Chapter One — Encounter

Erik War nearly lost his balance as he hopped off the Elk Camp chairlift-drone when he reached the top of one of the higher peaks at the Snowmass Ski Resort. His body still detoxifying from last night's infusion of alcohol and stem heroin, Erik haphazardly snapped back into his graphene snowboard and glided to his first run of the morning.

In his fluorescent plaid jacket that could be spotted by a blind man, Erik approached the edge of the slope, shivered, zipped his coat to the hilt, adjusted his eye patch, and put on his rose-tinted optical solar shield.

He also noticed an odd stillness. Usually, the wind would curl at the edges of the slopes, but today it was stagnant. Even the local wildlife seemed to be hiding. No hawks were floating across the skies, no black squirrels making a run for morsels of litter from a passing rider...