THE DIGITAL RELIC

Ghosts in the Machine

The LED light flickered weakly, casting dim shadows over Arin's cluttered workspace. The old military-grade datapad lay before him, its screen glowing faintly as he powered it up with his mini power generator-a rig built from salvaged parts, back when his father still believed in rebuilding.

Arin exhaled slowly, fingers hovering over the worn keyboard.

This wasn't just old scrap.

This was locked. Heavily encrypted.

As he stared at the screen, his mind drifted back-to a time before the Shift. A time when this kind of tech was still connected to something bigger.

A memory surfaced. A flashing headline on his old office computer.

A familiar voice beside him. A distant memory he thought he had forgotten of the old world.

"Dude, you seeing this?"

Arin barely looked up from his monitor. His coworker, Rohan Singh, had wheeled his chair over, holding up his phone, his dark eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's all over the deep-web forums. Nevada. You know what that means?"

Arin sighed. Here we go.

Rohan was an alien enthusiast. The kind of guy who had X-Files posters in his apartment and kept an old-school hard drive filled with blurry UFO footage. Arin liked the guy-he was fun to talk to, even if half of what he said sounded completely insane.

Arin leaned back, crossing his arms. "Alright, tell me."

and that's all Rohan needed to hear.

Rohan grinned. "Something huge happened in the Nevada desert four days ago. Some say it was a weapons test, but listen-there was a total satellite blackout."

Arin raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Rohan rolled his eyes. "And? And? You don't just get six-hour GPS failure over an entire region unless something big happened." He leaned in. "Leaked reports say there was an object. Unidentified. Massive energy readings. Military convoys in and out-"

Arin scoffed. "It's Area 51. There's always military convoys."

"But it's not just that," Rohan insisted. "There were strange reports-electrical failures, distorted radio signals, even people going missing."

Arin chuckled, shaking his head. He used to be like him as well but he had figured that sometimes you just need to grow up "You sound like my twelve-year-old self."

"You were into this stuff as a kid, huh?" Rohan, he was surpised

then he grinned. "What happened? Government get to you?"

"Nah, I just grew up," Arin said. "Figured most of it was nonsense."

Rohan smirked. "Yeah? Then why are you still listening?"

Arin opened his mouth to argue-

Then paused.

Why was he still listening?

maybe he still had that curiosity within him that drived him to look forward and look for something beyond his present.

A small, nagging feeling settled in his chest.

Because deep down-some part of him still wanted to believe.

Three Days Before the Shift

The road stretched endlessly ahead, cracked and dry beneath the desert sun. Arin adjusted his sunglasses, gripping the steering wheel of his father's old Toyota Hilux as the radio played static-filled news broadcasts.

His family had sent him to Las Vegas for a supply run. Nothing major-just some electronics and tools his father needed. But as he drove through the desert highways, something felt off.

His GPS was glitching. The map showed his location flickering back and forth.

One moment, he was on Route 95.

The next, he was... nowhere.

"what the f..." his thought were put to a halt as he heard a loud distant noise.

A cold unease settled over him.

Then he saw them.

Military trucks.

A convoy of at least seven, maybe more. Blacked-out vehicles moving fast. Too fast.

Arin slowed down, watching them disappear into the distance. He considered following them-just for curiosity's sake. but decided against it he didn't want any trouble.

Then he remembered Rohan's words.

"...satellite blackout... massive energy readings... people going missing..."

"why did I think of that " he thought to himself.

A chill ran down his spine.

Something big was happening.

And three days later-the world ended.

Present

The screen flickered. The dull blue glow of the datapad reflected in Arin's tired eyes as he exhaled sharply, pushing himself away from the workbench. His hands ached, his mind buzzed, and yet-he felt more awake than he had in years.

He blinked, shaking himself out of the daze. The memories of Nevada, the convoys, the conspiracy theories from his old life still lingered like ghosts in the back of his mind.

But right now, he had a different challenge ahead.

The encryption was dense. Whatever information was locked inside this device had been protected by some of the most aggressive digital walls he had ever encountered.

It wasn't impossible. Just time-consuming.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. If he wanted answers, he'd have to put in the work.

Carefully, he disconnected the datapad from his power source, wrapped it in cloth, and tucked it under his jacket. This wasn't something he could leave out in the open.

With one last glance at the dimly lit room, he stepped outside, heading home.

At home

The scent of freshly made dal and rice filled the air as Arin stepped into the small dining space of their home. The warm glow of the lanterns made everything feel comfortably familiar.

At the table, Maya looked up.

She had been stirring her food absentmindedly, lost in thought-until she saw him.

And for the first time in so many months, she saw something different.

That spark.

The one he used to have back when he would spend nights coding, building things, designing security software-before the world broke apart.

She didn't say anything at first.

Just watched as he sat down, ate with them, spoke more than just a few words.

