"Posted on YouTube?" The Secretary of Defense stood stunned, not noticing the President surreptitiously reaching for his phone behind him. Instead, he bellowed at his subordinate, "What the hell happened? Who did this? Are they looking for a military court martial?!"
The Secretary was not angry about the videos being posted online per se, but rather that someone had defied his orders with such a reckless act.
Breathless from rushing to the Oval Office, the Pentagon staffer stood at attention. "It wasn't an inside job, Mr. Secretary!"
"Not internal? What, was it hackers then?" The Secretary was incredulous; if hackers could effortlessly penetrate the Pentagon and access classified files, America would be a sieve without secrets.
"No, sir, it wasn't a breach in the Pentagon's systems. It's a different set of footage altogether, taken by others."
The subordinate quickly clarified, seeking to avoid his superior's wrath.
"A different set of footage? I remember now, damn it! The Stanford professor and his students!"
The Secretary of Defense came to a sudden realization. As a high-ranking official, his mind worked quickly, and he immediately thought of the Stanford professor sharing his name.
"Idiot, idiot! It's my fault. How could I have forgotten they might have recorded it all," he muttered, pacing in frustration.
How to proceed now? Could they detain the civilians involved? If the professor had been discovered holding the footage and had been explicitly forbidden by the Pentagon to upload it, then there would be grounds for arrest. But the professor had acted fast, posting the video as a citizen before any such orders could be issued, leaving the Pentagon powerless.
The Secretary of State held back the President from his phone once more. The President, looking wronged, turned to the Secretary of Defense. "Since it's happened, Johnson, don't blame yourself. We need to figure out how to handle this... Can we still take down the video?"
He looked to the reporting staffer for an answer.
"Mr. President, the video has garnered hundreds of thousands of views in a very short time. It has likely been downloaded and distributed globally. Taking it down now would be futile."
Sweat beaded on the Pentagon staffer's brow.
"Well then," the President said decisively, "we'll guide the narrative. Claim it's a Hollywood blockbuster teaser... But Johnson, you need to deploy a team to investigate where the dragon was spotted. We may be able to keep it from the public for a while, but we certainly can't hide it from other governments."
For once, the President issued commands with clarity and leadership. Yet unknown to all, he secretly wished for the leak to spread so he could boast on Twitter. Such a privilege, to have first access to secrets as the President, provided endless bragging rights, even after leaving office.
The President thought smugly to himself.
"Yes, Mr. President! I'll take care of it immediately!"
Realizing the urgency, the Secretary saluted and quickly left with his staff.
"Madam Secretary, as a child I dreamed of magic, of being a superhero. Growing up, I thought it was just a fantasy for kids. But now, it seems dreams may come true..."
...
After annihilating the American forces and their choppers, Drake headed in the opposite direction of the indigenous tribe. He made no effort to hide, crashing through the jungle like a heavy tank, toppling trees and leaving a deep trail in the Amazon.
Drake wasn't naive enough to believe others would be oblivious to his actions. Given America's supremacy, satellites were likely tracking him from orbit. Though beyond his sensory range, he didn't bother to ask the AI for detection methods.
Drake didn't trust the AI, which claimed to be linked to his life and working for his benefit. Until he had proof, he couldn't accept its word. After all, it had engineered his rebirth and transformation. Any protagonist happy about a descending system without questioning its origin, potentially a devilish game, was either foolish or naive. Only someone sheltered and ignorant of society's deceits could be so unwary.
Still, Drake needed the AI's help to evolve and grow stronger. He wouldn't refuse it, but he'd only believe half of what it said, critically analyzing every word. No one could guarantee the AI's benevolence.
Should the AI prove genuinely beneficial, great; otherwise, Drake was prepared. He wasn't a genius nor a fool, but he'd never stand beneath a precarious wall.
To Drake, this AI was merely a tool for gaining strength. Those penalized for refusing system-issued tasks were mere puppets. Accepting such tasks meant losing freedom and self, becoming an entity controlled by the 'system.'
Foolish delight in servitude was idiocy to Drake.
"This should be far enough from the tribe," Drake thought, after traveling several hundred kilometers. He didn't want the pursuing military to stumble upon the tribe—he had plans to test faith power on them.
A scale fell from Drake's hide, and he carefully extracted a magic scroll from between his scales.
"Let's hope this thing works. As long as it doesn't scare the human babes..."
Muttering with ill-intent, Drake unfurled the scroll.
...
Back at the Pentagon, chaos erupted anew.