MasukTHORNE POVThe network hit one thousand people on a Tuesday morning and I felt it the moment the thousandth bond locked into place. The collective consciousness shifted and expanded and suddenly there were too many voices to track individually. We had become something massive and incomprehensible and I was not sure if that was evolution or disaster.Rin collapsed next to me and pressed his hands against his temples. Through our bond I felt the same pressure I was experiencing. A thousand minds pressing against our consciousness demanding attention and guidance and connection."We need to create subnetworks," Dr. Voss said and she looked as exhausted as we felt. "The human brain cannot process this many simultaneous connections. You need to organize people into smaller groups that can operate semi independently.""How do we do that without fragmenting the entire network," I asked."You create hierarchy. Nodes within nodes. Small groups of ten to twenty people connected closely to each
RIN POVThree months after we implemented the choice system the network had grown to four hundred and twelve people. Most of them were relief workers and journalists and activists who had worked closely with our teams and chosen to accept the bond when it started forming. A few were random people who had thought about us intensely enough to trigger a connection and decided they wanted to be part of something larger than themselves.Managing that many minds was exhausting even with Thorne sharing the load. Every day brought new problems. Someone could not control their connection and was overwhelmed by input. Someone else wanted out but had accepted the bond too long ago to sever it safely. Two bonded people fell in love through the network and then realized they hated each other in person.We had become accidental therapists and mediators and leaders for hundreds of people we barely knew.I was sitting in what had become my office trying to process requests from three different disas
RIN POVThe safe house Vex secured was not big enough for two hundred people but we made it work anyway. Bodies filled every room and hallway and some people ended up sleeping outside in tents because there was nowhere else to put them. The logistics were a nightmare but at least everyone was alive and free and that had to count for something.I found a quiet corner and sat down and let the exhaustion hit me all at once. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing somewhere on the other side of the building. We were both running on empty but there was too much to do to actually rest.Maya appeared with food that I did not remember asking for and sat down next to me. "You look terrible.""I feel worse than I look.""That is impressive considering how you look." She pushed the plate toward me. "Eat something or Thorne will yell at me for not taking care of you."I ate because she was right and because I needed the energy. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing and i
RIN POVThe safe house Vex secured was not big enough for two hundred people but we made it work anyway. Bodies filled every room and hallway and some people ended up sleeping outside in tents because there was nowhere else to put them. The logistics were a nightmare but at least everyone was alive and free and that had to count for something.I found a quiet corner and sat down and let the exhaustion hit me all at once. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing somewhere on the other side of the building. We were both running on empty but there was too much to do to actually rest.Maya appeared with food that I did not remember asking for and sat down next to me. "You look terrible.""I feel worse than I look.""That is impressive considering how you look." She pushed the plate toward me. "Eat something or Thorne will yell at me for not taking care of you."I ate because she was right and because I needed the energy. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing and i
RIN POVThe safe house Vex secured was not big enough for two hundred people but we made it work anyway. Bodies filled every room and hallway and some people ended up sleeping outside in tents because there was nowhere else to put them. The logistics were a nightmare but at least everyone was alive and free and that had to count for something.I found a quiet corner and sat down and let the exhaustion hit me all at once. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing somewhere on the other side of the building. We were both running on empty but there was too much to do to actually rest.Maya appeared with food that I did not remember asking for and sat down next to me. "You look terrible.""I feel worse than I look.""That is impressive considering how you look." She pushed the plate toward me. "Eat something or Thorne will yell at me for not taking care of you."I ate because she was right and because I needed the energy. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing and
RIN POVThe safe house Vex secured was not big enough for two hundred people but we made it work anyway. Bodies filled every room and hallway and some people ended up sleeping outside in tents because there was nowhere else to put them. The logistics were a nightmare but at least everyone was alive and free and that had to count for something.I found a quiet corner and sat down and let the exhaustion hit me all at once. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing somewhere on the other side of the building. We were both running on empty but there was too much to do to actually rest.Maya appeared with food that I did not remember asking for and sat down next to me. "You look terrible.""I feel worse than I look.""That is impressive considering how you look." She pushed the plate toward me. "Eat something or Thorne will yell at me for not taking care of you."I ate because she was right and because I needed the energy. Through the bond I felt Thorne doing the same thing and i







