Description

Sebastian Archer swore he’d never jack in. Not after watching his mother waste away in a chiphead hospice, her mind lost forever in virtual paradise. Now he survives fixing salvaged jackpods for the forgotten corners of San Francisco-the old tech the poor can actually afford. Close enough to make a living. Far enough to keep his soul.

Then a client brings him a First Gen device. Top of the line in its day. Infamous now for one thing: killing its users.

The avatar he meets inside isn’t exactly helpful. Then again, she isn’t exactly an avatar. Once, she was human.

Harper’s trapped, forgotten, and running out of time. And Plaxis Corporation will do anything to keep her existence buried. Including silencing the one repairman unlucky enough to know the truth.

Now Bas is running through neon-drenched streets with a target on his back, hunted by a corporation that logs every heartbeat and owns every exit. He doesn’t want to tear down their empire. He just wants to save the one person who makes him question everything he swore he’d never become.

But in a world where they control the board, the code, and the rules-survival means learning to play a different game entirely. Even if winning costs him the life he knows.