In the neon-lit underbelly of New Shanghai, memories were currency.
Not the sentimental kind tucked away in photo albums — real, vivid experiences extracted from the brain and traded like stock. Want to know what it feels like to climb Everest? Kiss a movie star? Survive a war? If someone lived it, you could buy it.
Juno Vale was the best in the business. A licensed Memory Broker with a reputation for discretion and a knack for finding the rarest recollections. Her clientele ranged from thrill-seeking billionaires to grieving widows desperate to relive a final moment.
But tonight, she had a problem.
A man named Calder walked into her office with a memory chip labeled “Classified: Tier 9.” Tier 9 memories were illegal — government-grade, locked behind neural firewalls. Possessing one was treason. Selling it? Suicide.
“I need you to extract it,” he said, placing the chip on her desk. “And I need to know if it’s real.”
Juno hesitated. “What’s on it?”
Calder’s eyes flickered. “Proof. That the war on Europa was staged. That the Martian Accord was a lie. That we’ve been living under a fabricated peace.”
Juno stared at the chip. If it was real, it could unravel the entire solar order. But if it was fake, it could get her killed.
She slid the chip into the reader.
The room dimmed. Her neural interface buzzed. Images flooded her mind — soldiers marching through empty cities, diplomats rehearsing speeches, bodies arranged for photo ops. It was orchestrated. Every battle. Every treaty. Every death.
She yanked the chip out, heart racing.
“It’s real,” she whispered.
Calder nodded. “Then we have work to do.”
Outside, the city pulsed with oblivious life. But inside Juno’s mind, the revolution had already begun.