In 2199, after humanity invents memory extraction technology, a virus called Wangchuan suddenly breaks out. It does not destroy the body. Instead, it devours the memory synapses in the human cerebral cortex, causing people to gradually forget their names, love, and fear while fully conscious, until they become walking “empty vessels.” The only cure is hidden in uninfected “memory fragments,” but extracting memories accelerates the spread of the virus, creating a paradoxical crisis.
