Page 198 - DivineSparkRising II-TheMirrorofSilenceFinal

Divine Spark Rising
wouldn’t float away. A Tangier tea seller lifting his
kettle like a censer. The best and cheapest choir in
the world.
“Will they hear us?” Sera asked.
“They already do,” Jinji said. “The Counter-
Verse isn’t just code. It’s choreography. Tangier’s
carrying your hum. Lisbon’s underground is
awake. Berlin, Tokyo, Toronto — they’re listening
for cues even if they don’t know it.”
Carolina keyed the first stanza into the left pane,
fingers burning with speed. “We’ll need a bridge,”
she said. “Between meter and gate.”
“Use J-0,” Jinji said without looking. “Those five
seconds aren’t sound; they’re permission. Gate
loves permission.”
Henry set the cracked mug down beside the
stone table as if knighting it. “And if Sofia answers
with silence that deletes meter itself?”
Jinji’s smile turned feral. “Then we sing wrong
and do true until the model regrets meeting us.”
4. The Curator Peers In
The rectangle’s surface cooled. A filament of
light threaded the black, thinned, vanished. Jinji’s
face sharpened and then smeared, like a painting
caught in rain.
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