Rituals of Regulation

By 2086, AI has replaced all human labour. Society is governed by neural implants that regul emotion, routine, health, and wealth distribution. Citizens live without hardship, but in emotional numbness accompanied by a constant mechanical hum in the mind. During an organised walking route, an elderly former surgeon discovers an abandoned lift shaft beneath the Lace Market Car Park where his implant signal suddenly fails. For the first time in decades, he experiences silence and sensory clarity. Realising the shaft acts as a Faraday cage, he researches obsolete technology and secretly uses a neurosurgery drill to reposition his implant, weakening its control without detection. Others soon gather in the hidden car park, forming a rebellion built on neurological freedom and sensory awakening.