Chapter Five: A Call from the Forgotten

As long as one witness relationship cannot be compressed—” Shrill interference cut him off. Every Canopy billboard outside displayed a white square, searching for the call. “Citadel found him,” Echo said. “Who is the second witness?” Cheng Ye demanded. “Not a person. A relationship. One person remembers another, while the other can disagree with how they are remembered. Contradiction itself is—” His feet vanished. “How do we preserve that relationship?” “Don't preserve it. Let it live.” The call ended. Its price followed. Cheng Ye remembered Cheng Cheng but not their childhood home. When she gave its address, he heard meaningless place-names. Their past had not been deleted; the connection had burned away at his end.