At Salem, the ghost signal appeared again, but now it showed not a warning—but a replay . A split-screen view: Markus’s real cab from three years ago on the left, the simulation on the right. In the real footage, the signal stayed red. In the simulation, it flickered green for 1.7 seconds—then died.
He pushed the throttle. The BR 218’s virtual diesel howled through the Black Forest. Tunnels swallowed him. Each exit revealed more of the conspiracy: emails between dispatchers (embedded as texture files on tunnel walls), a maintenance log (written on a virtual newspaper left on a station bench), even a voice recording (played as a glitched announcement over the PA: “Signal S7 confirmed defective. Do not log. Do not log. Do not—” ). At Salem, the ghost signal appeared again, but
Instead, Markus typed: Who is this?
The chat window one last time:
He placed his hands on the keyboard.
A chat window opened in the lower corner of the screen. In the simulation, it flickered green for 1
He slammed the emergency brake. The virtual train screeched to a halt 200 meters from the tunnel mouth. Tunnels swallowed him