Maya peered at the waveform on her screen, annoyed by its seeming unpredictability. Two days into their forced cooperation, Sarah and James had formed an awkward working cadence in their shared lab area. His equipment occupied the west side of the room—specialist audio processing systems with touch interfaces she didn't completely comprehend. Her visual analysis stations dominated the east side, screens exhibiting vivid patterns that only she could correctly interpret.
She scratched her temples, the synesthetic hues from the Harmony Hall recording bleeding together after hours of concentration. Something was there—she could feel it—but the pattern remained elusive.
James entered, Echo padding faithfully beside him. Maya tapped twice on the metal desk—their established signal fo
