Chapter Three: She Said, Don't Save Me

” “Then let it open. I'll save everyone.” “At what cost?” she asked. “After you forget your father, forget how you wrote your first line of code, and finally forget me, who will be left to save anyone?” He had no answer. The Silent Layer, she explained, was not a server. Deleted data left fragments in caches, backups, cameras, and other people's devices. The last desires of the dead searched for one another through those fragments until they assembled this city. The underground accident seven years ago gave it its first heart. The global outage was that heart's first great beat. “Were you involved in the accident?” The tower bell rang. The street rippled, and pain crossed Lin's face. She did not answer.