UNDEFINED COORDINATES/DEEPDATA OCEAN/GREY VERSE

Zephyr stopped the Riva. Far behind them, the dot that was the island was obscured by smoke and rumbling. Water lapped against the wooden hull of the launch, to the beat of an invisible tide.

"Before we go any further, I want to know more," said the Artist.

"Seeing the final clue, the seed image of my Carbon Model, unlocked quantum-crypted memories embedded in the portrait you created. Everything compiled in it dropped back into my memory."

"You know who is doing all of this? Who sent you to me?"

The Ledger tapped the woodlined panel, after the display switched from "prêt" to "s'inscrire"... ready....enter.

"I know who has orchestrated what's been happening, why I woke up one day, not knowing who I am, why I was in that place, in that apartment in a 'Paris' that was not Paris.

I know who sent me that card.

I know who sent me to your studio. I know who sent you the packet you used to start my portrait. I know who then made sure we made it your friend, the Curator.

I know who then took over my portrait completing it, filling in the missing pieces, uncovering the painted over parts of my mind.

It was me. I did it."

The Ledger turned on the ignition and restarted the Riva.

"Where are we headed?" asked the Artist.

"Where this card takes us."

The Ledger took out the card the Curator handed back to him, and pressed it against the dashboard of the Riva launch, the propeller icon fitted into the hub of the steering wheel became a slot for his card.

A wood-framed display rose from the dash, glowing cursive script written with an impossible quill flashed on it, "prêt...prêt..."

"How did you know to..? Alberto, you haven't said more than a few words ever since you showed up in my studio... What is this?"

"We're going back to where I woke up. We're going 'home'. Well, a safe version of it. They won't know about it or where it is."

"Home?? What about whoever is responsible for your memory? For what just happened to my friend, Nguyen, and his gallery? You saw the look on his face. He's clever and he's fast but I've known him long enough to know I may never see him again."

"I'm sorry, Zephyr. I really am. That wasn't part of my plan."

"Your plan? What are you talking about?"

"Nobody was supposed to be able to find me, follow me. I was supposed to be able to recover the files I hid temporarily, the only copies are now inside me."

Alberto took over the wheel and followed the display's heading.