NEXUS: Heart of Time

in Beşiktaş. Outside, the yellow lights of the yalı danced on the water, and this ancient city, suspended between two contin

worn-out oud, a relic from his father, hung as if condemned to silence. His desk was cluttered with parts of a prototype neural interface device, soldering tools, and wires. He had named it 'Sym

magnetoencephalography (MEG) sensors, far more sensitive than surface EEG, capable of sensing even thalamic activity. It was still in the testing

go," he murmured, his voice ec

ed the rhythmic dance of his brain's alpha and beta waves on the computer screen in the dim light of the room. Then, he surrendered to deep medi

hing responded

e had touched static electricity. Then, a small pressure behi

the tidal

ed his consciousness. He found himself in a plac

Labo

the speed of light. CERN. The word flashed in his mind like lightning. A woman's whisper was singing an Italian song, her own whisper, he wasn't watching the woman, he was the woman, he... was a woman. Anxious and beau

his voice caught in his throat. His fingers gripped the arm

kyo

as beyond a creative block, the pain of a channel forcibly opened by something unknown. And a violin sound... from the neighbor, a sad, searching melody. The attraction between these

of 'Symphony.' The device should have given a warning. Brain activity was reaching dangerous le

ork S

le. A gun was pressed against it. The pain inside him was so deep, so bone-deep, that Mert felt like he was suffocating. Then, that millisecond of eclipse in the univ

oved rapidly behind his closed eyelids, twitching like in REM sleep. A thin, watery trickle of blood

on's

tempt for humanity he felt inside were so sharp that Mert felt nauseous. His mind was filled with complex financial networks, acquisitions, and manipulation plans. A

intimate moments, the deepest fears and passions of these people. And they, perh

ed with difficulty.

Shanghai; Valeria's prophecy-mixed fame hunger in Los Angeles; Sofia's loss in a river of data at the screens in Berlin; L

e echoes of moments lived in the same millisecond were fl

ne more spasm. Mert tried to pull the device off his forehead. The connections resisted, scratching his skin. With a final pull, he th

from his nose formed a wet mask on his face. He opened his eyes. The dim light of the room

w was that his life...

gering towards the sink. Cold water splashed on his face and the back of his neck. The water

t a stranger he

mmer of Elena's sharp intelligence. A spark of Marcus's anger. The shadow of Kai'

there, a ghostly pain. He raised his cup. He remembered Elena'

ed to me?" he growle

concept, appeared in his mind. The point where all the images, memories, and emotions

xu

d the truth. The experiment had not failed. It had succeeded, incredib

to the consciou

me way, might h

s to his chest, put his head in his hands. His eyes were fixed on the shattered 'Symphony' on the table. Th

a more powerful, more painful question. "

leeping – or pretending to sleep. But Mert knew. Sleep would never again be a sanctuary. Beca

ut as a human being. And from the fragments, echoes from all ov

enture was j