Silence.
Not the silence of an empty room.
Not the silence after an explosion.
This was older.
Deeper.
It was the silence that existed before the first star ignited.
The word RELEASE burned across the darkness.
For one endless heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the Consciousness Engine exhaled.
A single pulse of golden light spread across the universe.
It traveled without speed.
Without sound.
Without force.
Yet every soul trapped within the Engine felt it.
Billions of lights awakened.
Tiny sparks drifted away from the colossal sphere like glowing dandelion seeds carried by an invisible wind.
Emily fell to her knees.
"They're leaving..."
Around her floated countless faces.
Children.
Old men.
Scientists.
Farmers.
Kings.
Beggars.
People from civilizations whose names
