The Calm Before the Storm

It was the year 2450. Earth had changed beyond recognition. Climate collapse, crumbling ecosystems, and humanity's scattered survival in megacities painted a grim picture. Once a symbol of progress, technology was now a tool of control and order in a world teetering on the edge. Among the surviving urban centers was Turku, a towering steel and glass city—an outpost of human ingenuity in the ruins of the old world.

Klaus walked through the gates of the Otar complex, his notebook in hand, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He loved this place—not because of the electric fences, the armed guards, or the gleaming structures that reached for the sky, but because of the people. Visionaries. Dreamers. Those who still believed in a future worth fighting for.

He was a journalist, but not the kind who followed the usual sensationalist stories. Klaus focused on the sciences, on the breakthroughs that promised to change everything. It was a dangerous line of work, but one that fascinated him.

And no one fascinated him more than Dr. Flora Tanner.

Flora was not just a scientist—she was the candidate for Otar's most ambitious project. The electromagnetic transformation machine, designed to turn her into a superhuman warrior. A weapon of unparalleled power. Speed. The ability to unleash electricity at will. The power to protect—or destroy.

But such power came at a cost.

In a sterile, dimly lit lab, Lauren, the commander of Otar and the mind behind the machine, stood with Flora. His broad frame cast a shadow over the steel table between them. His face was a hardened mask of determination, his eyes cold and calculating.

"Flora," Lauren began, his voice steady but firm. "What you're about to go through is no small thing. It will change you in ways you can't fully understand. The electromagnetic transformation will enhance your abilities, make you faster than any human alive, grant you the ability to manipulate electricity, and wield a laser capable of cutting through anything. But it will come with risks. The machine will fuse your biological systems with advanced technology. You could lose yourself in the process. If the machine fails, you may never return to the person you once were."

Flora looked at him, her hands trembling slightly as she absorbed his words. She had trained for this moment her whole life, but now that it was here, doubt began to creep in. "What if I can't control it? What if I can't handle the power?"

Lauren's expression softened, but just slightly. "You will. Otar has engineered the system to be as safe as possible, but there will always be risks. You need to accept that. What we're doing here could be the future of humanity. You're not just doing this for yourself."

Flora nodded, though the weight of his words settled heavily on her chest.

Meanwhile, Klaus arrived at Otar for his interview with Flora. He had heard rumors about the project, but nothing prepared him for the scale of it. He was eager to see Flora's transformation firsthand, but when he was ushered into the meeting room, he found himself face-to-face with Lauren.

The commander sized him up with a glance. Klaus extended a hand, offering his usual friendly smile, but Lauren's expression remained unreadable.

"You're Klaus, the journalist?" Lauren asked, his voice as sharp as the edges of his uniform.

Klaus nodded, trying to keep his composure. "Yes, sir. I'm here to interview Dr. Tanner about the project. I—"

Lauren cut him off with a sharp glance. "I don't like the smile. Or the look in your eyes. You seem... weak."

Klaus blinked, taken aback by the bluntness of the comment. "I assure you, I'm quite capable of handling myself in any situation."

Lauren's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you are, but I'm not talking about your physical capabilities. I'm talking about the kind of man who would sit down and write about a project like this. Someone who thinks he can understand it. You don't belong here, journalist."

Klaus felt the weight of Lauren's gaze. Something was unsettling about him—something that didn't quite sit right.

Lauren wasn't just a military commander. He was also a genius inventor. The shield he had created—the strongest in the world—was legendary. Capable of withstanding even the force of an atomic bomb, it had become the cornerstone of Otar's defense systems. Yet despite his inventions, Lauren was a warrior at heart. Hard, unyielding, and unafraid of the moral gray areas he operated in.

Klaus didn't trust him, but he wasn't here to make enemies. Not yet.

"You'll get your interview," Lauren said, his voice cold. "But don't mistake this for a game, journalist. This project is the last hope for the survival of humanity, and if you don't understand the weight of that, you're in the wrong place."

As Lauren turned and walked away, Klaus couldn't shake the feeling that there was more at play here than just the technology. And with that thought, he walked toward the lab where Flora waited.

But just as Klaus reached the door to Flora's laboratory, a strange and unsettling noise filled the air. It started as a low hum, quickly escalating into an enormous roar. The ground beneath him vibrated, and alarms began blaring from all around.

State emergency systems kicked in, and the streets outside descended into chaos. Citizens scrambled for shelter as the towering screens along the buildings flashed red alerts. Klaus froze in place, his hand still on the lab door, eyes wide with confusion.

The sound of metal scraping on concrete echoed through the city, and then, as if summoned by the alarms, an army of psycho robots began to emerge from hidden underground chambers, their red eyes glowing as they mobilized in perfect sync. The robot army's mission was clear: protect the residents from the incoming meteor shower.

Security guards rushed into the hallway and immediately escorted Klaus away from the lab, urgency in their movements. "You need to leave, sir," one of them barked.

Klaus struggled against their grip. "I'm not leaving! I need to talk to Flora! This interview—"

"We can't help you. It's too dangerous," the guard snapped, pushing him toward the nearest exit.

Klaus, frustrated and angry, shoved the guard's hand off him. He wanted to run back to the lab, find Flora, and demand answers. But as he stormed outside, the sky above him darkened with incoming meteors. One of them, larger than the others, seemed to track his movements.

Klaus barely had time to react before the meteor struck the ground directly beside him, sending a shockwave through the street. The force of the blast knocked him off his feet, and before he could make sense of what was happening, darkness took over.