Chapter Two: The Error Enters Reality

“Eleven minutes here. The logs contain no Layer Zero, no exam, and no record that you were online.” She handed him a tablet. “But three seconds before shutdown, the core database issued one instruction.” FINAL_TARGET=T-071. “The system will fully reboot in seven days,” Lin said. “How do you know?” “It told me.” Gu studied him, then locked the laboratory. “Start at the beginning.” When Lin reached White Crow in his account, something tapped three times above them. Tap. Tap. Tap. A faceless head emerged from the ventilation shaft. The boy crawled out at an angle no skeleton should allow and landed lightly atop a neural pod. The crow was no longer on his shoulder; instead, a white crow appeared on every monitor in the room.