The Narrative Cascade

Part I: The Laboratory

Wei Lin’s hands moved smoothly over the quantum interface, each gesture deliberate and precise. The laboratory around her thrummed with a subdued energy, not the cold sterility of machines, but a quiet expectancy, as though the room itself was holding its breath. In front of her, holographic projections shifted and pulsed, displaying a lattice of data that seemed to ripple with untapped potential.

Marcus Donovan stood nearby, leaning casually against a resonance module, its...