58: Piran
Piran
Piran grabbed the table as the agony ripped through his body. His chest clenched. He struggled to breathe.
Data swarmed across his lenses, patterns and chaos in constant flux.
He focused. The only thing he could do. This was all data, all tech. Nothing physical.
Yeah, right! Try telling his body that!
He ground his teeth and strained his neck. His lattice node flared. He pushed at it, tried to force back whatever was attacking him.
Recollection—in the volcano, when he’d tested the hybrid on Brice, tried easing suggestions through his lattice. The grumpy sod had fought back. But that had felt like a punch. This felt like…like he’d been skewered.
He sent more routines—barriers, cut-offs, cloaks. Drenched them with the hybrid, hid them. Why, he had no idea. Wasn’
