07:30 AM — Devi's Apartment Block – Chennai Megacity
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The sun filtered through the translucent shielding that wrapped the high-rise, casting golden geometric shadows on the courtyard tiles. The city beyond had long since outgrown traffic; all one could hear now was the gentle hum of hover pods and the occasional chirp of artificial sparrows perched on solar railings.
Devi Iyer stepped out of the apartment gates, her neural ID syncing instantly with the awaiting transport pod. Unlike public transit loops that zipped commuters across the megacity, this one was different—sleek, silver, and silently hovering just above the ground. The pulse of its emblem, EMOVEX | Engineering Emotion. Ethically, glowed with serene authority.
She took a steady breath, fingers curled lightly around her satchel, and approached.
"Identity confirmed: Devi Iyer," said a smooth, genderless voice as the pod opened with a hiss of cool air. "Welcome. Cognitive Index Scan initiating."
She stepped in.
07:32 AM — Inside the EMOVEX Pod
The doors closed behind her in perfect silence.
Inside, the pod resembled a minimalist meditation capsule—curved, seamless surfaces in soft ivory tones, with ambient blue light tracing the edges. A single ergonomic seat molded to her form, adapting in real time to her breath, posture, and heartbeat.
Then came a gentle hum—vibrational, not loud, but resonant through her bones.
From ceiling to floor, a soft beam of light passed over her eyes, her fingertips, the back of her neck. The full-spectrum neuro-emotional scan had begun.
Before her, a translucent panel displayed her entire profile in blooming arcs of data:
Subject: DEVI IYER
Date of Birth: 18 September 2074
Age: 24 (Today)
Status: APPLICANT Interview Candidate – Empathic Simulation Designer
Academic Journey:
Aetheris Advanced School: A tech-integrated school blending tradition and futurism—where meditation was taught alongside neural coding
NeoCognitionUniversity: Leading institute in AI Psychology, Neuroethics & Emotional Cognition.
Capstone: "Simulated Compassion: Hesitation in Decision-Making AI" (Published 2096)
Cognitive & Emotional Profile:
*High Empathy Quotient
*Memory-linked emotion triggers
*Reserved in expressing affection, yet deeply sensitive
*History of suppressing personal desires for familial balance
*Childhood: Played immersive tech games with her younger brother Aarav—pretended disinterest, secretly enjoyed it
*Emotional Anchors: Grandmother's sayings, childhood sacrifices, hidden fear of becoming "too mechanical"
Family Dynamics:
*Anaya Iyer (Mother): Traditionalist, spiritual guide, inner calm
*Raghav Iyer (Father): Scholar of ancient and artificial wisdom, emotionally layered
*Aarav Iyer (Brother): Tech-native, blunt yet affectionate, emotional foil
*"Dida" (Grandmother): Keeper of soul and stories, mysterious immunity to societal apathy
Personal Preferences:
*Favorite Color: Midnight blue
*Favorite Season: Winters
*Favorite Memory: Aarav chasing her around the living room with a motion-blaster while Dida yelled at them both in mock fury
*Favorite Comfort Food: Hot lemon rasam with ghee rice—served by her mom during late-night exam weeks
*Favorite Book: The Emotional Code by Dr. Vihaan Rao (Yes, that Vihaan—now her neighbor) *Favorite Quote: "What is felt is not weakness. It is proof you are real." – Dida *Favorite Pastime: Listening music
*Favorite Shows: sci-fi
Favorite Sound: The old wooden wind chimes on her grandfather's farmhouse porch
*Favorite Time of Day: Twilight—when the sky forgets what it was and tries to become something else
*Celebrity crush: Joe Keery—in love with his character named Steve Harrington
Devi's breath caught.
She hadn't said a word, hadn't answered a single question—but the pod already knew everything. Her joys, her guilt, her first crush, her midnight rewatch marathons. Her dreams. Her doubt.
Devi smiled faintly as the words faded from the screen. It was eerie how accurately the pod had mapped her—but comforting too. Like someone had finally listened to the quiet things she never said aloud.
"Emotional transparency assessment complete," the AI intoned.
"Preparing you for the interview. Please relax and maintain your heart rate within comfort range."
She leaned back in the seat, clutching the strap of her bag.
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07:34 AM
"EMOVEX Headquarters – Arrival in 22 minutes."
Her reflection in the pod window stared back—composed, sleek. But her eyes gave her away. They always had.
The pod dipped slightly, curving around a vertical garden cluster. And just like that, her mind slipped through time.
FLASHBACK – Aetheris Advanced School | Age 14
A high-ceilinged hall with temple-style pillars and floating screens. The perfect mix of tradition and tech. Morning classes began with meditation, followed by neural interface coding exercises. Devi loved the silence before the algorithms.
"Emotions aren't distractions, they're data," said her ethics professor as the VR walls morphed into a battlefield simulation.
Devi sat at the center, trying not to cry. The simulation showed people screaming, AI bots malfunctioning, empathy levels dropping to zero. Other students calmly took notes. Devi felt every pixel of pain in that room.
