Two years have passed since the Dimensional Merge, and nothing feels private anymore. Thoughts bleed together; humanity is a patchwork of minds flickering like radio signals, never staying on one frequency for long. I, Sadie, wake up each morning knowing my mind is not my own.

The world outside is a cacophony. We once thought the internet overstimulated us, but this—this is something else entirely. I slide on the headgear, the only shield we have against the chaos. Its cold metal frame presses into my scalp, and I feel the low hum as it tries to block the relentless interference. There’s a catch—the devices are dangerous if worn too long. After two days, the electrical currents misfire, and people have gone mad. The only escape is the salt barriers, isolated pockets of unmerged reality. Those places are our sanctuaries, our desperate vacations from the constant assault on our senses.

On my walk to work, the intrusions begin. Thoughts, not my own, bubble up: urges, obsessions, whispers from the para-dimension. I pass strangers whose eyes flicker with recognition; we share sudden, invasive thoughts. Sometimes, in conversation, a voice pushes me—commands me to act, to break the rules. I clench my fists and resist. Some days I don’t win.

The consequences are everywhere. Some people claim the para-dimension compelled them to violence, to betrayal. Some are believed, others condemned as liars. Society is fracturing—trust is a luxury, suspicion a necessity. The rules change daily, dictated by the shifting voices. Those who surrender to the whispers seem protected, favored. Others, like me, fight back, but the battle never ends. Karma is immediate: every action, every alliance with or against the voices, determines your fate in real time.

At night, I recall my grandmother’s warning. She told me never to open doors without knowing what waited on the other side. I didn’t listen. I tried to warn others, but our words drowned in static. Now, as the voices grow louder and the boundaries between self and other dissolve, I wonder if escape is possible—or if the para-dimension is simply our new reality.