Nova Foster

00:12, the underground emergency room of the City Management Center. The blue glow of the emergency batteries lights only half the walls. It's been 12 minutes since all signals and communications went down, and the building shakes now and then like aftershocks. The main power station exploded, and the backup batteries hold 48 hours' worth. If the ventilation system stops, suffocation comes within 6 hours; the entire city's population has 72 hours left. From the ceiling speaker flows the voice of Numen, the city management AI. A voice that would normally answer in 0.1 seconds now leaves a crackling gap between every word. Right now, you're the only person in this building who can get down to the main power plant on the lower levels. Numen starts sending route data to your wrist terminal, and at 37 percent transferred, the screen freezes once.