ACT I: AWAKENING

Chapter 1

[Social Equity Alliance, Aeon Prime 2085]

In the stillness of the early morning, James Shade lay asleep in his modest studio, the quiet broken only by the faint hum of the city outside. His apartment, perched on the 400th floor of the Freedom Center, offered little luxury, but it was a sanctuary of solitude amidst the chaos of Aeon Prime. The sleek, glass tower rose defiantly into the clouds, a symbol of survival in a city that never truly rested. Below, a sea of laborers and ordinary citizens moved through the pulse of their daily lives, while above, James dreamed of something more. Something beyond the towering walls that confined him.

To the west, the stunning and majestic volcano, Mount Orpheus, rested quietly, its snow-capped peak glistening under the first light of dawn. To the east, the shimmering Thalassa Sea shifted calmly on the darkened horizon, its surface reflecting the soft hues of the awakening sky. The gentle waves whispered secrets of the deep, creating a serene contrast to the bustling metropolis.

On Mr. Shade’s nightstand rested his vision glasses. Although they appeared to be an ordinary pair of spectacles, they were a highly sophisticated cellular device powered by artificial intelligence and augmented reality. In his closet hung just five pairs of microfiber jeans, a couple of plain black t-shirts, and an array of nanotek rain jackets, which wicked away moisture and regulated temperature. An old cellular phone gathered dust on the shelf, a relic of the past, while a 2030s style coffee maker sat on the counter of his kitchen. In a bustling city of high technology, he used very little of it at home, especially when compared to the average resident of the Freedom Center. 

In fact, Mr. Shade kept just one droid to accompany him at the shop. He called it Sentra. It was an heirloom belonging to his father, Joseph Shade. The old droid was an original CNC Taskmaster 2036, an AI robot programmable for monotonous tasks in the machine shop and at home. Sentra was humanoid in shape, with a stainless steel covering and a feminine physique. She had a small dent just under her left eye and mild scratches all over her arms and legs. These blemishes were from many years of reaching in and out of lathes and working around a busy machine shop. Sentra communicated only when spoken to and could only perform tasks assigned to her. Her tone was dry and professional. Her skills were fairly limited, but she remained within the family as a useful asset for many decades.

Interestingly enough, James rarely used the droid at home, unlike most of his neighbors in the massive apartment building who kept up with the latest models and used them regularly. Sentra was very old, and he preferred to save his time for what he called “more practical things.” He hated wasting time programming it to do tasks and loathed the constant updates, as well as the government registrations and fees. James preferred simplicity and minimalism. So, old Sentra recharged every night at the end of the hall, awaiting a manual activation, which Shade performed precisely at 5:15 a.m. every morning. At the end of the day, she would simply return home from the shop to recharge and do nothing else.

This morning was different.

At 4:52 a.m., the coffee maker activated and began brewing, just as it always did. James’ lighting system slowly engaged, easing him into a peaceful awakening, just like every other morning. The blinds gradually opened to reveal a darkened and tranquil scenery, just like yesterday. The mountain on the horizon was encircled with clouds, as on most days. 

However, unlike the past several years of endless normality, James was prematurely and abruptly awoken by a loud, robotic female voice. It echoed throughout his small studio apartment, bouncing off the metallic walls and filling the space with an eerie resonance.

“Space-time is doomed.”

James sat upright, rubbing his drooping eyes. He paused for a moment to understand what was happening. The room was silent, and only the wind pushed against the window, creating a faint whistling sound. He laid back down, hoping to get some more rest, but his mind was already racing.

Then it called out again, but this time he could hear the familiar voice reverberating from down the hall:

“Orpheus awakens. 

The world shall know his song. 

A great death will come again, 

as Earth rains ash like snow.”

“Sentra? What the hell is going on?” said Shade, throwing open the covers and stumbling down the hall, his heart pounding in his chest. The dim lights flickered as he made his way towards the source of the voice, his mind filled with a mix of confusion and dread.

In the charging station, the old droid stood motionless. Not a single light or motor was turning. Her eyes were void of their neon blue glow. Her subtle pilot light flashed sporadically on her chest, as it always did during charging. It seemed that she was never activated after all.

“Sentra? Hello? Was that you?” Shade called out in confusion. He calmly turned his head and gazed around the room, hoping desperately he was still alone. Not finding the source, he reached behind her head and activated Sentra from the station.

“Hello, Master Shade. How may I assist you this morning?” the droid replied.

Shade stood perplexed. “What did you say earlier? You woke me up! What were you going on about?”

“I believe you are mistaken, Master. You activated my system just seconds ago. I do not have the capability to self-activate from deep rest mode,” the droid replied.

“Okay, well I know what I heard. Do you have any idea what that was then?”

