The city shuddered as a Symmetrist building near the Meridian boundary collapsed, small but a sign of a growing structural failure. Maya had done the right things: worked to repair the wall, ran a diagnostic that detected an underground power disturbance, and forwarded ignored requests to Meridian and the Emergency council to disable the source of disturbance Kai identified. She stared at her security station display, watching vital signs from the Truth Gate. Around her, the district's command center had devolved into a frenzy since TransitTrack cut off their access to the intelligence infrastructure in Veridian Center. Her colleagues worked frantically to manually route and contain a maze of intermittent subsystems and haphazard cludge backups.
"Ms. Linlee," a voice cut through her focus. "Engineering team assembled as requested." Maya turned to face the man leading the team she requested. She was proud of herself for coming up with a plan and requesting the Symmetrist Council approve it in an emergency session. She was just surprised they chose her to lead it.
She turned to face Charlie Weber, the engineering manager assigned to her. His weathered face and calloused hands marked him as someone who did more than theoretical analysis or programming. Behind him stood four engineers, their expressions a mix of determination and barely contained anxiety.
"Our descent has been approved," Maya said, her voice with a slight tremor hopefully less detectable than the ones periodically shaking the building. "We will shut down the underground power circuit feedback connecting us to Meridian district." She brought up a schematic of the Neural Substrate, its layered complexity seeming more like a trap to her now than a marvel of older engineering.
Charlie studied the diagram, a deepening frown. "These readings... they show feedback resonance in the power grid." He looked at Maya. "We haven't seen that since—"
"The Great Transit Disaster," Maya finished. "I know. But it's worse. The old infrastructure is drawing more power than it can support through here,” she pointed to several spots.
Charlie pulled up those grid locations, “Woa, those were dormant just a week ago. There is no way that cannot handle that type of incoming power load." Another tremor, stronger this time, sent loose equipment clattering to the floor.
"Right. We also need to help a consultant who became trapped down there. I hope it’s not too late," she told him on the way to the maintenance shaft. One of the few working elevators, it groaned as they piled on equipment and people. Throughout the descent, Maya's security band continued monitoring cadence alerts and their timestamps. Her algorithm matched a signature she first saw running diagnostics on the wall’s failure. Its growth exponential.
The elevator doors opened to a scene from another era. Emergency lighting along abandoned autoway lanes, their surfaces showing signs of wear decades of settling. The air was thick with a metallic flavor and dust. “We have some walking to do,” Charlie loaded up and started down the platform, his team scrambling to collect gear. Maya grabbed the geophone and was right on his heels.
Warning tones echoed through the Neural Substrate like a requiem, sounding a new evacuation order for the Truth Tower. From platform to tunnel to maintenance stairs far into the tunnel, the procession marched single file winding along the labyrinthine route. They descended two additional levels.
"That radiating energy source…," Charlie said as they walked along a tunnel.
"I know, the city is literally falling apart," she replied.
“No I mean, that oscillating of the 3rd and 5th harmonic interference reduces sensitivity and increases noise,” Charlie said. When Maya didn’t reply, he waited until they were up and crossing the next platform. “We use the same harmonics in our containment systems but they sure as hell don’t oscillate.” He paused briefly to see if Maya understood.
Maya nodded, she had seen the odd electromagnetic signature; it was bugging her too.
They had reached the end of the platform. Charlie’s hand was on a door knob when he paused to look back, “That requires specialized shielding and filtering techniques to oscillate like that.” He opened the door as the team climbed the stairs.
A chill crept down her spine, a shiver that seemed to originate from deep within her soul. She followed him up the stairs. It was a sensation she couldn't quite place, a disquieting feeling that lingered in the air. The 3rd and 5th she knew but there was something about the oscillation, innocuous at first glance. It triggered a dormant memory, a forgotten fragment of knowledge.
Entering the control room, Charlie ordered the team, "Garcia and Wong: set up the mobile station here. Mitchell, calibrate the sensor array then work with Li to start mapping structural weak points." The team moved with practiced efficiency. “Chop! Chop! We need this fast, farther to go once the repeaters are running.”
Maya noticed their unease as they worked among the ruins of the previous generation's ambitions. That had further to go but needed to keep communications and Charlie was doing a good job, but the team was already breathing hard.
It was good they had a chance for a rest from walking but she was drawn to the window overlooking the far end of the autoway past where two transit cars lay mangled together, their once-gleaming surfaces now corroded into abstract sculptures. Thirty years of decay turning statistics into a live report into this twisted tomb of dreams. That was when it hit, the oddity in the electromagnetic readings was what was missing. Without the oscillations, it exactly matched the pattern of the containment system in the damaged wall during the race. Her diagnostic also carried that signature into the underground, broadcasting and detecting in order to trace the power surge. The implication sent another chill through her that had nothing to do with the underground air.
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"Power readings continue to get worse," Mitchell reported, the array painting invisible lines in harsh red across their displays. "The feedback is definitely accelerating through these old conduits."
