The clock hit zero. The lights didn't flicker. The servers didn't fail. But for one long, silent second, she felt everything —every possible 2000 she could have lived, every choice she didn't make, every door that closed. And through it all, Pixel's tiny heartbeat, steady as a drum, kept her from dissolving into the noise.

It was about time itself .

She ran to the server room. The only other living thing in the building: a sleeping stray cat that had wandered in through a vent weeks ago. She’d named it Pixel.

Mira scooped up Pixel, pressed the warm, purring creature against her chest, and closed her eyes.