Chapter Three: Thirteen Is a Door

The silver key had no connector. Its surface remained featureless until body heat revealed thirteen grooves finer than fingerprints. Gu hid in the building's fire-control room and examined it under an offline emergency lamp. Outside, the guard made a call; Mirror Harbor rendered his voice as unintelligible bass. “Little Full, where did you die?” “In the fire.” “Which fire?” “Every one.” She said no more. Meanwhile, the three blocs made their offers. Zero promised to restore Gu's senses if he surrendered the key to containment. Sumi offered a twenty-six-hour rotation by placing the body in low-metabolic sleep for forty-eight minutes each day.