The Way Home

In a dystopian future, dissident Jack Harlan is captured and subjected to a neural "mercy protocol" — a simulated lifetime of escape, reunion with his wife Emma and son Noah, and a peaceful hidden valley life. As decades of fabricated joy unfold, the illusion shatters in a devastating reveal: none of it was real. The family was executed long ago, and the warm "home" was the regime's final cruel gift before his death.A chilling, emotional sci-fi short about memory, hope, and the horror of engineered happiness.