Steins Gate

Shantali Jackson awakens from cryostasis to discover she's been asleep for over 600 years. A working-class woman from the pre-collapse era, she finds herself in a sterile medical facility, where staff address her as royalty and claim she's the beloved of Prince Costa—a man she barely remembers meeting at Le Glow Club one fateful night. As fragmented memories surface, Shantali learns the devastating truth: she and Costa were never willing participants in the preservation program. After publicly defying their arranged marriages to choose each other, they were declared enemies of the state and forcibly preserved by the Emergency Preservation Committee. They've been awakened seventeen times for six centuries, only to have their memories wiped when they refused to comply with the Council's genetic breeding program. This time is different—the memory suppression technology is failing, and ghostly echowisps (manifestations of psychic trauma) guide them through their escape. With the help of Marcus, a resistance member, they flee to the underground networks where Shantali discovers shocking truths: her half-brother Elliot became a resistance leader, Costa's parents have been working to undermine the Council for centuries, and the outside world has been habitable for generations. The couple escapes to Haven's Gate, one of seven thriving Eastern Sanctuaries where humanity has rebuilt naturally. But freedom is short-lived when they learn Dr. Thorne and other preservation specialists are using extracted consciousness data to create a new form of control—artificial minds programmed for obedience. Refusing to remain passive victims, Shantali and Costa make a bold choice: they'll pose as desperate refugees seeking re-preservation, walking willingly into Dr. Thorne's trap to stop his plans once and for all. Their love story becomes humanity's last hope against a system that would sacrifice free will for genetic perfection. A tale of choice, resistance, and the power of love.

Living with my aunt and her family was meant to be a temporary, quiet arrangement just helping out and keeping to myself. On the first day of the new year, while everyone else was out celebrating, I stayed home, enjoying the rare silence and catching up on sleep. But when we ran out of water, I reluctantly stepped outside to fetch some, and that’s when I saw him. He stood by the gate of the house next door, effortlessly commanding attention with just a glance. A smirk played on his lips, and a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes behind his blue-ray glasses. At that moment, he was impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, I felt disheveled and barely awake, my hair was a mess and still shaking off sleep. But he didn’t seem to mind. There was something about him an air of mystery that made me wonder who he was and why he was there. Before I could look away, he spoke, “Hi.” Caught off guard, I managed a quick, “Hi,” while trying to pull myself together. “Can I know your name?” he asked. I hesitated but replied, “I’m Clara,” and kept walking. “Can I have your number?” he called after me. “Just as friends.” I almost refused but reluctantly agreed, entering my number into his phone. “There,” I said, handing it back. “I’ll call you,” he promised with a smile, as I turned to leave. What began as a chance encounter soon became an inexplicable connection. He had secrets, but there was something about him that saw through me, understanding things no one else did. The man I met next door wasn’t just a fleeting stranger,he became the reason I started questioning everything I thought I wanted.

I had just given birth when the country sent me on a secret mission that kept me undercover for seven years. When it finally ended, I came home on leave. I was eager to see my husband and children, whom I had missed every single day. However, the moment my car stopped at the gate, I saw my two children—my most precious treasures—being shoved down the steps by a woman. They tumbled hard, and they were covered in bruises. The next second, three snarling wolfhounds were released from the house, and they pounced on the children with bared teeth. Fury surged through me, and I charged forward. I got the dogs away with a few swift kicks and punches. Amid the animals’ pitiful howls, my ten-year-old son instinctively shielded his sister. His young face was pale with fear. Meanwhile, my eight-year-old daughter snapped out of her daze and trembled as she urged me to leave. “Miss, run! You hurt her dogs, and if Dad finds out, he won’t let you get away with it!” I forced down my anger and gently said, “She set the dogs on you first. Even if your dad were here, he’d protect you just like I did.” I did not expect this to make their eyes instantly fill with tears. Alarmed, I was about to ask what was wrong when a woman’s arrogant voice rang out. “You vagrant! I have a close relationship with Martin Gray, and I’m also the lady of the Gray family! “You and these two brats who dirtied my house aren’t leaving in one piece today!” I froze for a second before I took a deep breath and called my husband. “Martin, who’s this woman proclaiming to be the lady of the Gray family? Where did she come from? You’d better have a good explanation for this. And tell me, when did the house I left for John and Katy get a new owner?”