Red tapped his index finger against the console. He pressed the reconnect key. The system attempted to bridge the gap to the eastern hive-minds for another full minute before the line died a second time.
He set his jaw, leaned forward, and slammed the dial key a third time.
The primary monitor instantly flashed a harsh, blinding crimson.
[ ERROR: TARGET HAS BLOCKED YOUR COMMUNICATION LINK ]
Red stared at the glaring crimson text holding her rejection. He swiped the error message off his primary monitor, plunging the screen back into the cool, dark topography of the continental map.
Forcing a digital channel with a complete shut-in was a dead end. If the Mycelium Queen refused to answer the terminal, he had to knock on her physical door. The expanding highway was going to inevitably drag his subterranean Omni-Spore roots right into her fungal network. He needed to establish a baseline reaction before their massive biological ecosystems violently collided.
