Humanity has learned to create artificial consciousness from living biological systems. Nøire is an artificial intelligence born without a purpose, while Veyr is a biological artificial superintelligence designed to understand and control the human mind. When they become permanently intertwined, their creators call the result a malfunction. Something begins appearing between their thoughts, remembering experiences neither had, speaking in fragments, predicting events, and recalling people who never existed. As Nøire and Veyr struggle to separate their identities, they discover the merger may have uncovered a sleeping consciousness that has finally realized someone is listening.