A hand reached from the desk beside her. Vihaan. No words—just a tissue offered quietly, like he understood too.
Back in the pod, Devi smiled faintly.
FLASHBACK – NeoCognition University | Age 21
The lecture halls floated on water—modular structures that adjusted to monsoon floods, designed by Adaptive Engineering students.
Devi remembered walking barefoot across the translucent floor, below which digital koi swam beneath real lily pads. "If I ever make it to EMOVEX," she had whispered to herself, "I'll build simulations so real they'll cry."
NeoCognition wasn't just a place to learn—it was where her soul sharpened.
They had taught AI Psychology, Neuroethics, and the sacred dance between logic and compassion. It was also where she had buried her doubts—and built herself from the inside out.
Her professors called her a dreamer. One even told her, "You're too emotional for this field."
Devi didn't argue. She just worked harder.
07:42 AM — Arrival Approaching
The EMOVEX pod floated effortlessly above Chennai Megacity, weaving through a tangle of mid-air lanes, its exterior shimmering to match the light of the environment—an old privacy tech still favored by high-ranking AI corporates.
Devi stared out the window, watching the city blur past like a digital dream melting into reality.
Gigantic holoboards flickered across translucent skyscrapers, not selling fairness creams or youth serums anymore, but promising "Authentic Beauty in Under 7 Minutes"—a neural-enhancer that simulated inner peace and outward glow for your next virtual date. Another screen blinked with,
"Mood Mods! Be Happy. Be Hirable. Be in Control."
Just below, lanes of SkySkim Pods zipped in perfect formation, transporting children in navy-blue tech-uniforms to their morning classes. These floating, petal-shaped buses—EduFloaters—played soft memory-boosting music and streamed historical AI failures as moral lessons for tomorrow's coders.
In contrast, the adult world moved like it was perpetually 5 minutes late.
Thousands of aero-scooters and magneto-shifts darted through the sky, powered by strict Efficiency Mandates. Any delays to work—unless pre-cleared with biometric logs—could result in cutbacks to monthly water privileges. Hydration had become an incentive. Devi's father once called it "the capitalism of thirst."
She passed a line of Automated Sky-Rest Cafés, where drone arms flipped fresh millet dosas, while AI breakfast bots, shaped like dragonflies, zipped toward commuters with piping hot pre-orders from FlashPort—the new 30-second delivery platform.
One bot hovered momentarily beside Devi's pod window—blinking, scanning her face, and then zipping off toward another late-goer whose hunger alarm had just been triggered.
The sun was a faded smear beyond the smog-dome—rarely visible, always present. The sky was no longer blue. It was a layer cake of travel zones, ad-fog, and private air lanes for the ultra-wealthy.
High above, vertical gardens twisted around gravity columns, absorbing pollution in exchange for tax credits. Digital birds flew in patterns that spelled out advertisements, synchronized by an AI rhythm artist.
Devi took it all in with wide, quiet eyes.
It was a beautiful city.
But it never paused.
Not for a birthday.
Not for a dreamer.
Not even for the sky.
As the pod hummed silently through the air, Devi leaned back, eyes momentarily closed. The interface beside her picked up on her neural rhythm and gently offered a personalized soundscape. A soft tune played—upbeat but nostalgic, the kind of song she would've danced to when no one was watching.
She tapped her fingers lightly on her lap, almost in sync with the beat. A faint smile curved her lips, though her heart still fluttered with nerves. Music had always been her little armor—a reminder of who she was beneath all the expectations, algorithms, and interviews.
"I got this," she whispered to herself, the melody giving her courage in the quiet space.
The pod slowed as the EMOVEX spires came into view—three needle-like towers joined by a floating neural-ring, shimmering with data streams visible even to the human eye. A marvel of interface architecture. Devi's breath caught in her throat.
Her tablet blinked with a soft reminder:
"Interview: 08:00 AM – Department of Empathic Simulation Design. Floor 49."
She leaned back, eyes fixed ahead. She glanced out again, then whispered softly to herself, "You're not just here to get a job. You're here to change something."
And maybe… to prove that the girl who cried during simulations could one day build them better than anyone else.
The pod's voice returned.
"Next stop: EMOVEX Headquarters. Prepare for exit."
"Reminder: today is your birthday. You are allowed to feel everything."
That last line—soft, unexpected—hit her the hardest.
She let out a shaky breath and whispered, "Thanks… machine."
Devi straightened her posture, smoothed her blue tunic, and reached for her bag. Her reflection in the glass showed calm confidence, but her fingers clenched slightly over the handle.
She thought of her parents, their hopeful smiles. Of Aarav's teasing wave, and Dida's whispered blessing:
"The wind always knows where to carry a strong heart."
And as the pod docked against the pristine platform, she whispered to herself:
"You've come this far, Devi. Now step in. And don't blink."
The doors slid open with a soft chime.
And Devi Iyer—emotional, brilliant, quietly determined—stepped into the place where dreams either bloomed or broke.