Word spread like a rumor in a storm. A graduate student transcribed it into formulae and swore she could predict the movements of markets for a week. A hatmaker who never left town stitched it into a lining and woke with knowledge of a stranger’s name and sorrow. A child traced the characters on fogged glass and built a fort that stayed warm all winter. None could agree on one thing: what the code actually was. Some said it was a pattern of keys; others, a rhythm of breath. The only consensus was that it demanded a price.