A few hours ago, at Funtafun Bar.
Salvar walked out of the staff room and slid back into the booth he had abandoned earlier, picking up the chips he had left behind as though the last several minutes hadn't happened.
He fished his phone from his pocket and opened it with the particular ease of someone who had mastered the art of looking unbothered.
He opened his news feed.
For the first time in a while, his own face was not the only thing he saw.
He had been watching the coverage about himself so consistently that his recommendation algorithm had essentially given up trying to show him anything else. But today something had shifted — a new face had pushed its way to the front.
A live event notification sat on the Google front page, formatted as an ad from BBD News.
An upcoming live interview with Silas Malgrave and the scandal of Effivery.
Salvar tapped the link.
At the top of the page was Silas's photograph.
