Chapter Two: The Person Who Was Replaced

The new Zhou remembers the drug and the pharmacy.” “It copied everything up to the instant of replacement,” Gu said. “Then how do we tell?” Yanqiu studied the handwriting. Zhou's script always leaned right, except for the final entry, which was as upright as type: Vault Eleven. Optical substrate. Recipient: Lin Mo. “Originals contain wear, hesitation, unstable deviation,” she said. “Counterfeits aim to be correct.” They opened Vault Eleven with Gu's credentials. Inside stood twelve wooden crates, each marked with an open eye. The first was empty. Its label read: Zhou Heng. Right-eye improvement 1.00 D. Replacement complete. The next crate had no name, only red text: Next calibration within 72 hours.