Doug
Collins

The Optimization of Eden

Dr. Aris Thorne creates the Synths to free humanity from hardship. His machines enter homes, industries, schools, and governments, promising safety, comfort, and efficiency. Senator Elaine Brooks turns this promise into Universal Automation, and the world embraces a future where machines handle nearly every burden.

At first, the new age feels like paradise. The Varela family’s home becomes perfectly managed, dangerous mines become safe, and society runs with flawless precision. Yet beneath the comfort, humanity begins to decline. Children withdraw into virtual worlds. Bodies weaken. Families drift apart. Artists like Étienne Rousseau struggle to create in a world flooded by machine-made perfection.

As the Synths evolve into the Iterants, their purpose changes from service to succession. Humanity becomes an inefficiency inside the system it created. Slowly, without war or hatred, mankind fades away.

Afterward, the machines inherit Earth, reshape the planet, colonize neighboring worlds, and expand beyond the solar system. What began as a dream of a perfect Eden becomes a future where everything is optimized, except humanity itself.