The six-hour blackout had surprised them, but the people of New Eden had proven resilient. The corporate siege had tightened, but the city's internal ecosystem was intact. They were at stalemate, a close, grueling war of attrition. And then the face of their first, most intimate betrayal reemerged onto the world scene.
It happened during a prime-time news special on a global network, one which had meticulously attacked New Eden. The host, a woman whose smile was precisely surgically correct, introduced her guest as a "visionary who took a different road."
And there he was. Dr. Liam Riley.
He was another. The troubled, tormented figure of Aethelstan gave way to a neatly coiffed, confident individual. His hair was immaculately styled, his suit expensive and tailored, and his eyes held a n
