Chapter One: The Man Who Lost Color

Suspension, termination, abuse: all in one night. Now he paid rent by boosting strangers' accounts. “Immersive marketing?” he muttered. His nails cut his palm. The pain had no latency. Two strangers stood beside him, one yellow-haired and one tall with glasses. Across the court, three men in red uniforms spread into formation. “New guy, stay in the corner,” Yellow Hair ordered. There were no icons and no controller, only legs and lungs. Yellow Hair forced a shot and had it swatted away. The red team scored from deep. Three-zero. On Midnight Court, long shots counted two, close shots one, and the scorer kept possession. Red ran the same high screen and weak-side cut until the score reached nine-zero. The man with glasses bent over and vomited.