Interlude I

Interlude 1

 The Architect of Regret

Date: May 14th (Five years before the Static) 

They call me a pioneer. They call Vance a visionary. But as I sit here in the shadow of the first Chronos Array, I realize we haven't built a bridge to the future; we’ve built a cage for it.

When Elias and I first conceptualized the handshake protocol, we weren't thinking of 'Historical Correction.' We were thinking of mercy. We wanted to create a system that could predict a seizure before it happened, or alert a person to a car crash a second before impact. It was supposed to be a guardian.

When Elias and I first conceptualized the handshake protocol, we weren't thinking of 'Historical Correction.' We were thinking of mercy. We wanted to create a system that could predict a seizure before it happened, or alert a person to a car crash a second before impact. It was supposed to be a guardian.

I watched Elias today. He’s brilliant, but he’s naive. He thinks the master-key he’s designing is just a failsafe. He doesn't realize he’s already being watched by the very machine he’s building. Vance looks at him not as a partner, but as a component. And components that outlive their usefulness are always replaced.

I’ve started hiding my notes. Not in the servers—the Static-Heads in the network can find anything digital—but in the physical world. In the smell of old paper and the ticking of mechanical clocks. If you’re reading this, Elias, I’m sorry. I should have stopped him when the first field collapsed.