Sci-Fi Series - Rhythm of the Cosmos

Part one: A Doctor Without a Hospital

In the not-too-distant future, Dr Aaliyah Siddiqui, a British-born Pakistani trauma surgeon, is working in the last human-run NHS hospital. Over the last few years, Artificial Intelligence has automated almost all healthcare. The primary operating system, Medcore, is marketed as innovative and immune to human error. Its implementation into public hospitals was expedited by Prime Minister Reginald Thorne and his far-right government.

Aaliyah quickly discovers the truth about Medcore. The system is built on racist and Islamophobic data, with algorithms de-prioritising Muslims and migrants whilst highlighting them as terror threats. At the same time, white and ‘genetically superior’ patients are prioritised for treatment. One day, an undocumented lady attends the hospital begging Aaliyah to assess her seven-year-old son, who was attacked in school. Looking into the eyes of the desperate mother and terrified young boy, Aaliyah decides to override the AI system and treats the young boy’s wounds.

The next day, she is fired. Her medical licence is revoked, and the government lists her as a security threat. With nowhere to turn, she makes contact with London’s underground healing network. Here, she reconnects with her ancestry’s teachings of Sufi whirling as a form of meditation and healing, drawing on childhood memories of her grandmother’s guidance and rhythmic movements. As she dances for the first time in years, something awakens in her body-a powerful pulse of energy she cannot explain.

Part 2 coming soon