5.21. The Office of Emotional Forecasting
(Location: Sublevel 3, Central Behavior Bureau)
Description:
Beneath the Ministry of Civic Coordination was an office that issued daily Emotional Forecasts—updates intended to align public mood with national objectives. Meters labeled *collective sorrow*, *anticipated pride*, and *vigilant hope* are still affixed to the walls. A bulletin board displays obsolete charts: “Expected Melancholy,” “Enforced Nostalgia,” and “Optimism Compliance Failures.” Juna notes that the last update is dated one day before the surrender. Judai opens a drawer labeled “Rainy Days: Mandatory Mourning Events.” In the center of the room sits a hollow globe of light, where officials once stood to “harmonize” themselves. It emits a soft blue flicker still. Overhead, a banner sags: *Your Feelings Are a Contribution.* The room remains cold, though nothing powers it anymore.
Keywords:
##affective regulation
##mood engineering
##statistical sentiment
##institutionalized emotion
##forecasted obedience
Very Short Story:
Judai activated a long-dead console and heard a tone: solemn, ascending, unfinished. Juna read a daily forecast aloud: *Today will be regretful with scattered moments of reverence.* The printer nearby ejected an “Emergency Mourning Order” from 1943, still warm somehow. “These weren’t predictions,” she said. “They were prescriptions.” They took a copy with them. Outside, they felt strangely subdued. “Is it working on us?” Judai asked. A pause passed between them—neither wanted to answer. A child’s voice crackled over an old intercom: *Good citizens cry together.* Juna marked the time in her book. The room recorded that, too.
