“Unison 3.0 will be, like, Humanity 2.0,” Takashi said sagely, repeating some overheard catchphrase. “Might wanna duck.…”

Ambrose and Sonia leaned sideways as a yellow dragon tail whipped past and disappeared behind the upper wall. A whiff of acrid smoke lingered.

“So what’s the big game changer?” Ambrose asked. “What’s its function?”

Sonia herded her UniPet away from Takashi’s Mood-shadow and plopped the squirming ball of fur into her lap. “My favorite theory? Unison’s on its way to becoming the very first interdimensional travel agency. Shimmer in somewhere in ESC, shimmer out in the London Expansion, some off-world Saturnine base … or maybe to other places that aren’t exactly on the map.”

“Like where?”

“Who knows? Like I said, these are the rumors.”

“And Marty’s not giving a press conference anytime soon,” Takashi said.

For the first time in his life, Ambrose considered the man he used to know as his father from an outsider’s perspective. Martin Truax seemed as remote and impenetrable as the ivy-choked walls of his Unison estate.

“I guess we can’t just ring the bell at Greymatter,” Ambrose said.

Sonia’s Thoughtstream cooled again. “You’re the first new user I ever met who knew the name of the creator’s estate.”

Her UniPet stared at him with slit-eyed suspicion. Down on the field, the lions slunk away, licking their wounds. The dragons soared above in V formation and disappeared over the edge of the stadium. He’d made Sonia uneasy, and she was done talking to him.

“What about a time line on this upgrade? Any chatter about that?”

“Well,” she said distantly as she stood up, “funny you should ask.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because some people I trust happen to think the gears are already turning.”

“So when do these people think it started?”

“Yesterday.”

She spun on her heel. He followed her toward a door marked EXIT in the boxy pre-Unison fashion. She stopped and turned, hesitating. Ambrose could practically see her train of thought: should I let him know that I know he’s after something bigger, or should I simply let it drop?

She said, “You should be more careful. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

Ambrose blinked in surprise. As she was speaking, a gold UniCorp U had appeared on the lapel of her jacket. He blinked again, and it disappeared.

From behind him Takashi said, “Hey, Adam.”

Ambrose turned. His First Friend’s straight black hair had been replaced by Martin Truax’s unkempt sandy waves. Takashi stepped back.

“Adam, what’s wrong?”

Now Takashi’s mouth had become Martin’s, too: the movie-star grin and brilliant white teeth. Ambrose felt a hand on his shoulder, glanced down at the U emblazoned on the gold cuff link, and spun, terrified.

Sonia was wearing his father’s suit.

He fought a paralyzing wave of nausea that began in his stomach and shot through his limbs.

“This is bad,” Sonia said, backing away. “This is all wrong.”

Ambrose sank to his knees. The stone floor of the stadium felt spongy and elastic.