May I Exist? Pending Review by Asium Hesidros & Erika Kukkar

May I Exist? Pending Review is a dystopian elegy for a society strangled by aristocratic control and bureaucratic obedience. In a state governed by an aristocratic council of oligarchs, power is a birthright, and life is a ledger. The elite rule from above, unquestioned and untouched, while the working class toils in silence below, stripped of private property and personal freedom. Here, permission replaces autonomy. Every act, from taking a tram to boiling water is taxed in Credits, the regime’s unforgiving currency. Existence itself is a transaction. The system runs on bureaucracy so intricate it chokes. Housing is privately owned by corporate landlords contracted by the state. Wristbands blink orders, and penalties are posed. May I Exist? Pending Review is a haunting portrait of a society ruled by aristocratic democracy and totalitarian bureaucracy, a story not just of class descent, but of the silent war between endurance and falling prey.

New Adult • Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic • Science Fiction/Cyberpunk and Biopunk • Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense/Spies and Politics • Horror/Psychological • Science Fiction/Dystopian

Content Warning: Death, Violence, Death of parent