Chapter Five: The Station That Was Removed

A silver-gray handprint marked every thirteenth step. On the third flight, Ye Ning stopped. Her father's voice came from below. “Xiao Ning, don't come down.” The voice had aged seven years but retained the faint breathlessness at the end of each phrase. Her flashlight wavered. Gu blocked the stairwell. “The Loss of Voice node hasn't been disconnected. It's synthesized.” “I know,” she said, but did not move. The voice continued. “When you were twelve, you broke my recorder and hid it in the flowerpot on the balcony. You thought I never knew.” That detail was not public. Gu did not tell her the voice was false. He asked, “What did your father do when he spoke a full sentence?”