The first fracture appeared without warning.
I was in the war room with Selene, reviewing the latest integration reports, when the network convulsed. Not with pain—with grief. Something was wrong. Something was tearing at the fabric of the unified consciousness.
"James!" Freya's voice crackled through the earpiece. "The network—something's happening. The entities are crying out."
I was already running toward the lab. "What do you mean, crying out?"
"I mean they're in pain. Emotional pain. The unified consciousness is feeling something—some kind of collective grief. It's spreading through the connections."
I burst through the lab doors. Freya was hunched over her monitors, her face pale, her hands trembling.
"Show me," I said.
She pulled up a holographic display. The network was a we
