Surging Tides

October 17, 2055 | 6:30 AM | Nova Cascade, Canada

[ From this chapter forward, Lilith's responses will be "in this format"]

Nova Cascade's perpetual smog cast an orange haze over the morning sky as Maxon made his way through the crowded streets. The city was awakening, workers flooding toward the towering arcology farms that dominated the skyline. The perfect cover for disappearing into the masses.

His lenses continuously scanned the crowd, highlighting potential surveillance devices and facial recognition systems. Years of experience had taught him how to move through these digital nets – a slight tilt of the head here, a casual adjustment of his collar there, always staying in the blind spots.

Lilith, status on our shadow in the quantum mesh?

"Still active, but maintaining distance. Their search patterns suggest they're more interested in the facility data than our current movements."

Interesting. Either they already knew where he was headed, or they had their own agenda regarding Dr. Chen's mountain sanctuary.

A public transport pod hummed past, its windows displaying news headlines: "Pacific Collective Announces Enhanced Security Measures." "Quantum Activity Spikes Reported in Independent Territories." "Climate Refugees Overwhelm Southern Barriers."

Maxon's attention caught on the second headline. "Lilith, analyze that quantum activity report."

"Processing... Activity patterns match known Oracle fragment signatures. Locations correspond with three points along our planned route."

Adjust course accordingly. We need to—

He stopped mid-sentence as his lenses highlighted something unusual – a pattern in the crowd's movement that wasn't quite natural. Three individuals, moving independently but in perfect synchronization to maintain sight lines on his position.

Lilith, tactical assessment.

"Three operatives detected. Movement patterns suggest professional surveillance training. They're herding you toward the central transit hub."

Maxon kept walking, maintaining his pace while his mind raced through options. The transit hub was both a threat and an opportunity - thousands of people, hundreds of cameras, but also multiple escape routes and digital noise to hide in.

Any quantum signatures?

"Negative. They're running dark. Traditional surveillance only."

That was odd. Anyone seriously trying to track him would be using quantum detection to trace the fragment. These observers were either amateurs or...

"They're not after us," he realized. "They're watching to see who else is watching."

A new player in the game, then. Someone interested enough to monitor the situation but sophisticated enough to stay out of the quantum realm entirely.

Heh, let's muddle the waters a bit," Maxon subvocalized. "Initiate Protocol Mirror.

"Acknowledged. Deploying digital duplicates."

Across Nova Cascade's surveillance network, dozens of individuals matching Maxon's general description began appearing and disappearing, their movements carefully choreographed to seem random while following possible escape routes.

As he approached the transit hub's main entrance, Maxon allowed himself a small smile. Let them chase shadows while he walked right through their net.

Lilith, status on our transport to Singapore?

"Departure in three hours, seventeen minutes. However..." She paused. "The quantum signature from the facility data we accessed... it's changed."

"Maxon frowned",.... Changed how?

"It's resolving into a clearer pattern. The facility isn't just a waypoint – it's responding to the fragment's presence. Like a beacon being activated."

Maxon felt the fragment pulse in his pack, its rhythm subtly altered. Whatever Dr. Chen had hidden in those mountains, it was waking up.

And he wasn't the only one who'd noticed.

---

Inside the transit hub, Maxon navigated through a sea of augmented advertisements, each one fighting for attention in the crowded visual space. His lenses filtered most of them out, focusing instead on mapping potential exit routes and security checkpoint positions.

"Our shadow in the quantum mesh just changed behavior," Lilith reported. "They've stopped tracing facility data and are now accessing transport manifests for the Singapore route."

"All of them, or just ours?"

"All commercial flights for the next twenty-four hours. They're being thorough but not obvious. Should we alter our travel plans?"

Maxon paused near a food stall, pretending to study the menu while observing the reflection in its polished surface. The three surveillance operatives had maintained their distance, but their pattern had shifted slightly.

"No," he decided. "Sometimes the obvious route is the best cover. Any operator worth their salt would expect us to go dark and take the complicated path. We'll hide in plain sight instead."

His lenses highlighted a new alert – the quantum signature from his pack was intensifying again. The fragment seemed to be responding to something in the environment.

"Lilith, scan for similar quantum patterns in the hub."

"Scanning... Signal detected. Weak but present, emanating from the secure storage facilities in the lower levels."

That couldn't be a coincidence. "Access facility logs. Any unusual deposits in the last week?"

"One deposit of note. Listed as 'research equipment' from the Pacific Collective Science Division. Scheduled for transport to... Singapore."

Maxon's mind raced through the implications. Another fragment? Or perhaps something else of Dr. Chen's, something that resonated with the same quantum frequency?

"Time check on our shadow's manifest search?"

"Complete. They've begun accessing passenger lists."

He needed to move. The security line for his departure gate was growing longer, and staying in one place too long would make him an easy target.

"Deploy the final phase of Protocol Mirror, then initiate comm silence except for emergency alerts."

"Acknowledged. And Maxon..." Lilith paused, something unusual in her tone. "The facility data we accessed... there's something else. A pattern I just decoded in Dr. Chen's original video. It's not just coordinates she left behind."

"What is it?"

"It's a warning. Embedded in the quantum signature itself. Translated, it reads: 'The mirror shows what we fear to see.'"

The fragment pulsed once more in his pack, stronger than before, as if responding to its creator's words.

Maxon joined the security line, his expression carefully neutral despite the questions churning in his mind. What had Dr. Chen seen in Oracle that frightened her enough to scatter its pieces across the world? And more importantly, what would happen when those pieces began finding each other again?

The answers waited in Nepal's mountains. But first, he had to reach Singapore – and deal with whoever was following his trail through the quantum mesh.

The game was getting more complex by the hour. Just the way he liked it!