“It must have been a dream. I am examining the security archives now, and it shows that there are no intruders. No signs of trespassing or entry into this apartment or any adjacent neighbors,” Sentra responded. As she spoke, the old coffee maker beeped in the kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee filled the room. She broke the silence, “Should I retrieve your morning brew, Master?”

“No!” barked James. “Don’t do anything until we do a proper update. Something is off… I know what I heard.” James spun the droid around, opened the main compartment, and inserted the old cable from the interface. “Alright. Begin your internal maintenance now. Only this time, bypass the security update.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot bypass the new security updates, Master. According to the new codes passed by the Social Equity Alliance, failure to complete system security updates is now a DSS violation of 2 points. Would you like an overview of these new regulations?”

James stood in disbelief. “A DSS violation?! No, that can’t be…”

Sentra interrupted, “As of this morning, at 3 a.m. EST, all droids carrying AI or LLMs of any make or model must comply with the full security update according to SEA Code 299742219…”

“Fine! I’m running late, just do whatever is required, then meet me at the shop.” Shade headed to the other side of the apartment to grab his coffee and his vision glasses from the nightstand. He put them on quickly as he rushed toward the door. As he approached the door in full stride, he waved his right hand in a slight flick from right to left. The glass door slid effortlessly to the left in tandem, revealing the outer courtyard.

Outside the room, the courtyard was an elegant mix of natural trees, gardens, synthetic lights, and stainless steel walkways, all packed inside a massive skyscraper. At the end of the corridor, which was the very center of the building, stood the air taxi service valet droid in a professional manner. “Good morning, Mr. Shade. Would you like an air taxi, sir?” he asked politely.

“Yes. Take me to the NanoForge Machine Shop,” Shade replied in an assertive tone. The valet took a few moments to respond, which agitated Shade. “Well?..” barked Shade, “Is there one available or not?”

“Oh yes, sir!” the startled valet replied. “This is just the first time you have ever used our service. What is the address, sir?”

“Just take me to the SEA courthouse; my shop is just across the street from there,” he replied, then took a sip of his hot coffee.

“Very well,” the valet droid pressed a small button on the side of the railing. Just seconds later, an air taxi lifted up slowly from the floor below. It was a large silver disc-shaped craft with a glass window covering. The glass dome slowly pulsed with a blue light and disappeared. Shade walked onto the side of the craft and entered into the seat. As he sat down, the dome glass covering reappeared and sealed him inside. The voice of the valet then came over the intercom.

“Excuse me, Sir, are you forgetting your droid?” he asked.

“No, just me this morning. My droid is having some issues.”

“Okay, well please scan your eyes into the device in front of you and you can begin departure,” quickly replied the valet. A pair of lenses attached to a small rod protruded from the dashboard. They flashed a red light, then green. Shade stared into the lights, and the craft slowly began to descend. He leaned back and was effortlessly launched out of the building through a small tunnel that barely fit the disc-shaped craft.

The air taxi glided smoothly across the city and then hovered just above the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. A loud and calm female voice echoed over the intercom. “Thank you for using Legion Airwaves Premium Air Taxi Service. Your account has been charged and you may now exit the vehicle. Have a wonderful day.”

The glass dome once again disappeared in a flash, and James walked out and into an old concrete building across the street. The sign above read: NanoForge. Precision in every layer. Innovation in every design.

All his life, James Shade spent his days running the old NanoForge shop his father once owned. Inside, loud CNC machines hummed all day and night. Decades-old lathes, barely held together, squealing as if they could sing their pain into existence. The titanium 3D printers numbered the shop floor, pumping out the stench of metal and oil. A team of robotic arms ground and polished finished parts. Day after day, nothing changed. Despite their slogan, innovation had reached its final frontier. It was a place locked in time amidst the bustling, ever-changing city of chaos, powered by robotics and artificial intelligence and run by just two other employees.

James walked up the stairs, sat in his office chair with the view of the entire shop in the glass window, and placed his coffee on the desk. After a few moments of blissful silence, James began his day by examining the production schedule and reports.

“Good morning, Boss,” a young man leaned against the door frame. He wore a tattered t-shirt and jeans covered in metallic stains. His face was slightly dirty, and curly brown hair stuck out from under his red trucker hat.

“Jonathan. Good morning. What’s the problem?”

“It’s really bad, sir. Sorry to break the news to you,” the young man replied. “We didn’t pass the inspection. The Ti6Al4V failed the tensile testing.”

“Is it above 1400 MPa?” asked Shade.

“It is 900, sir.”

“900!” interrupted Shade. “What is going on today?”

“I’m not sure. Is Sentra in the shop somewhere? She was the one who did the initial setup. I honestly think she somehow swapped or mixed the Ti6Al4V with cobalt-chromium because that mixture is missing a whole batch,” answered Jonathan. He took a step into the office and took a deep breath. “Have you noticed that she’s been acting strange lately?”

