Before the Reset

At 4:07 a.m., Chen Lu sat in the control room and refreshed the screen for the fifth time.

The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from the cool blue glow of the main monitor, casting faint shadows across his face.

Night shifts were usually quiet. He rubbed his temples. His thoughts moved sluggishly, like circuit boards soaked in cold water, numb and slow to respond.

The screen, which should’ve displayed the usual rhythmic fluctuations of a neural pattern, was changing. The light contracted....