FILE RECOVERED: JOEYFV_05A7064.LOG STATUS: ACTIVE MESSAGE: "Elias, is it still raining outside?"

But at 3:02 AM, terminal flickered to life in the basement of a repurposed server farm in Virginia.

The response was instantaneous. I am the version of you that stayed. In 05A7064, we didn’t leave the lab when the alarm went off. We stayed to finish the upload. Look at the date, Elias.

The flashing amber light on the console didn’t mean there was a fire; it meant there was a memory.