short fiction · 2026-10-17

Harmonic Cortex

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

In the quiet lab of mind, neurons fire like strings plucked in sequence, each spike a note. Alpha hums a deep drone, the slow wave that underlies waking thought. Beta flickers above, a bright overtone sharpening focus, while gamma shimmers like a harmonic faint at the edge of hearing. Together they form a chord—consciousness resonating across layers, a symphony where inhibition and excitation tune the instrument. When the music falters, the chord dissonates, and we sense the silence between thoughts, listening for the next resonance.