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“Every lock can be picked,” you say. Staring up at the echo of 7’s avatar through space and æther, everything else dissolves away. Your mind follows the radiant pathways tracing a river of light through valleys of resonance, connecting you to your adversary. Between you and her--the elevator, a simple device, controllable by simple numeric inputs. Between it and you--a labyrinth unfolds in the æther, gears of glass turning in the flow, each having a different number of teeth--all prime or semiprime--each radiating a different color according to its number. You try to send the command to bring down the elevator--caught in the turbulent flow between the numeric gears, your data packet goes nowhere, flung off into the distant ætherglow, merging with the noise. Each attempt follows a different path. “Every lock...” you say.

You sense a sudden change, and your focus snaps back to the top of the chain, to 7. From her outstretched hand, five droplets of liquid glass precipitate from her translucent fingers. Falling through the synæsthetic labyrinth in reverse, they diverge in five different paths, picking up speed with each turn of the gears, rushing down through the narrow tunnel straight at you. Focused on the mechanism, your defenses are down.

The projectiles impact an invisible barrier around you, radiating no light or sound but feeling soft to the touch of your mind’s eye. Next to you, Akiko’s aura glows bright in the near-æther.

“Guard your mind, Aydan,” she signs.

“Thanks...” you sign, trying to refocus yourself. “This is gonna take every bit of focus I have. She’s a way better technopath than me...”

“I won’t believe it,” Zeta signs. “You got this Aydan!”

“Akiko, you have a year of math on me, maybe you can unravel this,” you sign.

“Sorry Aydan, but the math isn’t the issue here. You know 7 better than we do, the way she thinks, her interests and stims, you have the best chance here.” Akiko hardens the shield enveloping you all. It feels like solid stone. “I’ll protect you, so you hurry and solve this puzzle.”

Staring up the river of twisting, turning pathways, you start to piece together the structure. The numbers are relevant, of course. The gears are an illusion to distract you from the numbers they represent. Look past it--past it all. The numbers lead into each other--through gates and flows, through patterns and codes. Don’t overthink it--deconstruct it--discover the function behind it. You can see it--the path depends on the input, a chaotic system, the gears are merely attractors. The right header number in the packet will guide it safely to the target.