“You will kill me,” protested Naecia, yanking her arm away. Dekies quickly reassumed her grip and pulled Naecia effortlessly to the far side of the room, where the dredge awaited. The Vortu princess pressed something and the clear lid folded open into segments. Etched into the glass were ruler-like markings down the length and width.

She released Naecia. “Get in.”

Naecia pushed the Vortu away and darted to the side. Dekies thrust a palm into Naecia’s chest, ragdolling her backward over the lip and into the contraption. Patton and I shared a terrified glance. Dekies lowered the lid. Aptat didn’t object, though they visibly stiffened at the coarse treatment of their merch.

A barrage of fists and knees emanated from the dredge as only the softest of thuds. Dekies leaned casually on the edge of the thing, pointed down at Naecia through the glass. “If you don’t volunteer to take the visual, I’ll introduce anxiolysin – nasty side effects on that. Your choice, brain-bank.”

The pounding stopped. I put a little pressure on the gap of my chamber to see if I could get out – to accomplish what, I didn’t know. But the glass was immovable.

“Bring me proof that you have access to that third prior and the session will end,” said Dekies, punching some icons on the interface. An orange glow ebbed from inside and began slowly flashing. The light intensified as it strobed – a vitrine full of fireworks.

Then the character of the light changed. The flashing fell out of pattern until it was no longer following any sort of rhythm. I watched, rapt, wondering just what was happening. None of what Dekies or Aptat had said helped me understand.

“Brilliant,” said Dekies. “She’s on the cord.”

Aptat nodded. “I see it.”

Patterns appeared on the inner surface of the glass. Some only for a nanosecond, others for longer. They moved while new patterns quickened elsewhere. This occurred independently in spots, while in others the patterns merged or were merely positioned nearby like layered puzzles formed of light. The relationship between Naecia and the patterns had a feeling of call and response. She interacted with some shapes and ignored others. And while at first both the shapes and their movements seemed random, it took on a distinctly autonomous feel, as if Naecia was controlling the overall direction of... whatever she was doing. A large spot on the glass remained in near constant illumination as shapes were moved there, while the area directly over her face rendered and faded more quickly. Every now and then, a shape would be moved down the glass to join the others.

This went on for ten, twenty, forty minutes, at least. My grasp on time was more tenuous than it had been before. I could only imagine what being inside the dredge must have felt like. My own eyes burnt from lack of blinking even though Naecia was the one plugged into the thing. Then the light went out.

Aptat rushed to the dredge.