"Generation on Demand" is a prequel to the musical "My Voice," written and composed by Yuri Worontschak. The story follows Osten Sajwa, a young boy living in Manhattan, who witnesses the traumatic events of 9/11. The terrorist attack not only takes his father, an IT worker in one of the Twin Towers, but also shatters Osten’s innocence, leaving a profound scar on his life.

 

Years later, Osten is in his twenties, living in a small, cluttered apartment on Roosevelt Island. The trauma of losing his father has led him to become a reclusive figure, with his father’s 2001 Mac PC serving as a poignant reminder of the past. Like his father, Osten works in IT, but after the Covid pandemic, he rarely leaves his apartment. His world has shrunk to the confines of his bohemian but neglected space, where his only companionship comes from his computer.

 

Osten works for "Generation On Demand.com," a corporation that trains AI models to create art and music, offering these machine-generated creations through a subscription service. Although his job involves ensuring these AI systems run smoothly, Osten finds the idea of machines replacing human creativity deeply troubling. This conflict stirs memories of his own abandoned dreams of becoming a composer, dreams that were sidelined by the need to survive and the weight of his grief.

 

As the story unfolds, Osten’s discontent grows into action. He decides to sabotage the AI training models, using his expertise to corrupt the data and introduce chaos into the system. He puts as much as what he considers "terrible music" in the system that it actually starts to take effect. This act of rebellion is his way of fighting back against a world he feels is stripping away the soul of creativity. However, his actions do not go unnoticed. Osten is soon caught and loses his job, plunging him further into isolation.

 

By sabotaging the system, not only does Osten find a community of anarchic music makers online, but he also feels empowered. Sadly, one by one, his new friends are taken down and he is found out to be the perpetrator.

 

Alone and jobless, Osten begins to reflect on his life and the choices he has made. In his despair, he returns to his first love—music. He pours his emotions and experiences into composing a symphony, a piece of music that captures his pain, his memories, and his hope. This symphony becomes his final act of defiance, a statement that human creativity cannot be silenced by machines.

 

The musical concludes with Osten uploading his symphony to the internet, a final, hopeful gesture as he steps into the unknown. This moment serves as the bridge to the sequel, "My Voice," where Osten’s journey continues. "Generation on Demand" is a powerful exploration of trauma, creativity, and resistance in a world increasingly dominated by technology.