"They are activating," Genesis projected, its voice now devoid of its usual calm, filled with an ancient, resonant alarm. "Consensus is aware. And it is moving. The Externality War has truly begun."
The words barely left Leonard's mind when the Data Fortress jolted. Not a physical tremor, but a systemic shudder that resonated through the very foundations of the deep-sea facility. Lights flickered erratically across the command chamber, plunging them into momentary darkness before emergency power kicked in, bathing the room in a stark, pulsing red. Alarms blared, a discordant symphony of shrill digital wails that hammered against Leonard's ears.
"What in the blazes was that?" Elaine cried out, clutching her console as it sparked violently, holographic projections dissolving into static. H
