The Networked Self
By M.T. Stachera

What if your thoughts weren't your own?

In a near-future society optimized for happiness and driven by algorithmic control, The Networked Self explores the quiet war waged beneath a world of curated perfection.

Lena Croft, a top-tier influencer with a near-perfect well-being score, lives a life meticulously crafted by AI stylists, data-driven diets, and algorithm-approved yoga. She is the embodiment of networked success—until a single glitch in her smoothie routine cracks the façade.

Ben Marlo, a data analyst at OmniCorp, sees beneath the glossy feed. Tasked with maintaining the system's integrity, he discovers unsettling anomalies—data trails that hint at subtle control, social nudging, and emotional suppression. When he digs deeper, he finds more than manipulation; he finds quiet dissent—and it terrifies him.

Harris Wells, a VR architect, is celebrated for his pristine digital worlds. But the pressure to create "perfect" simulations begins to wear on his soul. Inserting flaws and glitches into his virtual utopias, Harris discovers a new kind of artistry: rebellion through imperfection.

And then comes Jonah Wilder—an outsider raised off-grid, untethered from the algorithmic embrace. His arrival is the match that sparks a silent revolution. As Jonah's raw authenticity stirs something long dormant in the others, each must confront the roles they've played in maintaining a system that prizes conformity over connection.

As their paths converge, their small acts of resistance form ripples across a society addicted to curated identity and emotional optimization. Together, they face a choice: preserve the illusion or risk everything to reclaim what it means to be human.

The Networked Self is a haunting, cerebral techno-drama that asks:
In a world where happiness is measured, emotion is coded, and truth is engineered, can anyone be truly free?