Core Crossing wasn't just simulating physics. It was simulating alternate timelines . Every time an object interacted with its environment, the engine generated a quantum-style branch of possibilities, ran them all simultaneously, and let the user pick which branch to follow. The "core" was the root timeline. The "crossing" was the moment of choice.

Thud. It bounced twice, rolled three units east, and stopped.

And on the screen, a wireframe grid.

Not a power glitch. A patterned flicker. Three long, two short. Like a signal.

He hasn't turned it off this time. He's watching. He's waiting. And somewhere, in the space between one core and another, something is crossing.