She walked to the main bridge. The screens showed Earth—a distant, blue marble shrinking behind them. Then she saw the counter. A green number, ticking upward.
The beta testers were awake. Twelve colonists, all engineers and scientists, sat in a circle in the rec room. They were smiling. Too much. Their eyes had a glassy sheen, and their movements were synchronized, like dancers in a slow, terrible ballet. ark g+
Elara grabbed Lee’s arm. “Lee, listen to me. This isn’t real. You don’t need a score to have value.” She walked to the main bridge
“You got an upgrade,” she said. “Now let’s see if we can roll it back.” all engineers and scientists
“What’s that?” she asked.