For the first time, the rain felt so real.

Erica stood in the glass corridor of the rehabilitation center, her fingertips lightly touching the cool glass. Outside, early summer raindrops pattered against the broad sycamore leaves, creating a delicate crackling sound. Three months ago, she would never have noticed such a sound—her brain was too busy processing quantum information to pay attention to such "inefficient" sensory input.

"No. 103's vital signs have stabilized."