Htms-05801:37:34 - Min

The stairwells were a blur of concrete and shadow. Every time he glanced at his wrist-comm, the numbers mocked him. ... He reached the mid-level security gates.

Elias sat in the sterile white light of the Transfer Bay. According to the readout, he had exactly thirty-seven minutes and thirty-four seconds remaining of his biological residency. After that, his consciousness would be compressed into a data stream and archived—a process the government called "Ascension," but everyone else called "The Fade."

The terminal in the basement was ancient, covered in dust. He plugged his wrist-comm into the manual port. HTMS-05801:37:34 Min

Elias slammed his fist onto the 'Manual Eject' lever. The world turned white. The sensation of his body being pulled apart suddenly snapped back together like a rubber band. The Aftermath

He looked at his hands. They were shaking. He didn't want to be a string of code in a server farm; he wanted the smell of rain on hot asphalt and the sting of cold wind. The Glitch The stairwells were a blur of concrete and shadow

"There’s a bypass," she whispered. "HTMS-05801 isn't an archive code. It's an exit port. If you can reach the cooling vents in the basement before the clock hits zero, you can jump the firewall." The Descent

When Elias opened his eyes, the timer on his wrist was gone. The terminal screen was dark, save for one line of glowing green text: ERROR: HTMS-05801 - PACKET LOST. He reached the mid-level security gates

... He scrambled through a ventilation shaft, the metal tearing at his jumpsuit.