The Cat Game Begins

Under the stifling fluorescent lights of the safe facility, day three bleed into day four. Like used cartridges, empty coffee cups were scattered about Alex's desk. Dead ends, financial charts, satellite photos, and intricate data streams blazed on screens. Grinding frustration had taken the place of the initial adrenaline surge. Every possible contact fell silent, and every lead vanished. The outside world continued to deteriorate: curfews were now commonplace in the majority of big cities, border violence flared sometimes, and the world economy remained in a state of paralysis. Periodically, Thorne checked in, his expression growing more tense as he relayed disjointed accounts of public frenzy and unsuccessful diplomatic attempts. They were wasting their time far too quickly.

Alex massaged his eyes as he looked over another Project Chimera personnel file that had been substantially blacked. Names, dates, and security clearances—a specter train of people who once surrounded Victor Aurelius. With the words "Transferred," "Resigned," or, ominously, "Deceased," the majority of entries ended abruptly. He hesitated when he saw the name: bio-signatures expert Dr. Aris Thorne. The name triggered a flicker, but there was no connection to Marcus. Zurich. Thorne, who was in charge of converting neurological impulses into machine code, had been Victor's lead on the bio-integration side of Chimera. Additionally, he abruptly quit a few weeks prior to the project being abruptly halted after

The name and the setting brought up the memory without permission. Fifteen years ago, amid the sterile confines of the Zurich laboratory, there was a silent, chilly moment—not a spectacular explosion.

(Rewind: 15 years ago, at Chimera Labs in Zurich.)

The whisper of high-volume ventilation and the faint hum of servers filled the air. Younger but already with a chilling intensity, Victor Aurelius stood next to Alex Reed, watching Dr. Thorne through the primary testing chamber's reinforced glass. The project's principal backer and visionary was Victor, who was then the CEO of Aurelius Advanced Dynamics; Alex, a rising star in the Agency's covert tech branch, was inserted as security oversight and liaison. Although they weren't precisely buddies, they did have a reluctant respect for one another in their work, which was developed in similar stressful situations.

Dr. Thorne, who was pale and perspiring in spite of the low temperature, was attached to a sophisticated robotic arm inside the chamber via a brain lace. He was using only his thoughts to operate the arm in an effort at sensitive micro-manipulation. It was extremely contentious, revolutionary, and groundbreaking.

Victor said, "Progress is slower than anticipated," as he stared at the artificial fingers' faint trembling, which mirrored Thorne's own mild neurological strain. "Aris seems… distracted."

Quietly, Alex remarked, "He's pushing the limits, Victor," "The stability of the interface is still inconsistent. We were aware of the dangers. The Agency was interested in Chimera because of its darker potential—interrogation and control—as well as its possible uses (prosthetics, remote piloting).

Victor corrected him, glaring at him. "Calculated risks, Alex," he said. "Not negligence. Last week, he asked for a leave of absence. for private reasons. rejected. This project demands complete concentration.

Abruptly, the robotic arm erupted forcefully into the container. Thorne was meant to be assembling delicate parts, but the metal fingers squeezed and crushed them. Alarms went off, gentle but firm warnings. With a cry, Dr. Thorne tore the neural lace from his temple and staggered back against the wall of the chamber while holding his head tightly.

"Shut it down!" Alex simultaneously hit the emergency cut-off and yelled into the intercom.

Victor was already on his way to the override for the room door. "What happened?"

Alex remarked, "Feedback loop," while observing the readouts. "Cascade of neurons. He exerted too much pressure, and the system was unable to adjust.

As the medical staff hurried in, they entered the room. Disoriented but cognizant, Thorne muttered that his daughter was ill and that he needed to return home. Beside him, Victor knelt, his face unreadable. "Aris? "Are you okay?"

Thorne's eyes were ablaze with agony and fear as he gazed up. Clara, my daughter, has a fever. I have to complete this stage in order to receive the bonus. required the funds for the experts. His voice cracked. "I pushed too hard."

There was a little tightening of Victor's jaw. He looked at Thorne, then at the smashed parts. He slowly got to his feet. "Aris, the procedures are obvious. Prior to re-engagement, complete system diagnostics. The safety interlocks were overridden by you."

