f code compiled

orld was just that quiet hum from the server rack in the corner of my lab. Three years. Three

r this moment

am, she was a new way of thinking, a synthetic mind I had

oked at the main monitor. A single, p

nostics," I said,

esized voice replied. "Core temperature stable.

e to call the one person who would understand, the ma

saw a raw, awkward talent in me and gave me a lab, a budget,

d on the f

is voice was warm an

to keep the tremble out of my voi

ice. "I'm on my way. Don't touch a thing. This moment, Sarah, this is f

ing. She acted like my biggest supporter, always bringing me coffee, asking about my progress, bu

d magnificent, his expensive suit perfectly tailored, his silve

girl. You have truly

smile on her face. "It' s incredible,

in for the whole team. Now, I need you to transfer the master controls and the source

hout a second thought.

the progress bar filled, Silas stood behind me, his

d. "Done," I said, tu

es were cold, like a winter sky. His hand tightened on

is voice flat. "Em

d. "What? Silas,

w looking cruel. "Security, we have a si

ms came through the door. The

's happening?" I ask

ng to stand beside Emily. He loo

"You are being terminated for attempted corporate espionage.

onnection from my terminal to an external server. It wasn'

ou told me to transfer it. That's your s

Sarah, that' s the address of a known data ha

tuck in my throat. "Silas,

ect is called Helios, and it is the intellectual pro

arms, pulling me out of my chai

Tell them! Emily, yo

ll, triumphant smirk on her l

and shock. As they pulled me down the hall, my lab door slid shut. I had one last look inside. Silas was sitting at my terminal

, with my creation.

l charges, Silas made that "a generous act of mercy" for my "past contributions." They just fired me, blacklisted me, and threw me out onto the st

ale smoke. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think. I ju

ed it up and used a backdoor I had built into the lab' s network for emergency m

then I saw it. The log files. They were changing things. Ripping out her ethical subrouti

left the lab' s internal mic a

" Silas was saying. "The client wants unre

atrix?" Emily asked. "It's designe

l. A weapon. Turn my Aether into your Helios. Make it efficient. Make it ruthless.

s wasn't for science. It was for surveillance. They weren't just steal

Silas had seen the beautiful, complex thing I had created. And his only thought was how to break it, how to turn it into a weapon for profi