Mars-land
- Reads 180
- Votes 10
- Parts 11
What would the world be like if simple emotions such as happiness-fear-disgust-and sadness didn't exist?
In 2026, the simple what if became reality.
A sudden disappearance swallowed the world whole, leaving nothing but numbness behind. No more happiness. No anger. No tears for the dead. The only thing left was emptiness.
2075, the world has adapted.
There is a solution to the emptiness.
But only if you can afford it.
Ellis Sinclair, born into the powerful Sinclair family, has felt emotions his entire life-artificial ones. Manufactured. Injected. Controlled. He can purchase joy, schedule desire, mute grief. Yet no matter how real they seem, something is wrong. The feelings spark on command... and die just as quickly. They don't belong to him.
He wants something real.
Jordan Castillo has never felt anything at all. Born into poverty, he was never offered artificial emotions. His world has always been silent-steady, hollow, empty. And yet he chases danger like it might wake something inside him. Rooftops. Fights. Reckless choices.
Anything to feel.
When Ellis meets Jordan, the shift is immediate.
It isn't programmed.
It isn't bought.
It isn't safe.
Around Jordan, Ellis's artificial emotions glitch-short-circuit-misfire. His heart races without permission. His breath catches without command. And for the first time, he doesn't know if what he's feeling is artificial... or something breaking through.
Jordan doesn't understand it either. The way his chest tightens when Ellis looks at him. The way silence feels heavier when Ellis leaves.
In a world where love was erased, what they're feeling shouldn't exist.
And if it does-
It isn't just rare.
It's dangerous.
Because real emotions can't be controlled.
They can't be owned.
And if the world discovers what's growing between them, Ellis won't just lose his privilege-
He might lose Jordan.
The question isn't whether it's real.
The question is how far Ellis is willing to go to keep it.