The programmer cannot remember almost anything. But he remembers Sarah and the feeling of her hands wrapped around his. Studying abroad at University of Melbourne, he is building a video game called Synthesis. Taking the tram to the beach when a woman, Sarah, another American at the university studying English, faints. He tries to grab onto her as she falls, but she hits her head. She is only out for a few seconds, he thinks. He can’t remember exactly. This is the day the stars disappeared.

When he is programming his game, Sarah asks what is beyond the mountains. There’s nothing there, he responds. Nothing exists unless the computer renders it. It’s just a simulation, so it can’t affect the real world, he thinks. Lying on the roof of their dorm, they look at the gray, starless sky.

In Synthesis, the creator can construct anything he wants in “God Mode.” Sarah says it’s an act of creation. It’s just a simulation, the programmer says.

As the world gets anxious about the sky, there are loud arguments and fights in the dormitories. The programmer moves in with Sarah for safety, while his roommate leaves to go see if there is news from the boats that dock on the shore. He never sees his roommate again.

Sarah and the programmer are the last ones living in the dorms. They decide not to leave. There is nowhere to go. The programmer realizes that Sarah is the dreamer. The stars disappeared on the day she hit her head.

Morning ceases to exist. It is perpetually gray. A postbox is submerged in the pavement. Between blinks, the programmer can see the mail inside.

As reality continues to disappear the he hears, “Final stage” whispered in his ear. He asks Sarah if they will find each other again after this all. Sarah responds they’ll find each other in their dreams. The programmer cannot see or feel his body anymore, except for pinpoints on his hand—Sarah’s fingers wrapped in his. On a screen, he sees Sarah. In all the forgetting, Sarah is the only constant.