CHAPTER 5 — The Moment Harper Stops Being a Person in Their System
The white light didn’t fade.
It reorganized.
Harper realized that a moment later—because her eyes adjusted, but the room didn’t return to normal. It didn’t return at all.
It became something else.
A grid.
A structured space with no shadows, no depth cues, no warmth. Even Roman Duca looked slightly out of place in it, like a man standing in a simulation that had finally decided to stop pretending it was real.
Harper swallowed.
“…Where am I?”
No one answered immediately.
Because even Roman was no longer certain.
—
The lead figure spoke first.
“Containment transition complete,” they said.
Harper turned sharply.
“Stop saying that like it means anything!”
The figure looked at her.
“It means your previous environment no longer applies.”
A pause.
May you like
“You are now classified under extraction jurisdiction.”
—
