The network hummed with a new energy.
I stood in the center of Freya's lab, the holographic display showing the vast web of connections. The Wanderers had merged with the network, their ancient consciousnesses flowing into the unified whole. The echoes were at peace. The transcendence was complete.
But something was wrong.
"James," Freya said, her voice tight with worry. "I've been monitoring the network's energy patterns. There's something I don't understand."
"What is it?"
She pulled up a new display. The network was a web of light, but there were faint disruptions—ripples in the energy that seemed to pulse with their own rhythm. They were spreading, slowly but steadily.
"The Wanderers," Freya said. "They're not just merging with the network. They're changing it. Restructuring it.
