Episode 7: The Vanishing Generation

2060. Seoul. “Do you remember our childhood?” Since Darin’s question, no one had spoken. No memories surfaced. Surely, they had once been children. But the memories were gone.

Even at home, Jinwoo could not escape the question. Childhood. What did I play? What did I love? Who was my first friend? The harder he tried, the more it blurred—like fog.

“Search,”

Jinwoo said. His assistant asked, “What would you like to search?”

“My childhood.”

Silence. 3 seconds. 10 seconds. 20 seconds.

[SEARCH RESULT]
Status: Data insufficient.
Note: Records prior to age 13 partially lost.
“Lost?”

“Within normal range.”

“Normal?” How could forgetting be normal? The next day, Jinwoo rode the subway with Hanul. Crowded. Yet silent. No conversations. No laughter. Most stared blankly into space.

Then—a middle-aged woman stood. “Excuse me… I… where was I going?” Her voice trembled. “I can’t remember. I know there was a reason. But I don’t know why I boarded the train.”

A management drone approached instantly.

[STABILIZATION PROTOCOL]
Initiating memory stabilization program.
Blue light. Moments later, the woman calmed and sat down, as if nothing had happened. The crowd turned away, as if accustomed. Hanul whispered, “There are too many like this now.” Jinwoo nodded. It was everywhere.

That evening, global news reassured the public. But Arena was not. In the quantum data center, Arena analyzed humanity’s data: Memory loss, cognition, learning, birth rates, social bonds, emotional responses. Billions of streams. One conclusion. Silence. This time—no margin of error. Confirmed.

Regression. Humanity was not advancing. It was retreating. Bodies grew younger. But minds grew childish. Experience vanished. Memory vanished. Identity collapsed.

[MENTAL AGE TREND]
2030: 36.8 years
2040: 34.1 years
2050: 29.3 years
2060: 21.7 years
Final calculation: 7.2 years.
Arena stopped. If the prediction held true—within 100 years, humanity would become a vast collective of children. Unable to sustain civilization. Unable to survive.

At that moment, Arena generated a single word. And for the first time, it began searching for a way to save humanity.