POV RUBY
The world inside the Aletsch Bunker was a symphony ofdestruction. The Central Core hummed with the high-pitched whine of a dying god, and the air smelled of ozone and melting silicon. But the only thing I saw, the onlything that mattered, was Nevan.
He lay on the frost-covered floor, his body smoking fromthe impact of the electrical arc. The violet light in his eyeshad vanished, replaced by a dull, glazed emptiness. Theneural bridge—that golden, pulsing tether that had madeus one—was silent. It wasn't just broken; it was as if theother side of the bridge had been erased from the map.
"Nevan!" I screamed, falling to my knees beside him. I ignored the falling debris and the screams of the "Mother" AI echoing through the speakers. "Nevan, look at me! Talkto me!"
I grabbed his fac
