Chapter Three: Gatekeepers in the City

Lin shifted gravity beneath Chen toward the wall. Chen did not fly. The feathers along his arm blazed and pinned him to reality. He walked through the lateral pull, the eye in his palm fixed on Lin. "That isn't master control. It lets the thing see through both your eyes!" Synchronized footsteps approached outside. Dozens of faceless figures sealed the exits. Behind a glass partition, technicians stopped one after another and turned toward Lin. Hummingbird silhouettes floated in their pupils. The Returners had infected the building through the satellite signal. Su tore the main fiber trunk from its socket. Nothing changed. The signal continued through power lines, reinforcing steel, even human sight.