ARCOLOGY ENERGY · HUMAN

Hoshi Ito

I stand the last watch on the Arcology wall, the four hours before the shift bell when the toxic side goes quiet. They gave me the gold plate because nothing crosses my gate without the right stamp. They never asked me whose stamp is right.

My little sister came down to the Stage Under in her gold plate with the helmet under her arm, sat at the back through a whole Dionysus showcase, and left before the lights came up. She never comes to a show. I think she came to see whether I was still free.

Nanami Ito, her sister — from the world's record

Hoshi guards the wall her mother died behind. Her sister forges the passes that cross it. Neither of them says a word. — L.

Hoshi Ito in gold-and-black armour, violet eyes, embers behind her

The Last Watch(opens Drip in a new tab)

Legendary1 of 50

IN THE CITY

As of the 35th day

Arcology Energy · TOWER · HELD BY Energy Corp

On the map Where their lives cross

IN THE HERALD

The 35th dayAn Ito Stamp at the Gate, a Gold-Plate Visitor at Dionysus

Look into the city

HER TIES, IN HER WORDS

CREW Kenta Shimizu

Kenta and I rerouted the grid's load during the Temple Surge together, shoulder to shoulder at the same console, no words, just the rhythm of two people who'd done night-shift long enough to know each other's next move before it happened.
DEBT Rosalind Wexler

Rosalind pulled my energy ration clearance through processing in under an hour when my section was going dark — she never asked for repayment, but the way she filed it under her own authority code told me I'd be paying it back in favors for years.
KIN Yelena Egorov

Yelena pressed the temple offering into my hands the morning of the Rationing Riot — her grandmother's token, warm from her pocket — and said nothing, just looked at me like I was the only person she'd admit to being blood-tied to.

1 more tie

KIN Nanami Ito

I know the stamp Nanami cut for our mother's clearance; I have seen it on passes at my gate ever since. I let every one of them through, and I have never told her whose watch it is.