The rooftop bar in Midtown was a glittering cage of crystal and ego. It was the closing celebration of the Global AI Summit, an event where Arya should have been triumphant. She had just signed a partnership that solidified Rathore AI. But triumph felt remarkably like ash in her mouth.

Earlier that evening, during the keynote, they had played a "tribute" video for the Phobos-1 crew. A three-minute reel of high-definition footage of Laksh in the station—his face pale, sweat beading on his forehead as he manually overrode a failing thruster, looking more alone than any human being should ever be.