"Encrypted audio, dot, MP3," Jessica mumbled under the background noise. Indelible concentration satisfied her restlessness. Therapeutic problem-solving always barred everything else from her stream of thought, and she didn't have to remember the present in order to function as normalÑher level of normal. Such deep concentration drew her friends' attention.

Valerie had seen Jessica like this before, executing code, scribbling alphanumerics, or breathing life into hardware. ...