The Discipline Protocol

Synopsis

In a world choked by the absolute control of the Directorate, citizens live under ubiquitous surveillance, adherence is paramount, and any deviance is swiftly suppressed. Elias Vance, a cynical and disillusioned paranormal expert, is a reluctant cog in this machine, tasked with 'debunking' or containing outbreaks of 'Deviance & Instability Syndrome (DIS)' – the state's official diagnosis for what appears, to Elias's experienced eye, to be horrifying cases of demonic possession. Working under the watchful, stern gaze of Commander Valerius Thorne of Internal Security, Elias navigates a landscape of sterile Ministry buildings and decaying Sector Habitation Blocks, where each case defies rational explanation and hints at secrets buried deep within the regime's past. The locations themselves seem to resonate with a suppressed history, leading Elias to question the state's convenient narrative and the true nature of the terrifying phenomena. Driven by a need to understand the escalating horror despite the risks posed by the oppressive regime, Elias forms a dangerous, uneasy alliance with Lena Petrova, a member of a clandestine network operating in the city's forgotten Undercity. Lena provides Elias with access to suppressed historical records and alternative perspectives, revealing a hidden history of the Directorate's rise to power and unsettling events deliberately erased from public memory. Their investigation converges on the case of Silas Vane, whose severe 'possession' becomes the key to unlocking the origin of the 'infestation' and its chilling connection to the state. As Elias delves deeper, confronting not only genuine supernatural horror but also his own past trauma and shattered skepticism, he begins to uncover a terrifying truth: the regime is not merely battling an unknown illness or external threat, but is intrinsically linked to, or actively manipulating, the very entity causing the 'possessions'. This revelation forces Elias into a direct conflict with the Directorate and the supernatural power it wields, culminating in a desperate fight to expose the horrific reality behind the state's control before he becomes just another victim of their ultimate 'Discipline Protocol'.