The auditorium was the only space in Neurovia designed for an audience. Everywhere else, the campus minimized the distance between

The conference room on the fourth floor of the research annex had no windows. Dr. Miriam Halvorsen had designed it

The gates were already open when the transports arrived. No one stood beside them. No one needed to. Neurovia did

The notification arrived while Julian was halfway through a piece of artisanal sourdough topped with avocado and microgreens, the flavors

Someone had turned the common room’s lights down to amber. The ceiling felt lower. The walls sat farther off.

Patel had taken her seat in the analytics suite at eleven. At midnight, the lighting changed from white to amber.

Fifteen minutes of hot water after the match. Steam gathered until the glass went white. The room beyond disappeared, followed

Dinner tasted wrong before Julian took a bite. The meat had been cooked precisely. The vegetables carried enough salt and

Leena lay still beneath the monitors. Her hair had been parted and clipped away from the injured area. Conductive gel

When the horn sounded, Julian moved before its echo faded. Cold stone met his boots. An amber beacon pulsed at