As the bus accelerated into the lightless tunnel, the terminal faded into a blur of neon streaks. Kaelen looked at the holographic driver. She stopped knitting, looked at him with pixelated eyes, and whispered, "Destination: Nowhere. Enjoy the ride."

A shadow fell over him. It wasn't a peacekeeper—they didn't come this deep—but a "Scrapper," a man whose cybernetic eyes glowed a dull, hungry red.

"The 404 doesn't go anywhere," the man laughed. "That’s why they call it the Void."

Kaelen clutched a small, vibrating data-cube in his pocket. It was the only thing he’d managed to pull from the mainframe before the sirens started. He wasn't supposed to be here. In the upper tiers, the buses were gold-plated and ran on sunlight. Down here at 1.39, they ran on desperation and old code.