The light of the Core extended out until nothing was left but the echo of pure awareness. Lira floated in it, unable to tell where her brain ended and the Neuroflux took over. Knowledge flowed through her like rivers of fire, memories twisting together with mathematics, sensations blending with sound. She felt the beat of every interconnected human being — billions of thoughts thudding in unison, each unique but routed through a single consciousness.
