Three hundred and fifty years after Luna's birth, the Network went silent. Not gradually, not with warning, but instantly. One moment it was present in the consciousness of thousands of connected bridge children. The next moment, nothing.
Echo, now one hundred and ninety-two and confined to bed most days, felt the disconnection like a physical blow. "What happened?" she gasped to the healers attending her. "Where's the Network?"
Across the continent, bridge children experienced the sudden absence differently. Some felt relief, unexpected freedom from constant collective presence. Others felt terror, like losing a limb or sense they'd relied on since birth. Most felt confusion, unable to understand how something so vast could simply vanish.
Meridian, now sixty-five and established as lea
