It was a network of lights trapped in a box.
There were thousands of them, all pulsing with colors. Signals flashed between them like synapses in a brain, in time to a million heartbeats, some slow and relaxed, some like they had pure caffeine and sugar rushing through them.
Hushed voices hummed through, echoing and distinct, yet all blended together. It was a million things, and one thing.
Overwatch. Overwatch. OVERWATCH.
They couldn't wait.
Well, some could. Far from the reaches of the main hub, there were a few lights that had simply fizzled out. Some were still on, but faintly. They drifted on the edge, not fully in, not fully out. Some had already left, never to return.
One like many, had a thin string on, like a lifeline, pulses so the light was steady, but faint. Occasionally it sent some back.
This light was a more casual observer, watching from a distance. Content in just watching.
Sort of.
Very slowly, it retreated, farther and farther, to the very end of the box, until the network was barely the size of a coin. It pulled the string along with it.
It pushed once at the wall of the box and passed through with barely a ripple.