The Vanishing Node

As Grayport's streetlights went dark toward the repair shop, Lin Yan unplugged Oracle. The blue light remained. [External scan: seven-code pulse location. Estimated lock: 9 minutes, 12 seconds.] “Can you block it?” [Node clearance can relocate a signal, not eliminate it.] Zhao Qihang understood. “We give them three false versions of you.” They copied Oracle's handshake into three Glimmer gateways. One boarded a night bus, one went into Han Zheng's refrigerated truck bound north, and one entered the freight loop. The three signals moved in different directions while the real terminal descended into an abandoned drainage corridor beneath the shop. Han asked no questions beyond, “Obsidian?” “Maybe something bigger.”