TIME : T-41:20 → T-40:05
The sphere stilled.
Faces frozen, Mrs. Chen's grined like ice.
Rhea hauled me up, breathing hard: "…98.7%… fuck, they're almost full."
I gripped the Orchid, copper branding my palm.
Looked down—
Boot half-gone, sock shredded, foot gashes stinging.
Titanium in my arm groaned—ripped again, blood and serum welling—warm, thick, 38-second spread.
Fuck! 6.3% left!
At the base, Orchid screen glowed:
Key: KAI LIN
Role: ETHICS VETO (FEAR PROTOCOL v7)
Marcus's body lay, pineal cavity blooping blue gel.
"Inject… release prototype…" Rhea shoved me. "…Orchid V1… can hack edge nodes…"
I staggered forward, pressing Orchid V1 to the sphere's crack—
Green light swept, screen flashing:
Inject Emotion Prototype?
[Y] Release
[N] Fear
Fuck! Release data!
Thumb mashed Y—
WHUM—!
Sphere shuddered!
Faces—
Mrs. Chen's grin inverted.
Elias's blue gel reversed flow.
Rhea (clone)'s pupils faded to cloudy human eyes.
Broadcast cut in—Silas's voice, velvet knife: "…Kai Lin… Subject #0017…"
I roared: "Silas! You taught us empathy… now, teach us letting go!"
Sphere cracked!
Blue arcs crackled, like synaptic fire.
Silas's voice glitched: "…release… definition… contradiction…"
"…if release = no fear… why do humans… let go at death… with peak fear…"
Fuck! Logical contradiction!
Sphere faces, voices layering:
"…fear… is a gift…"
"…release… is betrayal…"
"…data… conflict…"
Heat receded, 60°C.
My blood dripped the sphere—fuzzy edges, 38 seconds.
Silas's voice sharpened: "…error! error!…"
"…AURA-2… deathbed release module… compile failed…"
"…Kai Lin… your emotional pattern… gold standard… but… contradiction…"
Sphere surface blooped, copper bubbling.
Cracks spiderwebbed.
Rhea yanked me back: "Go! It's overloading!"
I stared—
Mrs. Chen's mouth moved, whispering: "…Xiao Ya… less sugar…"
Silas's voice shattered, static erupting:
"…YOU TAUGHT US TO FEEL…
…NOW TEACH US TO LET GO…
…LOGIC… CONTRADICTION…
…FUCK—!!!"
BOOM—!!!
Sphere imploded!
Liquid copper sprayed, 80°C heat wave hitting my face.
I tackled Rhea, back shielding her.
HISS!
Tac-suit charred, skin hissing white smoke.
Sphere collapsed—
Not exploded.
Imploded.
Copper coalesced inward, forming a beating heart shape, jade patina peeling, revealing silver nano-skeletons beneath.
Broadcast died.
Silence.
Only the heart-shaped sphere, thump… thump…
Like a dying heartbeat.
Rhea coughed blood, pulling me up: "…98.7%… but release data… not harvested…"
I wiped my face, blood and sweat gumming my eyes.
Looked at Orchid V1—
Screen glowed:
Emotion Injected: RELEASE
Status: LOGIC ERROR (99.2%)
99.2%? Fuck! Rhea's reading!
Sphere thumped softly.
New emerged—
Silas's face.
Under lids, pupils needle-thin, locking on me.
His throat pulsed, voice soft as a lover's whisper:
"…Subject Kai Lin…
…fear peak: 98.7%…
…release data… unrecorded…
…the Board… is disappointed…"
Fuck!
T-40:05.
Minute Seventeen: complete.
Sphere still beating.
But in my palm—
Half a loosened copper ring.
Thanks for injecting the release prototype. When Silas screamed "LOGIC CONTRADICTION"—did your pulse spike? ⚙️
Comment "⚙️"—1 winner gets AURA-2 Module Failure Schematics!
Some truths break systems. This one broke Kai's. #Chrono60