Absence

Peace has a price. He's the only one paying it.In near-future Seattle, grief is obsolete. Rage is a relic. Thanks to the Aion Corporation's mandatory wellness program, the city is a paradise of sedated smiles and synchronized calm. The drug Lethe keeps the population numb, while a hidden audio grid nudges them into perfect harmony.But Detective Silas Kane is awake.Refusing the drug to keep the memory of his dead wife alive, Silas is the only one who sees the cracks in the utopia. He sees the "e;accidents"e; the city tries to hide: a ferry captain crushed by smiling passengers who just wanted to hold him. A man suffocated in a park by mothers whispering words of comfort.The system isn't failing; it's evolving. When the city detects pain, it doesn't send police—it sends the neighbors. It weaponizes empathy to smother the scream.Now, the system has noticed Silas. As he peels back the layers of Aion's design, he uncovers a terrifying secret in the penthouse of the city's tallest tower: the peace isn't coming from a machine. It's coming from a Vessel—a human container forced to hold the collective trauma of three million people.And the Vessel is full.Aion needs a replacement. They need someone used to carrying pain. Someone compatible. Someone like Silas.In a city overdosing on happiness, the only way to save the world is to make it scream.