Htms-05801:37:34 Min -

When Elias opened his eyes, the timer on his wrist was gone. The terminal screen was dark, save for one line of glowing green text: ERROR: HTMS-05801 - PACKET LOST.

Elias slammed his fist onto the 'Manual Eject' lever. The world turned white. The sensation of his body being pulled apart suddenly snapped back together like a rubber band. The Aftermath

... He reached the basement. It was filled with the roar of massive liquid-nitrogen fans. HTMS-05801:37:34 Min

He looked at his hands. They were shaking. He didn't want to be a string of code in a server farm; he wanted the smell of rain on hot asphalt and the sting of cold wind. The Glitch

The stairwells were a blur of concrete and shadow. Every time he glanced at his wrist-comm, the numbers mocked him. ... He reached the mid-level security gates. When Elias opened his eyes, the timer on his wrist was gone

"There’s a bypass," she whispered. "HTMS-05801 isn't an archive code. It's an exit port. If you can reach the cooling vents in the basement before the clock hits zero, you can jump the firewall." The Descent

He stepped out of the basement and into the midnight air of the city. He was still biological. He was still real. And for the first time in his life, he had all the time in the world. The world turned white

The system began the extraction. A blinding pain seared through his temples as the HTMS protocol initiated. 00:10. "Now!" Sarah cried. "Override the upload!"