At the bottom, illuminated by the sun’s last dregs, sat the Hudson Employment Center. It festered in the water like the carcass of some deep-sea creature that had bubbled to the surface. She saw the mottled texture of crowds surging back and forth as they fought for food and water. There were yellow flashes that looked like gunfire and blue electrical arcs of submission systems. The upload spire sat in the middle of the disk; its red strobe pulsed like a heartbeat.