"Step away from the terminal."
Ryan Parker delivered the command. He did not yell. His deep baritone voice cut through the blaring warning sirens of the Texas launch bunker.
The global connection hovered at a fatal two percent. The sovereign empire was seconds away from a permanent blackout.
Elena Vance backed away from her leather chair. She wiped tears of pure frustration from her pale face. She had fought the hostile code with everything she had. Software could not defeat the shifting algorithmic monster in the sky.
Ryan walked toward the master telemetry board.
It was a massive slab of custom aerospace architecture. It spanned the entire length of the control desk. Dozens of analog sliders lined the bottom edge. Hundreds of glowing digital keys stretched across the smooth glass su
