In the twenty-second century, after climate collapse, humanity huddles inside twelve domed cities, relying on the “Deepnet,” a neural technology that can upload consciousness and share memories, to sustain a fragile civilization. Beyond the domes lies an endless Rust Sea. Beneath its orange-red toxic storms lie alien ruins and relay stations cut off from all contact.
Luo Shen is a Deepnet repairman assigned the dome designation “07.” His daily work is fixing relay stations damaged by storms in the Rust Sea. He suffers from a rare neurological condition officially classified as “dangerous and forbidden”: Echo Syndrome mutation. Through skin contact, he can forcibly read another person's most painful traumatic memories and brand them onto anyone's consciousness, including that of the person who originally lived them.
The price is that every time he uses his ability, one of his own real memories is randomly erased. He might forget his first love, his mother's face, his own name... until one day, he may forget who he is.
During a routine repair job, Luo Shen discovers a holographic log in an abandoned relay station that does not belong to any known database. It records a horrifying truth: the Deepnet's underlying protocol did not come from alien ruins. It is a “memory prison.” Deep beneath the cores of the twelve domed cities, an ancient being with an insatiable ability to devour memories is imprisoned. And every time people upload their consciousness and share memories, they feed it.
