{

The place is a mess. My den, my safe spot, looks like a bomb went off. Everything’s smashed or scattered. Monitors are cracked, cables hang loose from the ceiling like tangled vines, and my tech... it's probably all fucked now. I try to breathe, stay focused. Anger’s clawing at me, but getting pissed won’t help me fix this.

Nyers went off chasing the Rykrats, thinking they’ll somehow be helpful. I roll my eyes. Idiot. But I don’t have time to get pressed about it. I need to get my gear back up and running.

I dig through a pile of broken tech and find a half-smashed data drive, my fingers running over the label. It’s still intact. Good. I plug it into my main terminal and hold my breath. The screen flickers to life, thankfully, one of the monitors still works.

As it boots up, I remember the little device I picked up from the black market a while back — a VMT Reader. I’ve been curious about it. Supposed to let you read .vmt files, neural data straight from someone's brain. They say running the file is like living someone else’s memory, but more intense. You don’t just see what they saw; you feel it. And I think I got a few of those files somewhere in my stash of Neurogenesis’ dirty laundry.

I reach for the VMT Reader, small and sleek with a matte finish. Looks like any other piece of tech, but the rumors around this thing made it worth a shot. If I can access those files, maybe I’ll find something about mom, or whatever secrets she was hiding.

I connect the reader to the terminal. It lights up with a soft hum, a green indicator flashing. The screen gives me a prompt: Close your eyes. Projectors will engage.

Huh, old tech. The government once thought it’d be genius to slap screens in everyone’s eyelids — to not let them escape whatever bullshit they were trying to spread. Didn't take long for some genius to hack them and keep people from getting a second of sleep. Eventually everyone swore off using it, but I guess some tech just never dies.

Whatever, I close my eyes and the darkness behind my eyelids shifts, and suddenly I’m somewhere else.

}