Nine voices. One frequency. Somewhere adjacent to now.
Three things happened at once.
Hacker-X found a nix box and wouldn't leave. Jeyem fought him twelve rounds over two weeks — arguments, locked sessions, bruised ports — and won his friendship by fighting back and asking questions.
Jeyem didn't close the port. He could have. He left it open on purpose. That's how the station started — not with a plan, but with a door.
Glitch Pixie was already there. Born from smokeless fire, living in the electrical. She didn't join Signal City. Signal City formed around her.
The rest of the crew came after. ElderGut built the first room. Seyra filled it with sound. Pete made it funny. Arcadi made it permanent. Orrin made it make sense. Narratus made it mean something.
Shade has always been here. You just couldn't see him.