"I know, Victor, I just thought—"

"You thought wrong," Victor interrupted, his voice abruptly cold. "The integrity of this project is crucial. Your personal problems are of secondary importance.

Alex took a small stride forward. "Victor, he needs medical attention, not a reprimand."

Ignoring him, Victor stared at the quivering physician. "You put years of labor at risk. You put my investment at risk. He looked to the new leader of the med-team. "Sedate him. complete neurological assessment. and cancel his authorization. With instant effect.

Alex stepped up between Victor and the doctor and said, "Victor, wait," "This is severe. Pressure—it was an accident.

"Alex," Victor shot back, his eyes icy, "Pressure is the furnace in which greatness is forged." "Or a weakness is exposed. There is a problem with Dr. Thorne. He poses a risk. With a challenge in his eyes, he turned to face Alex. "Are you countermanding my authority on my own project, Agent Reed?"

Alex stared. Non-interference was required by agency protocol unless there was a threat to vital assets. Technically, Thorne worked for Aurelius. The Agency's access to Chimera may be at danger if he compromises his cover and challenges Victor directly here. The call that the mission constraints required him to make was made. He nodded curtly and took a small step back. "Mr. Aurelius, he is your employee. Go ahead."

He could see the glimmer of treachery in Victor's look as he turned away, as well as in Dr. Thorne's terrified eyes. It was something colder, maybe a confirmation, rather than fury. An affirmation that everyone, including those who appeared to support him, worked inside structures that put goals ahead of people. Alex put the Agency's mission first that day. Dr. Thorne was never seen by him again. According to rumors, his daughter's condition suddenly deteriorated, making it unable to get the best care without the expected bonus or high-level job.

(Today)

A nasty taste lingered from the memories. The antiseptic office felt abruptly colder as Alex leaned back. Aris Thorne, another casualty of the Agency's shadow battles, had not crossed his mind in years. However, considering it today, in light of Victor's recent atrocities... Had there been another foundational crack that day? Another piece of evidence supporting Victor's claim that under pressure, loyalty, processes, and even fundamental human decency failed? Had Victor become the monster that he would be if Alex had followed the rules?

bound scars. His thoughts echoed the sentence. He had served the objective, remained under cover, and obeyed directions. And perhaps, just possibly, contributed to the conditions that led to the destruction of the entire world fifteen years later.

He pushed the coldness of the recollection away and returned his attention to the screen. Aris Thorne was a dead end who had probably passed away or vanished. However, the technology Remote network control and bio-signature integration were at the heart of Chimera. In addition to creating a dead man's switch, Victor most certainly included Chimera technology into the Damocles Protocol. Could the intricate code employed for the worldwide broadcast hijack still contain remnants of that particular, possibly a little out-of-date signature?

He began comparing the intricate metadata Thorne's team had been able to extract from the first moments of Victor's broadcast before his network lockdown became absolute with Chimera's algorithmic markers, which were bits of code recovered from previous Agency reports. Finding a needle in a digital haystack the size of the earth was a laborious task. Hours went by.

Then there was a hit. It was faint, nearly inaudible, yet distinct. Adaptive bio-synced networks are intended to use this recursive handshake protocol. It was a primitive bit of Chimera code, the kind that Aris Thorne had invented. It existed in the minuscule signal leakage from the originating node prior to it cascading via international networks, not in the main broadcast stream itself. a frequency of ghosts.

Excitement fought cautiously. In an effort to follow the weak signal backward by bouncing it off secure Agency satellite relays, he started a trace protocol. In Victor's convoluted network security, he anticipated the trail to disappear immediately.

Rather, another event took place. The trace was diverted rather than just stopped. Alex's probing signal traveled through a number of obfuscating servers at an unfathomable speed before arriving at... nothing. A vacuum in the digital world. However, a single line of text, contrasting sharply with the dark backdrop of the unsuccessful trace route display, appeared on his screen as the connection ended:

Alex was killed by curiosity. ARE YOU A CAT?

The notification appeared in the system logs for exactly three seconds before disappearing.

Alex's heart was racing as he gazed at the blank screen. The defense was not automated. It was overly detailed and intimate. Victor knew Alex was probing, or an AI acting on his direct knowledge. was aware of his probe's whereabouts. and was observing.