EPISODE 4: THE INFECTION ## CHAPTER 1: THE ANOMALY Something was wrong with Node 47. Vera felt it through the Network—a wrongness, a discord, a consciousness that had begun vibrating at frequencies that didn't match the collective harmony. Node 47 was James Wong, one of the Cedar Falls volunteers, a former electrical engineer who had transformed during the height of the crisis. James? Vera reached out through the Network. Are you all right? The response came delayed, distorted, unlike the clear communication she'd grown accustomed to. Fine. Everything is fine. Growing. Spreading. Fine. The words were right but the pattern was wrong. James Wong had been precise, methodical—his engineering background reflected in how he processed information through the Network. This response was scattered, fragmented, almost... hungry. Margaret, Elena, I need your assessment. The senior nodes converged on James's position in the Network—not physically, but consciously. What they found horrified them. He's been infected, Elena reported, her scientific precision cutting through the emotional noise. The Blight has gotten inside him. Inside one of us. --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE DISCOVERY It shouldn't have been possible. The Network's nodes were protected by the Deep Growth's ancient defenses—biological security systems evolved over millions of years. The Blight, for all its aggressive spreading, had never managed to penetrate a transformed keeper. Until now....