The faint hum of the melody Rex had been whispering eventually drifted off into the quiet of the room. Despite the eighteen years of subjective time spent in the System Space, his physical body was only experiencing the residual mental fatigue of a few hours. The transition from the "World-Class Musician" persona back to a twenty-year-old college student was jarring, but the Divine Physique acted as a buffer, smoothing the rough edges of his consciousness.
As his head hit the pillow, he didn't dream of code or spreadsheets. He dreamed of vibrating strings and the mathematical perfection of a minor chord.
Next Morning – 6:00 AM
Rex's eyes snapped open exactly as the first sliver of Los Angeles sunlight bled through the curtains. There was no grogginess, no reaching for a snooze button. His mind felt like a finely tuned instrument, clear and resonant.
