Clearance
To board a flight to see her dying mother, Maya needs a Form 7-C from the Department of Cognitive Affairs — an agency that didn't exist six months ago. To get the form, she needs a psych eval. So does everyone else, suddenly. The evaluations are mandatory. The questions are personal. The psychologist is patient, kind, and slowly dismantling everything they believe about themselves. Some accept it. Some fight it. Some refuse to believe. All of them journal through it.
📍 Government offices, waiting rooms, a psychologist's office that's too clean
3 of 12 chapters recorded
Chapters
Each chapter is one beat of the novela. Listen to the audio above, or read the prose below.
Everything Is Different Now
Maya struggles to navigate the stark, sterile environment of the Department of Cognitive Affairs to obtain her Form 7-C. She reflects on her life before the agency's sudden emergence and the impact it's had on the world around her.
A stark white wall stretched endlessly, punctuated by the sharp hum of fluorescent lights overhead. The color drained the warmth out of the space, turning the air into something cold and clinical. Maya stood just inside the glass doors of t…
Unwelcome Questions
Maya enters the waiting room, filled with people anxiously awaiting their psych evaluations. As she overhears snippets of conversations, the variety of personal struggles becomes evident, piquing her curiosity and concern.
The Evaluation Begins
Maya meets the psychologist, who begins the evaluation with seemingly innocuous questions. As they probe deeper, Maya finds herself revealing more than she intended.
Read the full novela in long form.