The Weight of a Nation's Smile

In Orenth, a nation perpetually bathed in unsettlingly uniform joy, smiles aren't expressions of happiness — they're currency, ruthlessly enforced by the Ministry of Wellbeing.  Sixteen-year-old Ika learns this chilling truth firsthand when her grief over her mother's death is deemed a punishable offense.  A single frown, captured by a surveillance drone, sends her to the Recalibration Center, a sterile world of forced positivity and “neural harmonization.”
Within the Center’s saccharine walls, Ika discovers she's not alone.  She connects with Carmen, a sharp-tongued journalist; Kristy, a melancholic musician whose melodies were deemed subversive; and Brian, a historian who unearths the disturbing origins of the Happiness Mandate.  Their shared defiance sparks a flame of resistance in Ika’s heart.  She learns to mimic the prescribed smiles, navigating the system while secretly nurturing her grief and plotting her escape.
Beyond the Center's walls lies Orenth's capital, a vibrant yet superficial city where performative happiness masks a simmering discontent.  Ika and her allies find refuge with a hidden network of dissenters — a grieving mother silenced by fear, a street artist whose subversive murals are perpetually erased, and a disillusioned government official yearning for genuine emotion.
Together, they hatch a daring plan to infiltrate the Ministry of Wellbeing, the very heart of the oppressive regime. Aided by a conflicted Ministry employee haunted by his past, they uncover a disturbing truth: the Happiness Mandate isn't just about control, it's a lucrative industry built on forced labor and addictive “Joy Enhancers.”
As Ika delves deeper, she draws the attention of the chillingly charismatic Minister of Wellbeing, Evelyn Rodriguez, who initiates a city-wide lockdown.  Trapped within the Ministry, Ika must confront Rodriguez and expose the Mandate’s lies to a nation yearning for authentic feeling. In a climactic showdown, she broadcasts a message of defiance, shattering the illusion of universal happiness and igniting a spark of rebellion in the hearts of a people finally free to feel.  But the fight for true happiness has only just begun.  The revolution of emotional liberation has been ignited, and Orenth will never be the same.