Eliot was a young man who lived in the calm suburb of Verdoonum, where every blade of grass swayed in perfect time and every smile was painstakingly created. He was a young man who was not like the other inhabitants. He hadn't fully assimilated the notion of Verdoonum's painstakingly created beauty.

Everything about Verdoonum was under strict control, including diverse aspects like the weather and people's feelings. It was all a bit odd, really. Under a mysterious Directorate of Verdoonum Especiality, the government made sure that every facet of life reflected their idealised picture of paradise. Every resident smiled calmly, their minds effortlessly guided by the reassuring murmurs of the MindNet, a neural network that synchronized the public's collective awareness.

That was not for Eliot, though. This sea of uniformity was an outrageously appealing imposition, an abnormality, and an aberation. Resolutely his own, his thoughts battled against the reassuring embrace of the MindNet and while some relished the tranquility of Verdoonum, Eliot instead grappled with questions and uncertainties that seemed to elude everyone else. Because of this, he was considered a misfit.

As he wandered the spotless streets of Verdoonum, he kept his gaze on the little flaws that suggested there was more to the well-manicured façade. He perceived serious flaws, he couldn't get away from the idea that there was a sinister reality lurking beneath its flawless surface.

Eliot dug deeper into his own thoughts, finding shards of memories that didn't fit the story the MindNet was feeding him. He had recurrent dreams of a planet destroyed by conceit and greed, where humanity's unrelenting quest for perfection had brought it to ruin. He started to doubt the core values that had been ingrained in him from infancy, the entire basis of Verdoonum.

But word of his disapproval did not escape consequences. Ever watchful to keep control, the Directorate considered Eliot to be a danger to their well-crafted order. Before the uncertainties that were brewing in his head spread to others, they sent their operatives to quiet him.

Sharply dressed, faceless people followed Eliot about, and the MindNet's all-seeing eyes watched everything he did. He persisted nonetheless, motivated by an unquenchable desire for the truth in a world full of lies, even if peril was always there.

In the end, Eliot's dreams led him to a realization that rocked Verdoonum to its core. By collecting and analyzing a stream of tiny snippets of information, he assembled proofs of the Directorate's actual goals and their unquenchable desire for power at whatever costs. A government like every other. And Eliot came to see that manipulation and dishonesty would never bring about the true utopia that was being presented but were a façade of perfection that, as his awareness grew, collapsed around him.

Eliot became a resistance icon and a ray of hope for everyone who dared to challenge the establishment view. But in doing so, he became a thorn in the side of the Directorate. Directorates have a habit of scratching at thorns. But then, in a utopia, who would notice if Eliot was not around any more? The answer turned out to be that nobody noticed.