“Welcome to the second canvas,” she said. “There’s no uninstall this time.”

“You can build again,” Mira said, stepping aside. “But this time, we’ll remember what you build. And we’ll remember what you tear down.”

“Hey,” Elena said into her mic, though the game didn’t have voice commands. Old habit.

Elena’s hands froze over the keyboard. The game had no dialogue trees for this. Paradise had added sandbox tools, not sentience.