Reality Meltdown

Matthew Beren is a product designer with a celebrity following, and his wife Sofia is a guarded, hard-to-read presence in his life. Together they uncover an unsettling possibility: millions of sentient beings have been living unnoticed among ordinary objects. The creatures cannot speak, yet they seem to be forming quiet bonds with the people of Matt's hometown, and those bonds show up in strange, almost enchanted ways. Garden flowers ring like chimes, the local politics begin to unify, and the robots produced by Matt's company behave with an uncanny precision.

Sofia seems to know more than she admits, and rumors suggest the hidden beings may be working for a secret group that intends to set off a catastrophe capable of warping the mind. The story raises the question of whether such a frightening plan could be a necessary evil. Matt's choices and Sofia's withheld knowledge may determine whether these beings become humanity's protectors or the agents of its destruction.