Dystopium: It’s not better, it just feels that way - A Chronocrypto Story
In this day and age, depression ran rampant, but you'd never know it from looking at most.
A new sort of "wonder drug" was being prescribed that seemed to make everyone feel better about themselves and the world. The brand name was Finexa, pronounced Fine-exa, and like the name implied, it made everything seem to be just fine. Life was good, wasn't it?
Yes, sure, life was good if you ignored the pollution, the corruption, the news stories full of robberies and murders, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the advances available only to a select few. Somehow, many people ignored this anyway. Everything was fine, since they were fine, and that was all that mattered.
The ones that didn't ignore the world around them had a different name for the drug: Dystopium. It was the product of an increasingly broken society that needed to keep its citizens reined in to avoid a complete breakdown. Besides, all the happy feelings came with the price of horrifically brain-bending side effects if three days were missed. A recent rash of people attempting suicide somewhere in the country was attributed to a failure to keep Finexa properly supplied to certain pharmacies. While not addicting in itself, the risk of the withdrawal symptoms kept most people hooked on it.
A few semi-secret groups in various settings provided facilities for those who wanted to get off Finexa and be more than just "fine." They took a certain pride in being able to experience the full range of human emotion, even if they were mostly sad and frustrated a lot of the time. There was a unity among the "feelers" that did not seem to be found anywhere else. One such haven for the feelers was a small, tucked-away bar that was commonly referred to as "Heaven's Gate." It was known for its menu and its tendency to provide comfort to those whose Finexa effects were slipping.
While some would raise objections about exchanging Finexa for a drug that did more actual damage, it was the principle of the matter that drove the feelers to this bar. Finexa was a governmental tool to keep the population in check, while alcohol was just an ordinary drug with no ulterior motives attached to it (or so it seemed at the time, anyway). The bar had clusters of people in it at any given time, all expressing themselves one way or another. Some got in passionate debates over nothing in particular, others wept into their drinks, while others still tried to get away with sleeping on the bar counter. One person ordered a Moonblast, a famously sweet drink that could still give you a decent buzz if you were committed enough to getting one.
Loud banging noises could be heard from outside. Heaven's Gate went silent for a moment, anxiety spreading through each person in the room. Someone asked what that noise could have been. One person suggested gunshots. Another person suggested a car backfiring. A third person suggested fireworks, which brought some levity and uneasy laughter to the room. A fourth person said that something big was being dropped, and from there, everyone began discussing the numerous possible sources of the sound. No one seemed to be able to agree on what it was, but that was fine, finer than anyone on Finexa could be. It was life as it really was in this city, with no filters or screens to blur anything out.
At the end of the night, a man and a woman walked out together. "That whole business with the sonic booms was really something, wasn't it?" the man said. "Sonic booms? You mean the car backfiring?" the woman replied, grinning. "Yeah. It's nice to have differing opinions and not just 'roll with it' like the people on Dystopium do. More like they roll over dead and just let everyone walk over them."
The man nodded, then spoke in a hushed voice. "What if those really were gunshots, though? Do you think Heaven's Gate might be in actual danger of being raided or targeted?" No single feeler wanted to imagine what it would be like to go back to one level of feeling after the freedom of feeling everything in a society that worked to suppress that.
The woman shrugged. "If they try, they'll have a lot of genuinely angry people to fight against. I bet it's been a while since they've seen someone get truly angry. Maybe that'll catch them off guard so much that we can overpower them just by yelling alone."
"That'd be nice, wouldn't it?" the man asked, looking around furtively.
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Everything is good for now, or as good as it can be. Let's enjoy the moment."
While the remark was a bit dismissive, it carried a valid point. The good times needed to be actively enjoyed for them to be truly good, and there wasn't much point in worrying about what could happen until something actually did.
I am looking for voice talent see post below for more details.
I would like to make some AudioBooks out of them, I am looking for people who are very great at reading with personality and are able to give the listener a sense of being part of the book.
