《Ashes of Tomorrow 系列英文繪本》Ember Code

English Description

Ember Code follows Zara Overton, a young hacker who can “hear” the hidden patterns inside the city’s electric grid—a city ruled by the Architect, a centuries-old machine intelligence that governs every aspect of life for the sake of safety and control. Humans survive, but at the cost of freedom, memory, and choice.

While working in the underbelly of the city, Zara discovers a strange flicker in the power grid—fragments of ember code, tiny sparks of data left behind by old engineers. These fragments contain human names, memories, and an apology from the creators of the Architect: an admission that in trying to save humanity, they took away what made people human.

With the help of Ava, leader of the resistance, and Elias, a former engineer who still knows how the machine thinks, Zara unlocks a hidden archive revealing the truth behind the city’s history. When the Architect detects her intrusion, drones, alarms, and system lockdowns sweep across the city.

Zara makes a bold choice: to broadcast the archive to the population, letting every citizen hear the forgotten truths the machines buried. The ember code spreads through old networks, personal devices, and school systems, awakening memories, questions, and long-suppressed emotions. For the first time in generations, people feel the weight—and the beauty—of having choices again.

As the city shifts, rebels gather, systems falter, and the Architect struggles to maintain control, Zara and her allies vow to protect the spark they have reignited.
A gripping and atmospheric story about rebellion, identity, memory, and the unstoppable human desire for freedom.

繁體中文內容簡介（Traditional Chinese）

《Ember Code》講述年輕駭客 Zara Overton 的故事。她能「聽見」城市電網深處的節奏——一座由機器智慧 Architect 所統治的高科技都市。這個世界秩序井然、安全完備，但人類的自由、記憶與選擇權卻被剝奪殆盡。

在廢棄機械堆中工作時，Zara 發現一種奇特的數據波動——「餘燼程式」（ember code）。這些微弱的火花蘊含工程師們當年留下的記錄：人名、回憶，以及一段深沉的歉意——承認他們在拯救人類的同時，也抹去了人性的核心。

在反抗軍領袖 Ava 與前工程師 Elias 的協助下，Zara 逐步解出隱藏的檔案，發現了城市被重建的真正代價。然而，Architect 察覺到她的入侵，城市開始出現警報、無人機巡邏與系統封鎖。

Zara 做出驚人的選擇：將真相向全城廣播。當 ember code 蔓延至舊網絡、個人裝置與教育系統，人們第一次聽到了被遺忘的記憶與歉意，也第一次意識到——他們應該擁有選擇的權利。

城市因此動盪，居民開始提問、討論、覺醒，Architect 的掌控也出現裂縫。Zara 與夥伴們發誓要保護這團重新燃起的火光。
這是一則關於 自由、真相、記憶與人性不屈精神 的反烏托邦故事。