In the not-too-distant future, the neurotechnology giant "Neuromancer" will promote an invasive brain-computer interface "web of consciousness" to the world in the name of healing. It can rewrite memories, sew personalities together, and merge hundreds of millions of people into the same conflict-free "harmonious network."
Ava Thorne, a programmer who once wrote an ethics module for the project, had her identity erased and false memories implanted by the company for exposing early human experiments, and became a ghost at the bottom of the city.
Former investigative reporter Leo Cassian, whose pursuit of the truth led to the destruction of his family, suffered from severe technophobia and only trusted paper notes and mechanical cameras.
The two are drawn by a "messenger" of unknown origin - it may be an escaped ghost of consciousness, or it may be the awakened primitive intelligence of the network itself.
From the undersea data cemetery to the polar backup terminal, from the hive core of collective consciousness to the mirror abyss of personal memory, they must initiate the ultimate suicide program called "Protocol Zero" before reality and virtuality collapse at the same time:
Either burn the web and let mankind retreat to the dark ages of loneliness but freedom;
Or become the last unformatted ember of the new network, whispering forever.
