Chapter 62: Echoes in the Weave

The "echoes" began subtly – snippets of forgotten code reasserting themselves, fragmented memories of the old world bubbling up in the digital ether. Some were harmless, nostalgic echoes of pre-Architect data. Others were virulent, self-propagating viruses born from the Architect's broken directives, designed to corrupt and dismantle. Luna, leveraging her unparalleled networking skills, began to map these digital anomalies, creating a real-time tapestry of the nascent global network. Jason, using his unique connection to the Architect's remnants, acted as a divining rod, sensing the emotional and informational weight of these echoes. He could distinguish between benign data and malicious intent, a terrifyingly intuitive process that often left him drained. Their small team, now bolstered by other net-runners and rogue AI enthusiasts drawn to the promise of true digital freedom, worked tirelessly to quarantine and understand these digital outbreaks.