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Iback, but Zero’s words run through e from Hideo

"I’ll call you back, Ash," I say, then end the call and type back to Hideo in a fog If I can just see him in person, he’ll be able to explain ahat Zero had said I’ll tell hi to

Barely a half hour later, my door opens, and I look up to see Hideo walk into uards He shakes his head once at the so quickly that it is as if they were progra us alone I haven’t seen Hideo in several days, not in person, and my heart leaps immediately in response to his presence I hop toon

Hideo stops a foot away froe, soleaze makes me pause Zero’s words come back to aed the Artifacts with a virus He said so to me before he disappeared, that he was here to stop your plans" I frown "I don’t understand what he o on, now afraid to stop talking, "I thought his plans were to trigger a destruction of the NeuroLink, maybe hurt everyone connected to it, but I didn’t knohy he wanted that" I stare at Hideo, suddenly dreading his answer "Do you know?"

Hideo bows his head His brows are furrowed, and everything about his posture screaht, can he? What do I not know?

"What is he talking about?" I say, ain It is a haunted expression, the boy of curiosity and playfulness hidden now beneath a veil It’s the same seriousness I always see on his face, but this is the first ti from it, like it’s more than just the expression of a quiet creator After a while, he sighs and runs his hand through his hair A familiar screen appears between us

Link with Hideo?

"Let me show you," he says

I hesitate Then I tap to accept the invite

A trickle of Hideo’s ehed down by so But he’s opti for a way to improve our lives with machines," Hideo says "With data For a while now, I’ve been working on developing the perfect artificial intelligence, an algorithh the NeuroLink, can fix our flaws better than any human police force"

I frown at hi about?"

Hideo brings up a new screen between us with a subtle wave of his hand It looks like an oval of colors, greens and blues, yellows and purples, all constantly shifting "You’re looking inside the ain The oval is replaced with another one, with its own shifting colors "And another user" He swipes yet again "And another"

I stare, incredulous "These are all the hts? Their brains?"

"I can do more than just see The NeuroLink has always interfaced with the human brain," Hideo continues "That is what makes its virtual reality so efficient and so realistic That’s what lasses special You knew this Until now, I used that interface as a one-way information system--the code simply created and displayed what your brain wished You move your arm; the code moves your virtual arives me a pointed look "But inforle to co Hideo’s invention uses the world’s best 3-D effects generator--your own brain--to create for you the most incredible illusion of reality ever

The world’s best brain–co to believe his words "What are you trying to say?"

Hideo looks at ame," he says, "activated the NeuroLink’s ability to control its users’ minds"