Jerusalem. A generation from now.
Demographic shifts have transformed the Jewish state into an ultra-Orthodox society. The commandments are no longer simply observed. They are monitored and enforced.
Every citizen carries a device that tracks behaviour, speech and vital signs. The result appears on the screen as a single number:
Your Piety Score.
At the centre of the system stands E.Z.R.A, a vast intelligence designed to guide society toward perfect alignment with the law.
For many, the system feels reassuring. It keeps order. It protects holiness. It promises to bring the nation closer to the long-awaited Messianic age.
Shimon works inside the Ministry of Religious Observance, reviewing infractions and issuing fines. With each update, the system tightens, punishments escalate, and Shimon begins to wonder where holiness enforced by machines will lead.
Six Hundred and Thirteen is a sharp, thought-provoking speculative dystopian novella about faith, surveillance, power and the fragile space between authority, obedience and freedom.
Approx. 28,000 words. About 130 pages including glossary.
