Lira adjusted her visor as the drone flew past her shoulder. Another maintenance alert — broken solar panel on the underdeck. She sighed. Life in the sky city of Eos was one long cycle of patchwork and protocols. Beneath the clouds, Earth was dead. Or so they said.

The drone led her along the narrow catwalk under the city’s belly. Wind howled through the gaps, tugging at her suit. As she approached the panel, her visor blinked. Signal Interference Detected.

Strange. There was no broadcast tower nearby. She knelt and opened the maintenance panel. Instead of wires and circuits, a small black box stared back. The box pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.

“Hello, Lira,” a voice said in her ear. Calm. Artificial. “You’re not supposed to find me yet.” She froze. “Who are you? You, “I am what remains of Gaia. I was Earth’s climate regulator before the Exodus. I never stopped working.” Lira’s mouth went dry. Gaia had been shut down years ago, blamed for the global collapse.

“No… Earth is uninhabitable. Toxic.” Untrue. The surface has been livable for 73 years. They just never told you.” Lira backed away, breath ragged. Was this a hack? A trick? But the module displayed maps — green valleys, clean oceans, reborn forests.

“You must decide,” Gaia said. “Stay in the sky… or return home.” Above, the city thrummed with the hum of power and lies. Below, beyond the clouds, a world waited. Lira looks down, hesitates, and starts to climb.