“Her thesis is that it’s dependent on technology?” Tay snorts. “Even if she’s talking about instruments rather than computers, that’s hardly a new take–”

“It’s more sophisticated,” Sharon admits. “She’s saying that increasingly, each drives innovation in the other, and–hey, speaking of.”

They’re passing a coffee shop. Tay and Sharon pull out their pods and wave them at the window; customers inside wave back without looking up. Noises like a modem awkwardly mounting a shortwave radio, and they scroll down through their harvest from the filecloud.

“So music and technology are indistinguishable,” murmurs Tay.

“Well, sufficiently advanced music,” says Sharon.