She watched the way his fingers subtly tapped against the table, as if itching to get back to work.

And she smiled. He was back , Arin was back again.

After dinner,

Arin set up the datapad again, his fingers moving with silent precision as he worked through the encryptions.

In the background, the radio played.

"-efforts to re-establish communication networks have begun. The trial phase for limited 2G connectivity will commence in key settlements, allowing development teams to recalibrate according to the new terrain-"

Static crackled between words. The broadcast signal was weak, but it was there.

Arin barely reacted-his focus was entirely on the screen.

Maya, however, sat by the window, listening.

"-UF engineers estimate that a fully functional internet infrastructure could take another decade, but local operations will begin assessing signal stability-"

Her mind wandered.

Internet.

It was strange to think about how normal it had once been.

A world where people used to text, stream videos, work from computers, scroll endlessly through feeds.

A world that had been erased in an instant.

And yet, here was Arin-bringing back pieces of it, in his own way.

The radio signal shifted again, cutting into a slow, familiar tune.

A song from the old days.

She turned to look at him.

His gaze was still fixed on the screen, eyes slightly narrowed, brow furrowed in thought.

But when the music filled the air, something changed.

His movements slowed. His posture eased slightly.

Maya stood up, crossing the room, and gently reached for his hand.

Arin blinked, turning to her as if just realizing she was there.

She sat beside him, fingers lacing through his.

"It's been so long since I saw you like this," she said softly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Maya smiled. "Like you."

Arin exhaled a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "I guess... I just feel like I'm doing something that matters again."

"You always mattered," she murmured, squeezing his hand.

He looked a bit surprised, then smiled" and guess I was lucky too"

"yeah, lucky enough to have me to keep you in check" she teased

"Is that so?" he leaned towards her.

The music played on in the background-an old melody from a time before everything changed.

with the music reaching its final chorus.

Arin placed his hand on Maya's cheek ,caressing it he said" Thank you." as he kissed her

Maya melted into that kiss , With a bit of tears that streamed down,

Oh happy she was to have Arin back to her , it hurted her seeing him all depressed and become void without joy, that wasn't the Arin she knew , but he is back now.

For the first time in a long while, Arin let himself relax and Maya became his comfort.

The Worksite: Where Titans Now Toil

The world had changed.

Men who had once ruled boardrooms or engineered spacecraft now hauled bricks and welded beams.

Professor Eli Stern, who had once spoken at global biotech conferences, now barely spoke at all, his hands caked in cement.

Carter Hayes, a former CEO, a man who once measured his success by the numbers in his offshore accounts, now carried cement sacks on his calloused shoulders-hands hardened by the very labor he had once dismissed as menial.

And then there was Sergeant Viktor Petrov.

A soldier from the old world. A warrior displaced in a time that no longer needed one. He didn't talk much. Didn't complain. He simply worked-but there was always something simmering beneath the surface.

Among them was Rajiv, Arin's father, a man who had once prided himself on his work as a mechanic, now just another set of hands on the construction site. He had accepted his new reality faster than most, adapting without hesitation.

Unlike Arin.

Meanwhile with Arin,

"You're still on that damn thing?"

Arin barely looked up. His fingers continued moving across the cracked screen of the datapad.

Gaurav huffed, tossing a wrench onto the makeshift workbench beside him. "It's been three days, man. How long does it take to crack some old files?"

Arin sighed. He was too deep into the encryption layers to explain it to Gaurav in a way that wouldn't make his head explode. "It's not some busted vending machine I can just kick and make work, Gaurav. These encryptions are next-level. Someone didn't want this getting out."

Gaurav folded his arms. "Yeah? And you-a guy who used to code firewalls for some second-rate security firm-you think you can crack it?"

Arin smirked. "I'm already at layer thirteen, aren't I?"

Gaurav exhaled sharply and shook his head. "Fine. Whatever. Just get it done so we can go back to hauling bricks and pretending our lives still mean something."

Arin didn't respond.

His focus was back on the screen.

Back on the challenge in front of him.

For the first time in years, he felt alive.

The radio crackled in the background.

"-Central Bloc has announced the first test phase of The Credit, hoping to-"

Static.

A shift in frequency.

"-they want you to believe the URC is saving us, but they are the ones who doomed us! The Sovereign Alliance resists, and you should too. Humanity should not be under one flag!"

More static.

Arin rolled his eyes and reached out to switch the frequency. The cult stations had been creeping into the broadcasts more and more lately. The voices of the Power Struggle-the factions vying for control over what was left of humanity.

The Central Bloc. The Sovereign Alliance. The Free Colonies.

All of them believed they were fighting for the future.

Arin wasn't sure if there was a future left worth fighting for.

"-URC Chairman Alexander Hayes insists that restoring order is the priority, but tensions with the Sovereign Alliance continue to rise-"

Arin tuned it out.