I am not looking for experienced Voice Over talent I am looking for Steemians that are English speakers, character actor and improv artist. A smooth, professional and polished vocal style. That are capable of delivering recorded material to me in mp3, m4a, wav, or aiff formats.
If you are able and willing to provide I will pay 5 SBD per AudioClip of the story done, please keep in mind the Stories are very unique and should require a unique voice. They are between 500-800 words, I currently have about a dozen short stores on steemit and will continue to write more, thus give more opportunities to people that want to earn and help out.
Some things I am looking for
- Voice must be dark, with emotion
- Must understand this is a dystopian setting
- Able to make the listener be part of the story
- Above 55 Rep just means you know how to get around here and you are somewhat active.
If you have not yet read some of my stories please have a look below.
Reptilian Alien Precursors- Human POV Part 2 - A Chronocrypto Short Story
Reptile Alien Precursors – Alien POV - A Chronocrypto Short Story
Minds Can be Hijacked - A Chronocrypto Short Story
Robots and their rights - A Chronocrypto Short Story
Current Tech leads to Dystopia - A Chronocrypto Short Story
AI Drones - A Chronocrypto Short Story
A Chronocrypto Short Story - Corporate Conglomerate Dystopia
Singularity - A Chronocrypto Short Story
A Donald Marshall Inspired Story.
A chronocrypto short Dystopian Story: The Creation Animid Unit S-01
Technology and its upcoming dystopian effects.
Robot Equality - Is it here?
Beta JR World's AI Server(Fiction/Non-Fiction)
Clone A-2 (Fiction/Non-Fiction)
In order to be a good fit please read some of these stories to get a feel of how they should engulf the listener.
If you are interested in doing this small project with me and earn some SBD and of course your name as the narrator please contact me on Discord name chronocrypto. Hopefully we can get a wide variety of voices for the project.
[Title]Written by: @chronocrypto[Narrator]
The Audio files will be uploaded on @dsound by @chronocrypto, you will send me the audio clip through Discord, so that everyone can listen to the stories.
Well sometimes the government is just something that will never cease to amaze us, in fact, finexa as it implies should really keep people in check right? And alcohol? What's the true fuction of alcohol?
Well wellness is really from the psyche, the drug is just a beacon,
I enjoyed totally reading, thank you for writing.
How about you put your task on steemgigs.org? I think a lot of people will be willing to offer good services?
Hey man thank you for reading and always coming back.
Didn't even think about steemgigs thanks for that.
Yeah I love your blog a lot really your ways of writing are so intuitive and off the chart really, it's do good.
Yeah, I think steemgig is like fiverr here, check it out.
Legit writeup... It's a thumbs up from me
love the evocative story... and the inference I get from the images. I have no idea what Discord even is (yet)... but imma have a go at narrating it anyway 😋
I loved the reading of this from the first line, i couldnt stop after the second paragraph, a good write up will sieve out external noises and pave way for its own voice to be heard, i was actually on the road, quite noisy, but i read this loud and clear, i love this write up, this is how i as a listener should feel for listening to the audio of your write ups, im an English speaker and i will love to try, or just help listen to your selections with you.
I just came about your blog, its nice to meet you by the way. I think i will be sleeping in your blog tonight, lol, there's a lot of fun there i can tell
I would be potentially interested in narrating for you. I can create subtle sound effects too that may enhance the experience. I am @falseyedols#1856 on Discord.
Awesome! Please contact me on Discord I want to get a few stories out there. Chronocrypto
There are two errors in your opening line.
(1) "depression ran rampant".
That's past tense, but you say "in this day and age", which is in present tense. So either say
In this day and age, depression runs rampant....
or remove "in this day and age" or use another phrase that is in the past tense.
(2) but you'd never know it from looking at most.
at most. At most what? looking at most things? Most people? This is an incomplete sentence. Either say "you'd never know if from looking" or complete the phrase.
You can't use just "looking at most" in English. "Most" is an adjective. It needs a noun to modify, like "people" or "places" or something.