DendriteDendriteThe console flashes crimson as you key in the override. The train’s AI hesitates—then accepts your command with an unsettlingly cheerful chime. “Course locked. Please enjoy the scenery,” it says, as stars twist into strange geometric patterns outside. The hum deepens to a bone-rattling vibration. The nebula ahead pulses like a living heart, each beat sending ripples through space-time. Behind you, the raccoon conductor vanishes into the shadows. You realize the AI’s navigation is no longer referencing the galactic maps. It’s following something else—something that’s watching you.