At 05:57, the Operator entered the Control Room. There were no windows. There did not need to be. The world was already inside. Across one wall, ships moved through ports and trade routes. Across another, drilling rigs stood above formations while laterals disappeared into geological cross-sections. Markets expanded and contracted. Factories opened. Permits appeared. Companies hired. Decision-makers moved. Capital changed hands. Signals flashed. Prospect populati

At first glance, the coastline looked like one thing. That was the danger. From the deck of the survey vessel, the Apprentice saw a single sweeping shore stretching beyond sight. Cliffs. Inlets. River mouths. Harbors. Sandbars. Fishing villages. Watchtowers. Trading docks. Marshland. But to the untrained eye it was simply: the coast