Marcus reached for his gun. It dissolved into brine. The video file was now playing on every screen in the precinct, and on every screen in the world, the impossible structure’s door was beginning to open.
“Talk to me, Chen,” Marcus said, pushing his glasses up his nose. AssParade.23.05.15.Richh.Des.XXX.720p.HEVC.x265...
Special Agent Chen of the Cyber Crimes Division tapped a keyboard. The text expanded. Marcus reached for his gun
He looked at Chen. Chen was no longer there. In his place was a perfect, bioluminescent replica of the agent, made of seawater and organized light. It smiled with a thousand tiny squid mouths and whispered, “Welcome to the AssParade, Detective. The real XXX stands for ‘Xibalba, Xanadu, Xenu.’ And you’re the guest of honor.” “Talk to me, Chen,” Marcus said, pushing his
Marcus’s phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: “Did you like the trailer? The full feature is 8K. But you’ll need to dive yourself to get it. Bring a shovel. The parade is waiting.”
Marcus blinked. “A robot submarine?”
The room went cold.