Charlie stepped closer to Maya, lowering his voice. "We should set up containment barriers first. Standard protocol—"
"No," Maya interrupted, surprising herself with her vehemence. "Protocol assumes we have time. We don't. Look." She gestured to the display where energy patterns pulsed with increasing intensity. "Those harmonics... are amplifying. We shut down the source first, then deal with containment."
The engineering manager started to object, but another violent tremor cut him off. Above them, the distant sound of breaking glass and screeching metal emphasized Maya's point. The team braced as the floor beneath them swayed.
Charlie nodded. "Your call,” he replied before commanding the team, “But we do this carefully."
“But Charlie gave me an idea,” Maya worked to adjust her diagnostic algorithm to use 7th and 9th harmonics, and looked back at Mitchell, “what about now.”
“Much better, the growth rate is diminishing but still growing,” Mitchell said.
“That should buy us some time,” Maya said.
"Maya," Charlie called out, his voice carrying the weight of bad news. "Just got word from structural. The Truth Gate... it's gone. The whole structure just collapsed. They're saying the damage pattern is being seen in other districts. This isn't just a local system failure anymore."
"This is my fault," she said softly, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "My diagnostic... it amplified the feedback loop with something down here." When the original tremor hit, she'd been proud of how quickly she'd identified the instability. Now that pride felt like ash in her mouth. Every alert, every confirmation of her technical expertise, had accelerated the catastrophe. The city she'd helped build was coming apart, and she'd handed the destruction its first key. The ground shook again, and somewhere far above, another piece of the Symmetrist district fell.
“No time for that,” Charlie reassured. “Alright everybody, next stop is the Nexus power station. Hang in there, this will be a tough march.”
The news of the Truth Gate collapse was hard to believe. A torrent of shock as they could only imagine the familiar skyline, a symbol of Symmetrist strength and resilience, as a scene of complete destruction. Something pulled at them from the news, a primal instinct to protect their friends and family from further devastation. Danger was growing, but they pressed on with purpose. The weight of the world seemed to rest on their shoulders, a heavy burden fueling their determination. A race against time.
They pressed deep into the old city leaving the Neural Substrate behind. The second descent was grueling. Even though going down had gravity assist, their knees struggled against the weight of their gear. Narrow winding access stairs went down and down stretching muscles in new ways on their endless worn metal steps. The stairs are far better than the access ladders. The air grew more stale, the humidity rose with each level. They hauled their equipment, a cumbersome burden, their unprepared muscles aching with every movement. The journey was a test of endurance, a physical and mental challenge. “Chop! Chop!” Charlie would call out from time to time to keep up the pace. Each time, answered.
Finally, the team emerged into a vast chamber that had once been a transit nexus of the old city. Ancient consoles lined the walls, one screen still flickered with sporadic life as power surged through systems that should have been dormant and had been for decades. In the center of the chamber, their prize, a bank of manual override relays.
"My God," Mitchell whispered. "Power flowing through here is off the scale."
"Charlie, get the shutdown sequence started,” Maya said beckoning him as she approached the overrides. “We need to find the Meridian Financial district relays,” she said without much confidence.
Charlie picked up a flexible manual still attached to the bank, flipping frantically through plastic-lined pages. “I mean, it could be,” he said, “do we care? Tempting to shut it all off.”
She reached towards the relay but Charlie stopped her, handing her the manual. She looked at him as his other hand pulled heavy insulation gloves from his backpack. “Better let me,” he said. She nodded.
"Ms. Lenlee," Li called out urgently. "We're picking up life signs now, multiple signatures but they are closer to Meridian than we are."
Maya held up her free hand to quickly acknowledge and indicate it had to wait. “First things first,” she whispered to Charlie.
“Mitchell set up the containment barrier,” Charlie said. “Maya. You should step back.”
“I’m staying,” she insisted, cold sweat breaking across her brow.
A safety barrier formed around Charlie, Maya, and the center station console. It grew from the ground up like a semicircle of controlled electricity, pulling sparks from the console towards it. Charlie put his hands on the two relays. Hands shaking with strain, they didn’t budge. The weight of the city, the fate of millions, seemed to rest on his trembling hands. Then both hands on a relay, he heaved his full weight onto the switch. It gave way, and then the other. The last sparks died away. Maya noticed she was holding her breath, and inhaled deeply. A wave of relief washed over her as power levels began rapidly falling. She slid to the ground due to the overwhelming exhaustion, raising two thumbs up. Charlie slid down beside her. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.
Li felt the urgency, “We found a route to our people. Life signs are strong but we will need to go through areas that have had reports of upper building collapse, it may take some digging.
Maya nodded. "Charlie, finish the power shutdown. Mitchell, Wong - load up emergency equipment and look around for pry bars or anything that might help us. We're going after them in less than 5." She forced herself to focus on the next crisis.