The file download was complete, but the image that materialized on Ren’s screen was nothing like the clinical dataset she had been expecting for her environmental research project.

Ren quickly cross-referenced the coordinates embedded in the image's metadata. They mapped directly to the center of Xingyun Lake. Suddenly, her office lights flickered. The cooling fan in her laptop spiked to a high-pitched whine.

We have been tracking the atmosphere. The water is only the mirror. Are you finally ready to read the sky?