For Kanon, the promise of the golden land was never something so abstract as the promise of rest after a hard day’s work, or the promise of eternity held in the gleaming curve of a ring — he wanted a new body, fashioned from some new and bright technology, and he wanted the right to live and be loved. Genji and Shannon could console themselves no matter which way the roulette spun, but Kanon had one chance to beat the house, to be a human.

“Kanon-kun is human,” Jessica insisted in her last breath, and his heart cried not enough of one, but for her sake he’d strike at the moon’s reflection until time stood still.