Page 66 of GlitchBorn Heart

I slam my palms into the keyboard, then begin to type furiously.

>: YOU HIJACKED A CITYWIDE BROADCAST

The keyboard freezes, and the cursor skips with her response.

>: YOU HIJACKED MY LIFE. CALL IT EVEN?

I roll my eyes. Gods help me, she’s learning my system faster than anyone ever has, even faster than I did. I continue typing.

>: YOU’RE ATTRACTING ATTENTION. DON’T DO THIS AGAIN, TAIYŌ. TOO DANGEROUS

Three infuriating words appear on all the monitors in the lab.

MAKE ME STOP

I begin hurriedly flipping through error logs and surge files, but I’m not seeing anything but small flares. The usual noise that sometimes comes through TheKast when we push out a sequence. I’m confused. I have a deep need to fix this, to hide this, and it has to be now.

TheKast completes another nightly run. I promptly slam the Enter key and hurriedly upload the window program. A bar appears showing me the completion rate with painful slowness. I become stiff, as my pulse races so fast I can hear blood rushing into my ears.

The screen blinks, and the grid flares. For a second, I expect to only see the familiar cascade of diagnostic warnings, maybe even an error or two. But that’s not the case.

A form begins to appear on the wall of monitors. A shadow of a human, grainy and pixelated, begins to render in full view. “Little Taiyō,” I whisper to myself, a grin easing itself across my tired face.

It was not yet the Lyra I kissed so deeply on the beach, not even the body Ember said they’d found. The interface had taken what it could of her signal, combined with the raw vibrations of her magic, and translated it through a library of visuals. It sharpens and eventually snaps into place. The result is startling.

An accurate, painfully intimate, cartoon-soft version of her unfolds. Huge luminous golden eyes, magenta neon streaks in her hair, and cheekbones carved from light.

Exquisite.

She blinks slowly, like an actual person would, and my chest contracts so hard I think it might burst. “Lyra.” I take a step toward the wall. “I can see you.”

Everything around me in the lab evaporates into background noise. For a moment it’s only me and her on the wall of screens. My obsession in its cyber form.

I built the window because I couldn’t stand the idea of not knowing she was safe. I did not expect the sight of her to punch a hole in me like a giant fist.

She speaks to me slowly, the system still adapting to her voice. Its sound reminds me of the vintage vinyl records that play in the LoFiCafes, a bit too slow and wobbly. “Kael?” She’s confused, squinting at me like she can’t believe her eyes. “What is this? I can see you too...and I really don’t want to.”

The question wasn’t innocent. It was exact and furious and, underneath it, scared.

I should answer with technical terms, “sandbox,” “proxy,” “interface.” Instead, my voice comes out soft and personal. “I made this window for you.” I pause for her reaction. “I wanted to know if you were...if you could communicate with me from inside.” I lock down any emotion after the stunt she just pulled.

Her big cartoon eyes narrow. The avatar’s pupils dilate until they become black holes instead of golden suns. “From inside? You mean inside your system, your prison? You put me here, you should know.”

“No.” My denial is immediate and honest. My rational brain wants to list the facts: Vikktor’s virus, the DreamNet collapse, Eli’s part in surging the entire system, but I refrain. I definitely don’t think she’s ready to hear that her brother was partially to blame for this.

“There were several factors that lead to the moment we’re in.” I try to explain the logic, but fuck me, she’s just as beautiful on screen as in person. I force myself to look away. “I didn’t plan this.” My eyes shut.

She scoffs. “But you did.” Her animated mouth twists into something like contempt. “You built this for the Corporation, because you’re loyal to VikkCorp through and through, ‘Anomaly Hunter.’ ”

Ah...there it is, the rebellion nickname.

Guilt is an ugly thing. It sits in the sternum like a stone. I feel it now as heavy as anything Vikktor has ever inflicted. “I didn’t know.” I still look away, unable to meet her gaze. I reach for the softer version of the truth. “I didn’t know this could happen. I did not do this on purpose. If I had just—”

“If you had just what?!” She interrupts me, her brow furrowing. “I’ll tell you what, Doctor! You would have tracked down Eli and I and eliminated the anomalies yourself. As you normally do. Killing swiftly and cleanly, nothing but a report and a signature, then slept easy in your fancy bed while the world forgets us.”

Ouch.

The lab’s silence becomes a pressure in my ears. Nothing about this is easy. I’ve tied a line from my machine to a person on screen. She still feels, still hurts, still rages.