“How much have we racked up?” Aris asked.
But to send data across 4.2 light-years without a four-year delay, they’d used the quantum entanglement relay—a miracle of physics that cost more per second than most nations printed in a year. The relay was leased from the Conglomerate, a post-human cartel that didn't negotiate. They simply billed.
Lia swallowed. “Six hundred and eighty billion. And climbing.” 2.1 gdps
Dr. Aris Thorne stared at the final number on his console: .
Two point one giga-dollars per second . The meter had been running for the last eleven minutes. “How much have we racked up
That was the real-time cost of knowing .
And the price of the truth—the real truth—had just been set at 2.1 giga-dollars per second. They simply billed
They paid it.