The People in the Copied City

The temporary bus was overloaded. Thousands of people had turned on televisions, air conditioners, and induction stoves. The energy reserve showed twenty-three minutes. Once it ran out, the district's identity anchor would lose power. Inside the substation, every detail was disturbingly authentic, from a technician's chalk note to records of fuses replaced three years earlier. But the cables leaving the wall did not connect to a city grid. They vanished into a film of silver. “Can we cut power by zone?” Han Zheng asked. “Yes, but the hospital and the resident anchor share a virtual bus. Pull the wrong switch and people may disappear.” Mi Li pointed into the rear cabinet. “The counting comes from there. It says red isn't electricity. Blue is.”