He didn't have time for politics.

He had a different puzzle to solve.

His fingers hesitated.

The screen flashed.

Then-lines of code unraveled.

The last encryption layer fell away, and the datapad's secured files unlocked.

Most of the files were corrupted.

Unreadable gibberish or blank error messages.

Except for one.

A file name stood out in the dim glow of the screen.

"First Contact: Nevada Incident '27."

Arin's breath caught.

He mumbled the words under his breath. "First Contact... Nevada Incident?"

He remembered Nevada.

The military trucks. The GPS errors. The rumors. The disappearances.

Something happened there.

Something the world wasn't meant to see.

Arin tapped the file. The loading bar crawled forward.

Then-

Creak.

A footstep.

A shadow moved in the corner of his vision.

Too late.

A rough hand grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.

Petrov.

His eyes were sharp, his jaw tight, his body coiled like a predator that had just cornered its prey.

"You just had to say that name out loud, didn't you?"

Arin's throat went dry.

Fifteen Minutes Ago

The night shift had begun. The temperature had dropped slightly, but the air still carried the weight of dust and sweat. The makeshift worksite, once an echo of hammering and clanking metal, now settled into a quiet hum-its workers dispersing for the night.

Gaurav rolled his shoulders, cracking the stiffness out of them as he finished tying down a tarp over the exposed steel beams. He gave one final glance across the dimly lit site before turning to Petrov, who was stacking up unused tools in the storage crate.

"Carter's already left for patrol?" Gaurav asked.

Petrov gave a small nod. "Fifteen minutes ago."

"Good. That means we're done here," Gaurav said, dusting his hands off. "I'll go tell Rajiv to head home."

As he turned to leave, he hesitated. A nagging thought scratched at the back of his mind. Something was missing.

Or rather, someone.

Gaurav frowned. "Where the hell is Arin?"

Petrov, who had just picked up his coat, paused as well.

It wasn't unusual for Arin to get lost in his work, especially after getting his hands on that datapad. Gaurav had seen him work for hours without blinking, fully consumed by whatever was keeping him glued to the cracked screen.

But this late? Alone?

Gaurav sighed, rubbing his temples. "Go find him. Tell him to wrap up and get some damn sleep. He's gonna burn himself out."

Petrov hesitated, then gave a curt nod before turning on his heel.

Petrov - A Ghost of War

is what he is called around here.

As he walked, the night air settled over him, cool against his skin. The wind carried the faint echoes of past voices-

soldiers barking orders, gunfire, the static of radio transmissions.

Memories resurfaced where they weren't wanted.

He didn't dream anymore.

Or maybe he did, and he just didn't remember.

The war after the Shift had shaped men like him into something else. A different breed. A different kind of survivor.

His past was a locked room.

Only certain doors could be opened, and even fewer could be closed again.

And yet, the mention of Nevada always made his fingers twitch.

Nevada.

Petrov forced his breath to steady.

He wasn't there that night. Not exactly. But he had been close enough to hear the chatter. The orders. The silence that followed.

There had been men like him stationed near the incident site, but most of them never made it back. And the ones that did?

They never spoke of it.

Neither did he.

The fewer people who knew, the safer they were.

Near the outer edge of the worksite, Petrov spotted a lone figure leaning against a security post.

Carter Hayes.

The ex-CEO glanced up, his sharp, corporate-trained instincts never truly lost despite his current station. He still carried himself like a man used to giving orders, though no one took them anymore.

Petrov stopped. "Where's Arin?"

Carter adjusted his sleeves, looking vaguely amused. "Still in his shed. Buried in that tablet."

Petrov's jaw clenched. "You saw him?"

"Yeah, about five minutes ago," Carter said, stretching. "Kid's glued to the damn thing. Told him to take a break, but you know how he is. Once he's in, he's in."

Petrov exhaled through his nose. "I need to get him."

Carter nodded, gesturing toward the work shed in the distance. "He's in there. I'd escort you, but-" he motioned toward the darkened portable restroom a few steps away "-nature calls."

Petrov gave a slight nod and moved ahead.

The shed door was slightly ajar.

Inside, a faint glow flickered-the datapad's screen, casting eerie patterns onto the walls.

Petrov stepped inside.

Arin was hunched over, brow furrowed, lips slightly parted as he scrolled through the decrypted files.

And then-

he muttered something he shouldn't have.

Barely audible, but clear enough.

"First Contact... Nevada Incident."

Petrov froze.

A chill ran down his spine. His chest tightened.

His body moved before his mind could stop it.

A sharp grab.

Arin barely had time to react before he was slammed against the wall, Petrov's grip tightening around his collar.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

Petrov's eyes burned into him, a dangerous mix of disbelief and something far worse.

Fear.

"You just had to say that name out loud, didn't you?"

And for the first time in three days, Arin wasn't sure if he wanted to know the truth anymore.