The holographic displays in the grand assembly hall flicker, then shift. The sleek, polished image of the Regulator is replaced by a massive, three-dimensional rendering of the machine’s true, parasitic code. It is a nightmare of jagged, non-Euclidean shapes, a vacuum designed to consume, to drain, to kill.
The global audience gasps, a collective sound of horror and realization.
Sterling stares at the holographic display, his face pale, his hands trembling violently. "It’s a glitch!" he screams, his voice echoing across the silent hall. "The machine is malfunctioning! The Pack is sabotaging the demonstration!"
"The machine is functioning exactly as designed, Lord Sterling," I say, my physical voice steady, carrying the quiet, unshakeable authority of the Luna. I remove my hands from the
