The zip file sat on his desktop, a cold, digital weight. Andy was a tech reporter known for exposing "ghost-ware"—programs that claimed to optimize human cognition but usually just fried hardware. He clicked "Extract."

He didn't remember writing it. He didn't even remember the last forty-eight hours.

Andy Graham stared at the blinking cursor, his fingers hovering over the keys. The message on the underground forum was simple:

Upload 'Limitless.zip' to the Cloud to sync your consciousness? [YES] / [NO]

As Andy read, the room began to hum. It wasn't the fan of his PC; it was a frequency vibrating in his teeth. He looked at his hand. For a split second, his fingers trailed behind his wrist like a motion-blur effect in a video game.