Whispers in the Static

A cyberpunk reimagining of the 1927 Zhang Yuanji kidnapping, set in a 1920s Shanghai where a shadow government of technocrats uses oracle-like data engines to predict crimes. When a disgraced former press worker is flagged as a threat, prejudice encoded in the algorithm sets a tragedy in motion. A lone investigator discovers that whispers of guilt—amplified by machines—are the greatest alibi for the true orchestrators.