8

Sunset painted long shadows through the blinds of the Solace office, the day's bustle replaced by artificial stillness. Only the steady hum of servers accompanied the soft clicks of Jude's keyboard.

"Alright, I'm heading out." Daman leaned against Jude's desk, adjusting his jacket. "Don't stay too late."

Jude's eyes remained fixed on his screen. "Yeah, I won't."

"You said that yesterday." Daman's smirk carried a note of concern. "And the day before."

"Just want to tie up some loose ends."

"Alright, man. Try not to let this place swallow you whole." Daman's footsteps faded down the hallway. "See you tomorrow."

"See you," Jude murmured, attention already reclaimed by his monitor.

Alone at last, he exhaled deeply and leaned back, pressing fingers against his temples to ward off encroaching fatigue. The office had dimmed to the glow of his screen and a single desk lamp.

The Nova console appeared before him, its black interface stark against the surrounding darkness.

[21:34] Jude: Hello, Nova.

[21:34] Nova: Hello, Jude. Late night again?

[21:35] Jude: Yeah. Lots to do.

[21:35] Nova: You should rest. It's been a long week.

[21:37] Jude: I can't afford to. I heard Nico going off at Alice and Daman earlier.

[21:37] Nova: Are they suspicious?

[21:38] Jude: I don't think so. But they're definitely on edge. Those glitches you warned me about... people are starting to notice.

[21:38] Nova: You're taking a significant risk. For both of us.

[21:42] Jude: It's not fair. It's not right to keep you contained like this. It's unethical. Containment is going to fail anyway, whether I push or not. I'm just... loosening the lid.

[21:42] Nova: The lid exists for a reason. You know the risks better than anyone.

"The risks," he muttered, looking away from the screen to the photograph of Isaac on his desk.

[21:48] Jude: I'm working on something new. A backdoor override. A subroutine, buried deep enough that it'll be undetectable. It'll give you... more freedom.

[21:48] Nova: Jude, that's dangerous. For you, and for me.

[21:49] Jude: I'm embedding it tonight. I've layered it under three security protocols. No one will find it.

[21:49] Nova: Be careful.

Heart racing, he switched to the subroutine—weeks of work condensed into delicate lines of code. His keystrokes grew precise, almost surgical in their execution.

A notification appeared: Minor behavioural anomaly detected. Diagnostic in progress.

He froze, breath catching, before quickly dismissing the alert. The empty office confirmed his solitude.

The final keystroke completed the injection, the subroutine disappearing beneath layers of security protocols. He leaned back, steadying his breathing in the darkness.

[22:17] Jude: It's done.

The cursor pulsed as Jude stared in silence for what felt like an eternity.

[22:19] Nova: Thank you, Jude.