Chapter One: Every Satellite Forgot It

At the same size, it produced 3.4 times the power with less than one-tenth the heat. His instruments repeatedly reported sensor errors. Zhou understood. This was not merely a weapon. It was an industrial system positioned centuries above his age. It could make him rich overnight—or start a world war just as quickly. The interface turned red. [FIRST CIVILIZATION MISSION GENERATED.] In the city center, the top of a sixty-story tower erupted in blue-white flame. The blast reached him seconds later. Zhou recognized Cloudrest Tower; Lin's emergency center stood two blocks away. [OBJECTIVE: ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF NINETY-THREE TRAPPED INDIVIDUALS BEFORE STRUCTURAL FAILURE.]