AURONA: Section 1 – The Rise 5. Voices of the New Dawn

 

AURONA: Section 1 – The Rise

5. Voices of the New Dawn

By its twenty-fifth year of transformation, Aurona had become a jewel of the East. Its GDP per capita rivaled the wealthiest nations. High-speed railways connected every major city; universal healthcare and education were guaranteed; and carbon emissions had dropped to near zero.

In Serya, the once-silent capital now glowed with innovation hubs, art museums, and green skyscrapers covered in vertical gardens. The people of Aurona walked with pride — not arrogance. Foreign visitors admired their discipline, humility, and warmth.

Yet beneath this golden surface, something subtle began to change.

Families became smaller. Then, fewer children were born. The nation’s focus on efficiency and perfection had unknowingly led its people to delay or avoid parenthood. Young professionals valued freedom and comfort, while elders found themselves living longer but lonelier.

The government noticed the decline but dismissed it as a “temporary demographic shift.” Artificial intelligence systems managed healthcare and social services so efficiently that human touch seemed less necessary. Machines did not complain; algorithms did not rest.

Still, for the moment, Aurona was thriving — its universities produced world leaders in ethics and robotics; its artists were revered for blending technology with soul. But Elan, now old and reflective, sensed that the very success of Aurona was beginning to cast a long shadow.

He often sat by the ocean where he was born, watching the waves rise and fall, whispering to himself,

“Even light, when it grows too bright, can blind the eye.”

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