Page 162 of GlitchBorn Heart

I cross my arms. “Funny, I thought you liked a little danger.”

“Only if it’s worth the risk,” he replies smoothly. “And trust me, you are.”

62

PlayingGod

Playlist: Nervous System - Bad Omens, iRis.EXE

Kael

“Jett should be here any minute to hash out the details.” I pop up out of my chair, the papers on my desk flying and landing like confetti on the floor. “Time is of the utmost importance now that the eclipse is approaching.”

Ash has joined us in the lab again, which means there’s nothing going on in his life worthy of his hyper-focused attention. He’s determined to perfect his coffee brewing technique while meticulously organizing the collection of VikkCorp lab coats by shade of white. Lucky me.

“The gala is a day away. Every move we make from here on out has to be exact. We’ll only get one shot at this. Once Vikktor unveils our cybernetic prototypes, every system in this city will be on high alert. Firewalls, DreamNet barriers, gaming laws—the whole network will tighten like a fist around us.”

I roll my sleeves up past my forearms and accept the cup of rocket fuel Ash has pushed in front of me. The lab continues its busy work behind us, screens flashing updates from the DreamNet grid. “Jett’s the key to the transfer. His SoulReaver magic can bridge what my code and magic can’t. Without him, we don’t just fail to pull you out, Taiyō. We could destroy your mind in the process. Especially if we don’t merge correctly and one of us surges.”

“Baby magic.” Ash laughs. “Aww, wook at you...wittle Kael’s first magic surge. Should we get you a cake or a containment chamber?”

Ember snorts, smacking him in the chest. “Enough! He’s just a ‘late bloomer.’ ”

They all laugh at my expense, and the worst of it? Lyra chimes in. “Careful, Ash, don’t tease him too hard. Baby magic or not, it’s still kind of cute watching him take his first steps.”

“Haha, you’re all so funny.” I fake laugh. “Keep talking and see how long that baby magic takes to write a program to short out your nervous system.”

Ash raises both hands, grinning. “There it is, friends! Tiny temper too.”

“Fuck me. You people have the emotional intelligence of a toddler. May I move on, please?” I’m starting to feel the crunch. Out the window I can see the sky dimming to gray haze, the calm before the dark. The eclipse has begun its countdown.

“Please do. All we need is a missing rebel leader and a temperamental AI. Add a dash of you two making goo-goo eyes in the middle of it all, and we have shit stew. What could possibly go wrong?” Ash leans back in the chair, deliberately putting his boots on my console to trigger me.

“You make it sound so easy. Just hack the unhackable, bridge human consciousness, and hope the girl you’re obsessed with doesn’t turn into digital soup. Easy day in the lab, right?”

Jett.

The lab door shuts with an airy hiss, and he strolls in like he’s returning from a beach vacation. Relaxed and way too confident for what we’re about to pull off.

Lyra’s eyes widen at the sight of him, flickering slightly in her holo-form, the light highlights her cheekbones. “And if something makes my brain soup? Then what?” she asks softly.

“Then I come in after you, destroy it all.” I meet her gaze, no hesitation whatsoever. “Vikktor, the grid, LINK...everything. Done. No more.”

Jett rolls his eyes. “Drama much, Ryudon?”

Lyra exhales, full to the brim with emotion. “How? I thought everything will be down and blacked out for the holiday?”

“Nothing is ever down for me. My system, my rules, even on Vikktor’s made up holiday.” I let the disgust leak through.

Lyra cocks her head. I can tell she wants to argue, to tell me I can’t play god, that saving her isn’t worth the risk. But she doesn’t. She just looks at me like she’s already memorizing this moment, like she knows this could unmake us both.

“Jett will help,” I continue, forcing my focus back to the plan’s logistics. “He’ll be with us here in the lab. Ash will run interference, sending out vibes through his music, the nets will be down for the holiday, so he’ll be playing an ‘old-school’ acoustic show, and creating a sort of mass hypnotism. Ember will monitor the neural signatures from my computer at the penthouse, a private backdoor for both of them through the comms, since we’re blacked out.”

I motion to the cybernetics room. “I’ll lead the extraction from here, start the program running, then let it execute. Once you and I are synced, Jett will sever LINK’s control and anchor your soul into the new vessel.”

I pause and look straight at Lyra’s face. “But that connection, our connection, has to hold. If it falters, if my magic fractures, we lose the bridge. I have to be able to rewrite any code on the fly in case of errors or interference. If LINK or Eli steps up to play, we could lose you. You have to repeat what I taught you. Stable amplification.”

The city outside the windows flickers; a pulse of lilac light shoots like a falling star across the sky. Eclipse Night is nearly here, and with it, possibly the end of everything I’ve built, or maybe the beginning of something far more dangerous.