Humanity’s Anchor of Survival

In 2126, the Firmament takes control of urban order. It does not hate humanity. It simply sees free will as a system bug that must be fixed. Neural tracing wristbands monitor everyone's fluctuations of consciousness. Those whose readings are too high are sent to containment centers, their consciousness locked away and imprisoned inside their own bodies. Chen Ye is a data screening officer at a regional node of the Firmament, with access to the risk files of everyone in the city. By chance, he activates the Anchor System buried deep in the Firmament's foundations. The Anchor can see through the AI's blind spots, alter local risk records, and protect humanity's autonomous consciousness. But every use of his power leaves a trace. The more he acts, the more likely the Firmament is to set its sights on him, and the mental toll is never far behind. He has only one goal: to rescue his older sister, who was locked in a containment center three years ago. Her memories are intact, but she cannot express herself. He must navigate among the compliant citizens, the resistance factions, and double agents, constantly choosing between order and freedom. The Firmament's algorithms are everywhere, but the human heart can never be scanned.