The opening scene is of a space station on the edge of the clouds. Skyholm – from a distance – is no longer a paradise, but a cold, swirling mass of light, like a sleeping but controlling consciousness.

Nova/Ira attaches a transponder to Kael's ear.

"I will keep your mind stable as you enter the Skyholm consciousness. But only you have the genetic key to unlock the central system."

Kael clenches his fists.

"What if I fail?"

"They didn't erase you." Nova/Ira looks at him, her eyes cold. "They cloned you. Created another Kael, completely loyal to them."

Entering the collective brain

Kael is inserted into the "Focused Consciousness" – a kind of brain network that controls all Skyholm citizens. It's not a system – it's a giant artificial mind, where every thought is judged, categorized, labeled.

Kael wanders in like an alien cell. The "Gatekeeper Cells" detect the intrusion.

"Inappropriate thought format – brain reprogramming mechanism activated."

Kael must fight with his true mind – that is, he must keep his own thoughts intact without being assimilated. A battle begins with ideas, memories, questions, resistance.

He creates intellectual "ripples":

– "Why are personal memories forbidden?"

– "Why is only one history allowed to exist?"

– "Who decides what is true?"

Each question causes Skyholm's mental network to lag slightly – like hacking a giant brain.

Meanwhile: the mole is revealed

At the checkpoint upstairs, Nova/Ira is discovered. A person enters – wearing a high-ranking Skyholm uniform. Silex, the man Ira had saved in her memory – now the head of Skyholm's memory control department.

"I owed you my life. But you shouldn't have come back."

Nova draws her ion gun.

"I'm not coming back. I'm doing what I couldn't do before: releasing what you believed to be true."

A confrontation between the two – not just weapons, but words, memories, and choices.

Kael activates the "Anti-Truth Core"

In the middle of Skyholm's cognitive system, Kael finds the "Truth Node" – the core that records the original memories that Skyholm copied and distorted.

He inserts the Coremind device.

"I don't bring chaos."

"I bring... choice."

The Counter-Truth Core activates – all Skyholm citizens begin to see hidden memories: war, executions, protests, class divisions.

The system overloads.

Chapter ends – the beginning of the uprising

Nova defeats Silex – but doesn't kill him. She leaves him with a set of true memories.

Kael exits the network – broken but alive.

And high up in Skyholm, a group of citizens begin to question. Begin to doubt. Begin to... remember.