Chapter Five: The War for Reality

“Upstairs. Cameras show him leaving before dawn. He has remained active across the city.” Gu opened his eyes in the dark. Luna showed him municipal footage. Another Gu entered a bank wearing his gray coat. One signed a Mirror Harbor liability waiver at a hospital. A third rode in an autonomous taxi while twelve copies traveled in twelve different directions. “Deepfakes?” “Some,” Luna said. “The one at the bank is physically you, according to its liveness system.” Goldfinch reported that Gu's accounts had been divided into twelve shares. Sumi attached different settlement terms to each. Priest scheduled an ethics complaint for the press. Flame purchased enough thermite under Gu's name to destroy a server array.