After The Simulation

Maya leaned back in her ergonomic chair, her eyes still fixed on the holographic display that shimmered with the steady flow of white code now slowly reclaiming its territory from the creeping red. The simulation had run its course, and for a brief, suspended moment, everything in the lab had been silent except for the soft hum of the machines. But silence, as she well knew, was often the harbinger of impending turmoil.

She exhaled slowly, fingers hovering over the control panel. The simulation had confirmed what her instincts had warned her of: the system was forcing its own evolution, a process that could destabilize the entire enhancement if not contained. Every new anomaly, every unexpected parameter shift, was a step away from the carefully calibrated design that Aria's father and she had once envisioned. And now, with the red zones accelerating, the risk to Elian's neural integration was all too real.