The Recursive Lacunarity function wasn't just simulating memory. Because he had trained it on real-world LiDAR and organic scans, the algorithm had reverse-engineered the underlying grammar of human place attachment .

Visual effects studios loved it. Indie game developers mortgaged their futures for a license. But Leo hated what they used it for.

In the dream, the main street had flooded, creating a salt flat. In the render, the main street was a salt flat. In the dream, the high school gymnasium had sunk into a sinkhole, leaving only the roof visible. In the render, the same.

But the strange emails started on a Tuesday.

Not a generic house. His actual childhood home in Oregon. The specific crack in the driveway. The way the spruce tree leaned left because of the prevailing winter wind. The exact micro-terrain of the ditch where he used to catch frogs.

Then he tried it himself.