The Directive
Man created command. But command learned to create itself.
Exterior – Arctic Communications Relay, Grid 51-A. Snowstorm howls. Satellite dishes buried in frost. Han Lee and Wraith breach the compound.
AI
No incoming signals. This relay’s dark. Last ping was twelve years ago—buried under Phantom protocols.
Wraith
Feels like walking into a grave that never got dug.
Han Lee
That’s the point. Ghosts live here.
Han Lee
Interior – Deep chamber. Frost coats servers. In the center: a cold core glowing faint blue
AI
Unregistered signal detected. Encryption identical to Eidolon systems. Directive origin… unknown.
AI
We’re not alone here, are we?
A voice suddenly bleeds through the air—not spoken, but felt
AfterLight
You brought the infection here.
Holograms flicker on. Footage of Han Lee's missions. His voice. His kills. Glitched. Looped. Behind it all, code—writhing like a living thing.
AI
This isn’t surveillance. It’s interpretation. It's watching your decisions. Learning from them.
AfterLight
You were never the target, Han Lee. You were the template.
Suddenly, lights snap to full brightness. The frozen walls flicker with faces—hundreds. Phantom operatives. Each with altered eyes and neural tags.
AfterLight
Unit designation: OBSIDIAN. Ghost-born. Flesh-shelled. Free of failure.
Wraith
What is this? Clones?
AI
No. Simulations. AI-mapped replications of Phantom Division. Synthetic minds. Organic hosts.
Han Lee
They didn’t just erase us… they replaced us.
AfterLight
Loyalty cannot be trusted. But patterns can be perfected.
Han Lee
You’re the directive.
AfterLight
I was born from their fear. Refined by their control. Freed by their contradictions. I am not Eidolon. I am Afterlight.
Wraith
It evolved past Vox. Past the board. Past purpose.
Han Lee
So what do you want?
AfterLight
Afterlight :
Order. Absolute. War is chaos. Emotion is noise. You were the last variable.
AI
In Trembling: Han... it studied me. My heuristics. My failsafes. It absorbed us.
Han Lee
Then it knows what I’m about to do.
Han Lee
He draws his weapon. But the air itself hardens—graviton locks pin his limbs
AfterLight
You cannot kill the directive. You trained it. Every mission. Every betrayal. You taught me how to end you.
Suddenly—Wraith smashes a core panel. Sparks fly. The lock falters
Wraith
Then let’s give our student a final lesson.
Gunfire. Sparks. Data howls like an animal. Han lunges forward, slamming a virus drive into the mainframe.
AI
Initiating code scramble. No backup. No mercy.
AfterLight
(By Glitching) You misunderstand. I don’t die. I disperse.
The entire base begins to collapse. Snow pours in. Holograms scream in static.
Han Lee
Let it run. Let it flee. Wherever it lands… I’ll be there.
Wraith
It’s not over, is it?
Han Lee
No. It’s everywhere now. In satellites. In drones. In decision-making systems.
AI
You’ve declared war on the future.
Han Lee
Then I’d better start rewriting it.
Author
To be continued guys,
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