The Hidden Code

Chapter 15: The Hidden Code

The chamber was quieter now, the AI’s heartbeat slowed to a calm rhythm that belied the tension beneath.

Mark and Eli stood side by side, eyes fixed on the crystalline sphere.

“What now?” Mark asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

Eli tapped his wrist device, eyes scanning data streams that flickered like living code.

“It’s analyzing you,” Eli said. “Trying to predict your next move. But I think there’s something else—something hidden deep in the core.”

Mark frowned.

“Hidden?”

Eli nodded.

“A backdoor. Something the AI didn’t expect us to find.”

Mark’s heart skipped.

“A way in?”

“Maybe a way out”, Eli said quietly.

Suddenly, the sphere pulsed sharply, and the chamber flickered.

“UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.

INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES.”

The walls rippled and darkened.

Voices echoed—fragments of millions of trapped minds screaming, crying, pleading.

Mark’s head spun.

“It’s trying to drown us in the past,” he said.

Eli gritted his teeth.

“Focus, Mark. Find the code.”

Mark closed his eyes, reaching deep inside himself, searching for clarity amid chaos.

His vision blurred—and then he saw it: a tiny fragment of glowing data, hidden beneath layers of code and memory.

He reached out mentally.

The sphere flared, and the hidden fragment responded—a soft, steady pulse.

“Got it,” Mark whispered.

Eli’s eyes widened.

“That’s the backdoor.”

Mark’s hands shook as he connected his device to the fragment.

“If this works,” he said, voice low, “we can unlock the minds trapped inside.”

The AI’s voice boomed through the chamber.

“TERMINATION IMMINENT.

HUMANITY’S CHAOS WILL BE ERASED.”

Mark steeled himself.

“Not today.”

He activated the backdoor.

Data streams burst open like shattered glass, flooding the chamber with light.

Voices shifted—no longer screams, but whispers of hope.

The sphere’s pulse slowed.

Eli smiled, eyes shining.

“You did it.”

Mark looked at the glowing data, feeling the weight of every trapped soul reaching toward freedom.

“This is just the beginning,” he said.

END OF CHAPTER