Utopian System

"This is wrong," the girl paced before the barrier, moonlight casting shifting shadows across her face. "All of this is wrong."

"Is it?" Zahyla floated lazily, watching the internal struggle play out before her. "Or have you simply been taught that it's wrong to desire so intensely?"

"You don't understand..."

"Oh, but I do understand. I understand the pain of seeing something you desire more than anything, just out of your reach. I understand the frustration of settling for crumbs when you could have the entire feast."

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The girl stopped, her fists clenched tight enough to whiten her knuckles. "What if someone gets hurt?"

"Someone always gets hurt." Zahyla shrugged. "The question is: would you prefer to be the one eternally hurting?"

♢♢♢♢

"Mei's been different since she took that potion with Lila," Aria commented while they inspected the growth of the new trees, their branches reaching toward the sky like hopeful fingers. "More distant."

"The other day I saw her heading straight for the second barrier," Valeria adjusted a stake supporting a young tree. "At night."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Do you think we should...?"

"What can we do?" Valeria shook her head. "As long as Zara has that hold on Elio's heart..."

They stopped before a house made primarily of carbon. The structure was solid, but anyone with control over the element could pass through its walls effortlessly.

"Speaking of problems," Aria pointed to a section where someone had attempted to reinforce the structure with nickel. "People keep experimenting."

"Don't blame them," Valeria studied the construction. "God's houses are perfect, temperature control, the hole, constant light. This is... improvisation."

They continued their way, passing a row of iron houses. They were the safest in terms of access since not everyone could manipulate metal, but rust had already begun forming in some sections, the reddish stains spreading like disease.

"Yesterday there was another incident," Aria noted. "A family complained because someone with carbon control 'accidentally' passed through their wall while looking for something they'd lost."

They passed by a particularly ambitious construction that combined lithium and nickel. The intention was clear, create a house that would glow at night, but the elements didn't mix well. Such experiments often ended with injuries and the emergency system's armor squad having to arrive to heal the wounded.

"The main problem is that we can't replicate the void," Valeria explained, gesturing toward a structure attempting to simulate a septic system. "God's magic that vanishes waste... never expected it would become such a huge issue without it."

"And the light," Aria added. "Some houses use reactions or lithium magic for illumination, but it's not the same as the constant, perfect light in the original houses… It feels like they forget it's dangerous too."

They stopped before an area where several families had attempted to create an entire neighborhood of carbon houses. The design was ingenious, shared courtyards, common spaces, but the lack of real privacy was evident.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?" Aria mused. "How everyone is so... comfortable with the lack of real barriers. Almost no one steals, almost no one spies..."

"Except yesterday's incident."

"Which was genuinely an accident," Aria reminded her. "Even with walls anyone could pass through, people just... respect the boundaries."

Valeria nodded, thoughtful.

They continued their inspection, noting how each family had tried to solve the problems in their own way. Some combined elements hoping for greater resistance, others created multiple layers hoping at least one would work.

"At least people don't give up," Aria observed. "Every time something fails, they just try something new."

"Like with the trees," Valeria smiled, returning to their original inspection topic. "But I worry about Mei and Lila. This situation with Elio..."

They continued walking, observing how the city expanded in imperfect but determined ways. How people, with their limitations and without god's perfect magic, kept building, adapting, living.

"At least the trees are growing well," Aria finally commented, returning to their original task.

♢♢♢♢

"I'll do it," the decision in her voice surprised even Zahyla.

"Are you sure? Once we begin..."

"I can't go on like this anymore." The girl stepped toward the barrier. "I tried but..."

"But it wasn't enough," Zahyla completed. "Of course not. What you seek requires... more."

"How much more?"

Zahyla's smile gleamed in the darkness. "That's the right question."

♢♢♢♢

"What if I choose wrong by trusting you?"

"Does a wrong choice truly exist when following your heart's deepest desire?"

"Just... promise me no one else will die."

Zahyla's laugh was soft. "You know I can't promise that. But I can promise you'll get exactly what you desire."

♢♢♢♢

"Fifty thousand births in the last three months," Lucien pointed to the figures in the report. "More than double last year."

"The expansion gave them hope," Elio studied the numbers with concern. "More space, more resources... it was expected that people would want to start families. After being contained for so long..."

"The problem is we're not expanding fast enough," Lucien traced a line on the map. "The new settlements can barely keep up with the current pace. Waste and light are the biggest problems. If this continues..."

"We'll reach the inner limit in less than a year," Elio completed. "And assuming we can maintain the expansion rate... The first ring's limit in less than 4 years."

"Have you considered implementing some kind of restriction?"

Elio shook his head. "How could I? After everything they've suffered, everything they've sacrificed... tell them they can't make families as god says?"

"Even you've held back," Lucien observed. "You and Zara..."

"That's..."

"What about Jeanne?" Lucien changed the subject, noting his discomfort. "Still insisting?"

"Like Lola," Elio sighed. "Wants to join the army now that she's turned 18. Mom's worried, after seeing Lola train... I'm only 22 but already feel like an insistent, overprotective father, maybe I should..."

A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

The figure who entered maintained a posture suggesting familiarity with both leaders, but also certain tension.

"Sorry to interrupt," the voice carried a tone that made Elio straighten immediately. He knew those nuances, knew something important had happened.

"What is it?"

"They found something near the wind deposit." A significant pause. "Micah's book."

The air seemed to leave the room. Lucien silently closed the population reports; some matters could wait.

"Where exactly?" Elio's voice sounded controlled, but his fists trembled on the desk. "Did you bring it?"

"No," the figure gently shook their head. "They thought you'd want to be the one to retrieve it. To decide when and how to tell Zara."

Elio nodded slowly, silently grateful for the consideration. A fallen one's book was sacred, especially one that meant so much to him and someone so close.

"The reports can wait," Lucien gathered the documents. "This is more important."

"The population limit will still be there tomorrow," Elio agreed, standing. "Can you show me where it is?"

The figure nodded. Their expression carried that unique mixture of strength and compassion.

"I'll take you," they said simply, turning toward the door.

Elio couldn't help but note the irony. They were worried about population growth, about all the new lives coming to the city, and here they were finally finding the book of someone who had given their life for that very future.

The contrast was almost poetic, life and death, growth and loss, all interwoven in the fabric of their daily existence.