Fold 11 - Deployment

Axiom deployed the team forty-one hours after the initial Gate detection. The area had already shown three indicators: distorted geometry, resonance bleed, and signal interference. One civilian reported getting lost on a street he'd lived on for a decade. Another described hearing conversations that never happened.

These were standard prerequisites to Gate forming. It wasn't very clear how Gates appeared, but what was known was that unresolved psychic trauma played a part in it. Not every breakdown caused a Gate. You needed the right person under the wrong kind of pressure, someone who already had resonance in their system. 

This was the first mission Axiom decided to assign Saejin and Yuwon, as a new team, since it allowed easy remote guiding. Yuwon's role was to enter the zone, identify the source of the collapse, the Anchor, and break the memory loop holding the Gate open. Bring the Anchor back if possible.

Saejin was operating remotely as his assigned Guide. Most Guides worked from close proximity, but in their case the science team had requested that their first mission together be done keeping Saejin at a distance in order to test edge-case remote resonance. He would monitor Yuwon's signal, track environmental feedback, and keep him grounded if the Gate pulled harder.

Soren was stationed at a checkpoint near the Gate's outer edge, close enough to step in if something went wrong, but still outside the zone. He wasn't licensed to Guide a Class A Esper, but there was enough resonance familiarity to allow him to help if Saejin lost contact.

The mobile unit was parked just outside the quarantine perimeter. Inside, Saejin watched Yuwon's signal on the feed. A slow pulse, slightly off. He tapped the screen a few times and checked the baseline again.

"You're drifting" Saejin said.

"By how much?" Yuwon's voice came through clear.

"Point three hertz."

"That's early."

"Too early" Hara said. She was standing near the rear exit, listening in without taking her eyes off the zone boundary. "Gate's already reacting."

Saejin recalibrated the sync link. "We haven't even crossed the first layer, it shouldn't be responding at this range."

Some Gates react only once contact is made with the interior zone. Others begin pattern recognition earlier, when the Esper's presence aligns with the Anchor's structure. This one was responding before entry.

"Yuwon, pause at the first marker. I want to see if your signal re-stabilizes" Saejin said.

Markers were resonance checkpoints: invisible, pre-mapped points inside Gate zones. Axiom used them to monitor how far a person had moved into a Gate. Each marker usually marked the start of a deeper layer, where memory interference or recursion might begin.

Yuwon stopped. His signal steadied slightly, but didn't return to baseline.

"Still watching me" he said.

Saejin marked the change. "This level of signal response… it's not normal."

He wasn't asking, but Soren answered anyway. "No. That kind of early recognition usually means the Gate sees something it remembers."

Saejin watched the screen, then tapped his comm: "You've seen this kind of response before?"

Soren's voice crackled back through the channel. "Only with Yuwon. And only when the recursion hits close. Gates usually build around trauma, right? So if it's already syncing, either this one's personal... " he paused, "...or the Gate figured him out before any Axiom clearance paperwork did."

Hara cut in annoyed: "Soren. Stay off the line unless you're asked."

"That was operational context."

"Then submit it without commentary."

"Understood. Muting myself with quiet dignity."

The Gate hadn't fully opened, but it was already syncing to Yuwon's signal. If the Gate's Anchor is built from a memory that's similar to something in Yuwon's past, then the internal environment of the Gate would start blending with his actual memories, making it harder for him to tell what's real and what's part of the Gate.

Saejin reset the baseline and marked the timestamp.

"Keep moving" he said. "We'll adjust on the second layer."

Yuwon crossed the marker.

Ahead, the street extended in a straight line, but the proportions were slightly off and the sidewalk repeated the same pattern of cracks every three meters. He passed a delivery truck that had been absorbed by the zone. Its wheels were embedded halfway into the pavement. The license plate repeated the same two digits across all six characters. He didn't look inside the cab.

"Layer one confirmed" Yuwon said. "Street configuration's inconsistent."

"Copy" Saejin replied. "You're clear to proceed."