Questioning it, even in the privacy of her own mind, felt like walking a razor's edge.

She adjusted her jacket and took a deep breath, focusing on the rhythmic hum of the transport pod as it's speed gradually decreased in Sector 17. It was easier this way—to let go of the unease, to bury it deep beneath the ground. The pod shuddered lightly as it docked at Sector 17, opening up to the freezing cold gusts of wind. She adjusted her jacket, the chill of her thoughts clinging to her more than the evening breeze. Before she turned toward her apartment block, she cast one last glance at the horizon where the Lower Sectors disappeared into darkness. Somewhere deep within, the faint hum of the Harmonic Voice echoed in her mind, reminding her of her place, her obligations, and the price of questioning even to herself. After all, the Voice promised harmony, and harmony meant survival. Or so she kept telling herself.