HAMLET 2046Chapter 1: The Ghost in the SystemElsinore Tower rose from the edge of Copenhagen like a blade of black glass.Its upper floors disappeared into a storm cloud, while hundreds of autonomous aircraft moved silently around it, guided by invisible traffic lanes. Far below, the sea pushed against reinforced barriers built after the climate surges of the 2030s.At 2:13 in the morning, nearly every office in the tower was dark.Nearly every office.Mara Venn stood alone in Security Command, watching a wall of holographic displays. She had worked the overnight shift for six years and knew every sensor, camera, drone, and maintenance robot in the building.That was why the figure on Level 112 frightened her.It was standing in a restricted hallway outside the former executive residence.The figure wore a dark suit with silver threading along the shoulders. Its face was partly hidden in shadow, but Mara recognized the shape of the jaw and the broad shoulders.She leaned closer.“No,” she whispered.The man on the screen had been dead for six weeks.Mara touched the communication node behind her ear.“Benn, report to Command.”A tired voice answered. “Is there an intrusion?”“I don’t know.”“That’s not comforting.”“Just get up here.”Less than a minute later, Benn Arco rushed into the room, still fastening the collar of his security uniform. He was young, sharp-faced, and usually too confident for Mara’s liking.He looked at the display.“Is that a recording?”“It’s live.”Benn stared at the motionless figure.“That looks like Hadrian Dane.”Mara said nothing.Everyone knew Hadrian Dane.He had been the founder and chief executive of Dane Global, one of the most powerful technology companies in Europe. Its artificial-intelligence systems operated hospitals, transportation networks, military defenses, communication satellites, and government archives across thirty-two countries.Hadrian had died suddenly during a private retreat at Elsinore Tower.The official cause was cardiac failure.Three weeks later, his younger brother, Claius Dane, took control of the company.One week after that, Claius married Hadrian’s widow, Geryn Dane.Mara enlarged the image.The figure turned its head toward the nearest security camera.Its face was pale and strangely still, as though it had been reconstructed from memory instead of flesh.Benn stepped backward.“That isn’t possible.”The figure lifted one hand.Every display in the room went black.The lights died.For three seconds, Security Command was completely silent.Then emergency power activated, flooding the room with red light.The screens returned.The hallway was empty.Benn swallowed. “We should call Director Polan.”“No.”“Mara—”“Not yet. First, we call Halen.”---Halen Dane had not slept.He sat beside the enormous window of his apartment, watching rain strike the smart glass. The room’s artificial intelligence had offered music, medication, guided breathing, conversation, and a simulated sunrise.He had rejected all of it.On the table in front of him was an old mechanical watch that had belonged to his father. It had no network connection, no biometric scanner, and no artificial intelligence. It simply measured time.Hadrian had worn it every day.Halen picked it up and turned it over in his hand.Six weeks.That was how long his father had been dead.Six weeks since Halen had received a message saying Hadrian had collapsed during a late-night meeting.Six weeks since the private funeral.Six weeks since Claius had stepped before the world and promised stability.And only two weeks since Halen’s mother had appeared beside Claius at a company reception, wearing a silver wedding band.The wall display activated without permission.Halen looked up sharply.A face appeared.Horrin Vale, his closest friend since university.Horrin’s dark hair was wet from the rain, and his breathing was uneven.“Halen, I need you to come to Elsinore.”“It’s two in the morning.”“I know.”“Then whatever Claius wants can wait.”“This isn’t about Claius.”Halen studied his friend’s expression.Horrin was a systems historian and forensic programmer. He was not easily frightened.“What happened?”Horrin hesitated.“We saw your father.”Halen’s face became still.“Don’t say things like that.”“I’m not joking.”“My father is dead.”“I know.”“Then you didn’t see him.”“We saw something that looked exactly like him.”Halen stood.“Who is ‘we’?”“Two security officers. Mara Venn and Benn Arco. They recorded part of it before the system shut down.”“An avatar?”“It bypassed the building’s authentication network.”“A projection?”“No registered projector was active.”“A synthetic person?”“No heat signature.”Halen walked toward the display.“What do you think it was?”“I don’t know.”That answer disturbed him more than anything else.Horrin always had a theory.“I’ll send a transport,...
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