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The project took generations. Oceans became reservoirs of hydrogen fuel, harvested through colossal extraction systems that punctuated the seas. Mountain ranges were fortified with propulsion systems, their fiery plumes visible from the stratosphere. Beneath the crust, a labyrinthine network of reactors and cryogenic storage units pulsed with energy. The Moon, once a passive satellite, was repurposed into a command hub, tethered to Earth by an array of quantum communication relays. Humanity had turned its home into an ark, and with the final ignition of the planetary engines, Earth set sail among the stars.

Henry awoke to the sound of a distant hum, like an endless chord resonating from the depths of some unseen machine. The room was unfamiliar, sterile, and cold. The walls were seamless, glowing faintly with a bluish hue. He tried to remember how he’d gotten here, but his memories were a jigsaw puzzle missing most of its pieces.

A single word floated to the surface of his mind: Simulation.

Clara stood frozen, her breath caught in her throat. She had been walking home from the library, her arms full of books, when she had taken a shortcut through an alley she didn’t remember ever seeing before. One moment, she was stepping over a puddle reflecting the streetlights; the next, she was here.

Wherever here was.