I like the story. To me it's a discussion of 'tradition vs innovation' & how creativity & open-mindedness can change things pretty fast. The ending came like a slap to the face, which was cool!
I especially like that the story doesn't give a strong opinion on what would be 'the better' way.
Characters were introduced & foreshadowed really good. I had no problem keeping track of them, even if it were many characters for that number of words.
A word of critique: I found myself to be a little confused by the constructed world & situation, especially by the scenes where the protagonist looked at the sky. They felt out pf place & also out of character.
The protagonist himself was a little exhausting for me to read. He came across unsympathetic & negative, which I guess was intended. For me personally the story would have been more entertaining from the antagonists perspective.
But at the same time, I got the feeling that I followed the bad guy, which felt like an interesting switch of perspective. irregular ;)