Chapter Four: Lies Grow Legs

Inside the weather tower, dustless computers still processed radio data from twenty-seven years ago. The deepest console required a voiceprint. Gu Ye casually said, "Gu Lan." The entire tower lit up. A woman's old recording played. "If anyone hears this, the Observation Gallery has reconnected to Earth. Do not answer the questions they give you. Every test hides an option deliberately excluded." Gu Ye froze. It was his mother's voice. "Xiaoye, if this is you—" An alarm cut her off. The third disaster notice covered every screen: [NORTH WEATHER TOWER WILL SUFFER A HIGH-ENERGY EXPLOSION IN TWENTY MINUTES. PROJECTED RADIUS: TWELVE KILOMETERS. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.] Hertz's white cube appeared above the console.