A Mask That Shows a Different Face Every Time It’s Worn

by Jason Roberts

Story 1 wasn't just a title; it was a label, a brand, a warning whispered on the wind. Nobody knew what Story 1 *was*, only that it held the key to everything – and the potential to unravel everything. For generations, the custodians of the title, a secretive order called the Scribes, had guarded it, their lives dedicated to its preservation, their deaths its ultimate safeguard. They believed Story 1 was not a single narrative, but a fractal, a story containing infinite stories within it, a living tapestry woven from the very fabric of reality.

Elara, the latest Scribe, was different. Unlike her predecessors, steeped in ancient rituals and arcane texts, Elara was a coder, a digital weaver. She saw Story 1 not as a scroll to be protected, but as a code to be deciphered, a program to be run. Her initiation, instead of rote memorization of cryptic prophecies, involved navigating labyrinthine virtual realities, deciphering encrypted algorithms, and battling sentient firewalls that guarded the digital heart of Story 1.

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2025

About the author

Jason Roberts is a writer of nonfiction and fiction. His most recent book is Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life. His previous book, A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History’s Greatest Traveler, was a national bestseller and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A contributor to McSweeney’s, The Believer, and other publications, he lives in Northern California.