Sofia’s head was encased in an iron helmet. She fought the cold, unyielding metal that was crushing her face. Each breath bounced back at her as the sharp, acrid taste of iron invaded her mouth and panic suffocated her. Desperate for air, she thrashed wildly against the bedsheets, tore herself free and tumbled from her bed. She stood in front of the mirror in her dark bedroom. Only a contour of a silhouette was visible. Despite its tightness, the iron helmet pressing against her head felt oddly light. Sofia, desperate for air, burst out of her apartment, and stumbled onto the street. Outside the Vienna streets were replaced by a world choked in ash. The ground underneath was soft, lifeless dust. Sofia looked around. Charred skeletons of trees and their bare branches clawed at her, burned by some unknown inferno. The stench of fire filled her nostrils as she sprinted without destination. Suddenly, her foot caught on something, sending her crashing to the ground as her head, encased in iron, hit the jagged black earth. A piercing, relentless alarm from her smartphone shattered the nightmare, dragging her to the reality of the early waking world.

Sofia sat up gasping. Her silky brown hair was wet from sweat and plastered to her face and neck. With shaking fingers, she touched up to her scalp, feeling for metal, but found only damp skin. The relief made her dizzy. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, waiting for her breathing to slow as the dim streetlight cut harsh lines across the polished wooden floor of her apartment on the corner of Wipplingerstrasse and Färbergasse in the Vienna 1st district. She walked over to the large window overlooking the cobbled street below. Outside, just like every day, people were starting to line up in front of the pharmacy across the street. Soon the line, which seemingly doubled daily, would stretch for blocks. Most people had their eyes glued to their smartphones, leaning against the cold stone wall of the beautiful Viennese building, and shuffling on their feet as they waited. Sofia saw their breath rising visibly in the cold air. Just above them, a bright digital display of a massive advertising billboard cast an eerie glow. “A NEW ERA OF HAPPINESS.” Sofia read the ad’s bold and vague statement aloud with a tone of sarcasm. Soon … very soon, I will be able to help you all, she thought and stepped away from the window. She needed coffee.

With the scene outside still fixed in her mind, Sofia walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee machine. She switched it on and, leaning on the kitchen counter, studied her daily schedule on her phone, waiting for the espresso machine to heat up. It was her daily morning ritual, even on weekends; for Dr. Sofia Bulsara, weekends didn’t exist. She worked every day. As the head scientist at SAND Labs and psychiatrist by profession, Sofia had dedicated her life to understanding the nature and biology of the human psyche, and methods to heal it without medication or artificial alteration. People were drowning in depression and the opioids were taking over the world. She poured herself a strong double espresso, and as a true caffeine junkie, inhaled its rich aroma before taking a slow sip. She turned back to her phone, and scrolled through a stream of global news updates. A polished blond anchor, smiling too broadly, narrated the morning headlines: “Global serotonin levels at record lows—what does this mean for our future?” The screen then cut to a man in his early forties, with pink hair, a confident smile and exuding effortless charisma. The broad smile of George Sand, the CEO of SAND Labs, filled the frame…