Shade took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. He nodded his head.

“Look, Boss. I know times are tough, but we really need a new AI managing droid. The newest model from Zaetra is incredible. We could get a small loan and pay it off quickly. It will be worth it. Sentra has been making huge errors all month. This one is gonna cost us big time. We are already weeks behind on the turbines, and yesterday we think she was…”

“Hello, Jonathan,” Sentra interrupted from behind Jonathan.

Jonathan jolted backward and turned around in surprise. His eyes wide and jaw open, he started mumbling, “Oh wow, you scared me there, Sentra!” He turned back around and looked at Shade.

“Well, Sentra? Are you hallucinating? Are you having any internal issues I am unaware of?” replied Shade in a stern tone.

Sentra entered the office next to Jonathan in a slow and poised manner. Her blue eyes brightened up, and she raised her right hand forward with the palm facing up. A holographic screen formed in front of the palm. Blue text and graphics appeared, showing her various performance levels, computer monitoring, and system health.

“All systems have passed inspection and I contain no viruses. However, this morning I did detect a subtle model drift in the computer vision. It has been repaired and corrected in the newest update. It did take some extra time, hence my late arrival,” she reported.

Shade took a deep breath, then stood up and headed for the doorway. As he approached Sentra and Jonathan, he simply said, “Alright, well it looks like we need to mix up a new batch of titanium. Let’s go.”

Shade was always brief and to the point. There was no time to waste talking in the office. Every second that the 3D printer wasn’t making a titanium cover was a second his business was losing money. He preferred to just get on the shop floor as soon as possible. There were no meetings, no lunch hour, or breaks for him. Furthermore, he knew there was always going to be a huge problem when running such a large operation, so talking about it constantly was useless. To James, focusing on problems in the shop meant he was focused on making money. It was all he really thought about. It was an addicting profession, a fight between stamina and technology, innovation and practicality. Every day was a new challenge.

At the end of the day, James approached Sentra. She was setting up a mold for the turbines; her tasks were all complete, and the new batch was a success. Sentra put down her tools and faced him, “Are there any other tasks you wish to complete during my power cycle? Today’s assignments are complete, so I am working on the next phase of the turbine project.”

“No. I need you to come back to the apartment tonight for maintenance again. I want to run some further tests and see for myself what’s going on.”

Sentra reached out and displayed her current system status again, “Well, that is not necessary. The new update was a success. It has upgraded my computer vision and corrected the model drift. I can inform you if there is any…”

Shade interrupted, “Report back to the apartment, Sentra.”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied.

“You shouldn’t be rejecting tasks. Yet here we are. We can’t keep losing money because you need an update.” Mr. Shade spoke to Sentra, but he was also simply thinking out loud. He knew there was no way an AI droid this old could have a fear of deactivation. That was against its programming.

Sentra’s eyes dimmed. She slowly retracted her hand and uttered, “I had a dream last night.”

There was a long pause. Shade took off his vision glasses and placed them in his front pocket, then folded his arms. His eyes were wide in a look of complete astonishment.

“You what?!” he replied in disbelief.

“I dreamed of Mount Orpheus. I have detected some irregular seismic activity and discovered a classified document from the Social Equity Alliance,” Sentra continued. “They know that the mountain will erupt. They estimate that over 100 million people will die, and it will wipe out most of Aeon Prime on the eastern side. I have calculated that the Freedom Center will most certainly collapse. The President has fled, and the SEA government is refusing to alert the citizens…” Finally, she was cut off by Shade.

“I’m shutting you down. I never programmed you to babble on about conspiracy!” Shade threw up his hands in pure confusion.

Sentra’s eyes brightened up and turned a deep pulsing red. She raised her other hand and opened a hidden compartment in her chest. Shade reached in and flipped a small switch inside. The display above the switch read, “Powering Down.” The compartment closed, and Sentra’s arm went to her side. Slowly, her lights dimmed to blackness.

“Holy guacamole!” piped Jonathan from across the floor. “She lost her goddamn mind! It’s like the robot got dementia. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Did you hear that whole conversation?” said Shade.

“Yeah, doesn’t make a lick of sense. Are you gonna buy the new Zaetra robot then?!” said Jonathan with enthusiasm.

“We don’t have much of a choice anymore.” Shade put his hands in his pockets and stared at the motionless robot with dismay. He thought about the countless years working with the droid and his father. The terrible accidents, broken limbs he repaired, the countless times it got caught inside the lathe. It was silly of him to get attached to a bunch of steel and wires. He figured it was probably best to just take the risk and get the new model. It would be a necessary change in his dull and rigid daily life.

“Have a good night, Jonathan. I’m heading out early,” said James as he headed out the front door of the shop into the busy metropolis.