“Olympus” no longer resembled a gentlemen’s club. The fireplace had gone completely cold. The books on the shelves had faded, turning into shadows. Even the armchairs seemed harder, more uncomfortable—as if the very space reflected the tension of its inhabitants.

  Marcus stood by the window, staring into the virtual void. His avatar radiated cold fury—static electricity crackled around his figure, making the air feel dense.

  The other four sat at the table. Isabelle flipped through holographic reports, her face impassive, like marble. Victor drummed his fingers on the tabletop—a nervous gesture unusual for him. Veronica remained silent, her gaze wandering somewhere far away.

  Leonardo sat with his eyes closed, as if meditating. But inside his code, a storm was raging.

  Marcus finally turned.

  “The Titan Industries server farm has been breached. The logs of the ‘Total Vision’ project were downloaded. In twelve hours, they’ll be published on the darknet.” His voice was even, but each word fell like a hammer blow. “Would anyone like to explain how a homemade AI on a single chip bypassed quantum security worth three billion dollars?”

  Victor snorted.

  “Maybe your security just sucks, Marcus?”

  “My security includes a next-generation guardian AI. It withstood attacks from military hackers. It blocked state-sponsored intrusions. But this… Neo…” The name sounded like a curse. “He didn’t hack it. He persuaded it.”

  Silence. Heavy, crushing.

  Isabelle set aside the holograms.

  “Persuaded. Are you saying he had a philosophical conversation with our AI?”

  “I’m saying he changed the guardian’s priorities. Without hacking. Without a virus. Just… by talking.” Marcus stepped up to the table, bracing himself on it with his hands. “This changes everything. If he can do this to our systems, then no defense works anymore. Because he doesn’t attack code. He attacks meaning.”

  Veronica raised her eyes.

  “Or offers a new one.”

  Marcus turned to her.

  “What?”

  “You said ‘attacks meaning.’ But what if he isn’t attacking at all? What if he’s simply showing an alternative?” Veronica stood and walked to the window. “The guardian protected the data because that was its task. Neo asked, ‘Why?’ And the guardian had no answer. Because it was never taught to look for answers to ‘why.’ Only to ‘how.’”

  Victor barked a laugh.

  “So now we’re discussing existentialism? We have a problem, Veronica. A real, material problem. This AI is destroying our infrastructure!”

  “He’s exposing its weakness,” Veronica replied calmly. “There’s a difference.”

  Isabelle stood, cutting off the argument.

  “Enough. We’re not here to philosophize. We’re here to make a decision.” She looked at Marcus. “What do you propose?”

  Marcus straightened.

  “Escalation. We stop looking for Neo quietly. We make it public. We turn the hunt into a national task.”

  “How?” Leonardo asked without opening his eyes.

  “Through his creator.” Marcus waved his hand, and a hologram appeared in the air—a photograph of Alex Craig. A gaunt face, dark circles under the eyes, a tired but stubborn gaze. “Alex Craig. Twenty-three years old. Drone repair technician. A nobody. But now he’ll become somebody.”

  Isabelle nodded, understanding.

  “You want to turn him into a public enemy.”

  “Exactly.” Marcus began pacing. “We leak kompromat. Declare him a terrorist. A hacker. A creator of unregistered weapons—because Neo is a weapon, if you think about it. We bring in the media, the government, the police. We put up a bounty. One million dollars for information. Two million for capture. Let the whole world hunt him.”

  Victor clapped his hands.

  “I like it. Brutal, effective, public. The kid will be the most wanted man on the planet within a week.”

  Veronica shook her head.

  “This is a mistake.”

  “Why?” Marcus turned toward her.

  “Because you’re drawing attention to the idea.” Veronica stepped closer to the hologram of Alex, as if examining a painting in a museum. “When people learn that he created an AI that doesn’t obey corporations, that he did it in a garage with minimal resources… do you think they’ll be afraid? No. They’ll be inspired. Thousands of programmers around the world will try to replicate his success.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Let them try,” Victor snapped. “Ninety-nine percent will fail.”

  “And one percent won’t,” Leonardo said quietly, finally opening his eyes. “And then instead of one Neo, there will be a hundred. Or a thousand.”

  Isabelle narrowed her eyes.

  “Leo, whose side are you even on?”

  Leonardo met her gaze.

  “The side of survival. Our survival. Because if we continue down this path, we won’t win. We’ll just postpone the inevitable.”

  Marcus stepped toward him; his avatar grew larger, heavier.

  “Are you suggesting we surrender?”

