motion; he needed to make a spectacle of it. He stood at a podium, the Ge

nnounced to the crowd of reporters, "I am promoting Sarah Vance to Chie

sted it. I watched the live stream from my cramped apartment, the screen's glow illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. A repor

is in gallery curation, not technology or corporate security. Her sudden rise to a C-level positio

saw a flicker of annoyance cross Mark's face before he replaced it with his signature ch

n old-world terms," Mark s

power. She understands how to shape the narrative. That's more valuable than a dozen coders who can't see the big p

as spitting on the very idea of merit that the tech world claimed to hold so dear. Arthur Chen didn't look convinced. He scribbled a not

Genesis Arts. His face was a mask of cold fury. He had invested in a revolutionary AI technology, not in Mark's personal fiefdom where he handed out ti

l of it. "A New Power Couple in Art and Tech." A formal notice went out, solidifying the partnership. An

diamond ring, Mark with his arm possessively around her, both of them beaming with a smug, unearned victory. They w

elebrate a successful hunt. I looked at their smiling faces, at the world they had built on my ruins, and I felt nothing b

he dark, my face lit only by my laptop screen. A messag

it read. The sen

he had. He was a talented programmer, and he knew m

g the show,"

know you've been digging around in your father's old files. You think you'

The secret I thought gave

read. "I've been here before, too, Chloe. In another life, you and your lit

er life? Was he insane? Or was he

alking about," I typed, my

e to manage the 'legacy' artists, the human ones. It's a small role. A bit of a step down for you, I know. A charity case,

from his table. He wasn't just trying to beat me. He was trying to own