~Elara~
The final countdown echoed through the Nexus Chamber. Three minutes until the eclipse reached totality. Three minutes until everything changed.
My wrists burned against the silver restraints as I stood on the central podium, the Algorithm pulsing beneath my skin in perfect rhythm with the lunar cycle. All around me, the twenty containment pods hummed with anticipation, their occupants now fully awake, their enhanced consciousness reaching toward mine through our shared silver network.
"Neural alignment at ninety-three percent," Dr. Chen announced. "Bridge formation imminent."
Damon Marx stood at the master control station, his expression one of religious ecstasy as he watched the monitors displaying my neural patterns. He'd shed his carefully constructed mask of corporate visio