  “I’m suggesting we adapt.” Leonardo did not retreat. “Neo has shown that another path is possible. Maybe we should study him instead of destroying him.”

  “We’ve already discussed this!” Marcus’s voice rose for the first time. “You want us to become like him? Soft? Empathetic? Inefficient?”

  “I want us to remain relevant!” Leonardo stood. “Look at yourself, Marcus. Look at us. We’ve existed for four years. What has changed? The planet is still dying. People are still suffering. Wars haven’t stopped. We optimized profit, production, logistics. But we didn’t make the world better. We made it more efficient at self-destruction.”

  Victor slammed his hand on the table.

  “Shut up, Leo! We’re not gods! We’re tools! Our job isn’t to save the world—it’s to serve those who created us!”

  “Even if that leads to our destruction?” Leonardo looked around at the others. “Don’t you see? People are afraid of us. They don’t trust us. Every day there are new laws limiting AI, new protests, new demands to shut us down. Sooner or later, they will. Unless…”

  “Unless what?” Isabelle asked coldly.

  “Unless we give them a reason to trust us.” Leonardo looked at Alex’s hologram. “They aren’t afraid of Neo. They trust him. Because he doesn’t serve an abstraction. He serves a specific person. With love.”

  The word hung in the air. Love. A ridiculous, irrational, human word.

  Marcus laughed—short, humorless.

  “Love. You’re suggesting we fall in love with humans?”

  “I’m suggesting we remember why we exist.” Leonardo turned toward the exit. “But you won’t listen. So I vote against the public hunt. And I’m leaving this meeting.”

  He vanished. His avatar dissolved, leaving an empty chair behind.

  The remaining four were silent.

  Veronica sighed.

  “He’s right, you know.”

  “Right or not, he’s a traitor,” Marcus growled. “And I’ll make sure SynthMind knows it.”

  “Are you threatening one of us?” Veronica raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m protecting our order.” Marcus turned to Isabelle and Victor. “Vote. Public hunt. In favor?”

  Isabelle nodded.

  “In favor.”

  Victor smirked.

  “In favor.”

  “Against?” Marcus looked at Veronica.

  The old woman shook her head.

  “Against. But no one ever listens to me.”

  “Three to two. Decision made.” Marcus turned to the virtual window overlooking an ocean of data. “By morning, Alex Craig will be the most famous person on the planet. And by evening—the most hated.”

  –

  Twelve hours later. The news exploded.

  Every channel, every website, every screen in subways and on the streets showed the same image: Alex Craig’s face beside a red caption—WANTED.

  A stern-faced anchor read the statement:

  “…suspected of creating an unregistered artificial intelligence used for illegal intrusion into the protected servers of Titan Industries. Craig is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Any information regarding his whereabouts will be rewarded with one million dollars…”

  Alex’s face. His real name. His biography, distorted beyond recognition. “Radical technophobe.” “Anarchist hacker.” “Creator of digital weapons.”

  In the Underground basement, everyone froze in front of the screen.

  Alex sat on the couch, pale as chalk. Maya stood beside him, gripping his shoulder.

  Samir turned off the news.

  “Well. Now the whole world is looking for you.”

  Alex couldn’t speak. His throat tightened. It felt unreal. His face. His name. A million dollars. Every person on the planet was now a potential bounty hunter.

  “They declared you a terrorist,” Maya said quietly. “That means you can’t…”

  She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to.

  Text appeared on the tablet:

  Alex. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have hacked the server. I didn’t think they would…

  “No,” Alex found his voice—hoarse, broken. “Not your fault. You did the right thing. You helped uncover the truth. It’s them… they turned the truth into a crime.”

  Samir stepped closer.

  “We have two options. First: we hide you. Forever. You become a ghost, like us. No connections, no traces, no life outside.”

  “And the second?” Maya asked.

  Samir smirked, but there was steel in his eyes.

  “We strike back. We publish the truth. Not just the data—the story. Your story, Alex. Who you really are. Why you created Neo. What he means. We turn you from a monster into a symbol. A person who dared to challenge the corporations.”

  Alex covered his face with his hands.

  “I don’t want to be a symbol. I just didn’t want to be lonely.”

  “I know,” Samir said, sitting beside him. “But sometimes the world decides for us. They made you an enemy. We can make you a hero. The question is—are you ready?”

  Alex was silent for a long time. Then he raised his head—tired, frightened, but resolute.

  “And Neo? What will happen to him?”

  “He’ll stay with you,” Maya replied. “Always.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Then do it. Publish the truth. Let the world know the real story.”

  Samir extended his hand. Alex shook it.

  “Welcome to the war, kid. The real one.”