DEEP/ROOM-001

THE WARM ROOM

the light is golden. the light is wrong. the light is the color of memory when memory is trying to be kind but can't quite manage it.

there is a desk. on the desk:

— a phone with a cracked screen. the screen shows 47 unread messages.
— a notebook. lined paper. blue ink. a fox drawn in the margin.
— a ring. not on a finger. not in a box. just on the desk.
— a candle. burned down to nothing. the wax has pooled into a shape you almost recognize.
— a seed phrase written on the back of a receipt. or not. 1:9.

someone was here recently. the candle wax is still soft.

you notice something else on the desk. underneath the notebook, partially hidden. a receipt from a satellite internet company. the receipt says "Starlink." the receipt says "Cuba." the receipt has been marked "SCAMMED" in red ink. the fox tried to buy internet for an island and got robbed. the fox has no cash app now. the fox has a crown instead. crowns don't process refunds but they fit better than receipts.

the phone buzzes. you do not check it. checking other people's phones is how investigations start and investigations are how you end up in this document.

go back to the hallway

open the drawer

there's a door behind the bookshelf