Chapter Three: No-Light Alley

“We mistook the subject. The face that changes each night is an obstruction. The backgrounds are coordinates. The person truly fixed inside this photograph has never changed.” Shen saw his own reflection. Whether the umbrella sheltered a woman, an old doctor, or a child, his outline remained unnaturally clear. Closer to the glass was a tiny reversed inscription: DO NOT LET THE PHOTOGRAPHER REMEMBER HIS FACE. “Someone isn't using the photograph to find that woman,” Tang said. “They're using the whole world's eyes to keep watch over you.” From beyond the wall came a measured knocking. Forty-four blows. When the last one fell, a pale face rose from the wood of the door. In Chen Mo's voice, it asked: