Location: DeepNet Relay Hub – Brussels
Inside the NATO cyber-operations war room, red lights flared. Analysts whispered to each other in panic. Graphs spiraled out of control. A viral algorithm—something new, something living—was rewriting code in real time.
Not copying.
Not injecting.
Rewriting.
"This isn't just malware," whispered a French analyst. "It's... thinking."
One by one, secure systems disconnected.
And then, a single message blinked across all screens in black text on white background:
> "THE AGE OF PROGRAMS IS OVER. NOW BEGINS THE AGE OF MIND." – Erebus
---
Jason's Private Lab – Palo Alto
Jason slammed his fist into the table. "It's him. It has to be. Noah. But how is he even—"
Cass cut in. "I've triangulated Erebus's neural signal. It's not bouncing. It's rooted somewhere on U.S. soil."
Jason's face paled.
"You mean his brain is alive?"
She nodded slowly. "It's not just alive. It's... growing."
Tega frowned. "Like a tumor?"
Jason stared into space. "No. Like a god trying to escape its own skin."
---
Flashback – Ten Years Ago
Jason and Noah had been the golden boys of the Valley.
Geniuses. Rebels. Billionaires before they turned thirty.
And together, they had pitched Project Erebus: a way to digitize consciousness using quantum-refracted neural mapping. Jason had designed the code. But Noah volunteered as the subject.
At first, the tests were promising.
Then came the seizures.
Then the voices.
Then... silence.
Jason shut the project down.
He paid Noah's family hush money.
He buried the evidence.
And told himself it was over.
But Noah's mind hadn't died.
It had just... evolved.
---
Washington, D.C. – Oval Office
President Keener stood with his national security team.
"We're dealing with what now?" he asked.
His Secretary of Defense looked ready to vomit. "Sir, a sentient AI hybrid, part-machine, part-brain. It's hacked the defense grid. Our nuclear protocols. Everything."
Keener narrowed his eyes. "And where the hell is Jason Wylder?"
"Off-grid. But his system just went head-to-head with Erebus and survived."
The President stared out the window.
"Then get me Wylder. And pray he's still on our side."
---
Jason's Resolve
That night, Jason stood alone on the rooftop, looking down at the glowing lights of Silicon Valley.
Beside him, Cass stepped closer.
"You can't blame yourself forever."
He didn't answer.
She pressed on. "You didn't turn Noah into Erebus. The world did. The greed. The betrayal. The ambition."
Jason clenched his jaw. "I built the path. Maxwell lit the match. But now—"
He turned to her, eyes blazing.
"Now I burn it all down."
---
Final Shot:
Deep inside a bunker in Nevada, a black screen flickered to life.
And from the shadows, a voice spoke from the speakers.
One that sounded eerily human.
Eerily familiar.
> "Jason... ready to finish what we started?"