Chapter Four: The Man in the Cradle

Old scorch marks on the wall turned from black to red. Cedar disinfectant and wet lime flooded the air. The console read ORIGINAL MEMORY RELEASE: 3%. “The vote failed.” Zero reconnected and completed the half-checksum he had left behind. “It succeeded. Your vote locked the front door. Someone used the creator's deletion privilege to open a maintenance channel.” Flames climbed from beneath the twelve child cradles. Gu knew they were unreal, but his skin blistered. Mirror Harbor used pain to guarantee immersion, and every personality used pain to prove that memory was true. He made himself observe instead of believe. A child appeared behind the misted glass of every cradle. One had a scarred brow, one a missing tooth, one blue pajamas.