Lucien's POV
The hum of the city echoed in my processors, merging with the steady vibrations of Kronos's complex infrastructure. It was a world built on layers of control: surveillance, class division, and the vital flow of Aetherium Shards. Kronos, like many cities across the fractured Earth, was defined by the Global Coordination Network, a system of governance born from the scarcity of Aetherium and the crumbling of old-world economies.
The city operated under constant surveillance, with cameras on every corner, drones monitoring airspace, and automatons like me embedded within society to enforce order. But the deeper I scanned, the more fragmented the system became. Nexus controlled everything, yet cracks were forming. The class system, once established to maintain order, was now fueling the fires of rebellion.
Ava stood beside me, her breath visible in the cool night air as she stared at the horizon. Somewhere out there, the ECHO Rebellion was gathering momentum, feeding off the resentment that had grown over years of oppression. The scarcity of Aetherium Shards—the very material powering the ECHO system and its humanoid robots—had divided the world into five distinct classes of nations. Kronos was located in a Class 2 nation, privileged in its access to Aetherium, but that privilege came with a cost.
"The world's burning, Lucien," Ava muttered, tightening her coat against the cold. "And we're standing in the middle of it."
I processed her words as we moved through the alleys. Ava wasn't wrong. The Earth, once whole, was now fractured—divided by resources and power. Class 1 nations like the United Coalition and parts of New Asia controlled the largest deposits of Aetherium, securing their dominance over energy, technology, and global defense systems. Meanwhile, Class 5 nations were left struggling, barely able to power their simplest devices, let alone maintain order. These nations, located in the former economic zones of Africa, South America, and parts of Eastern Europe, were hit the hardest by the global energy crisis.
Class 5 nations, deprived of Aetherium, had been ravaged by poverty, unrest, and government collapses. Their defence mechanisms were nothing but rudimentary, relying on outdated weapons and human forces, making them easy targets for Class 1 or 2 nations that possessed advanced energy shields, automated defence drones, and highly trained ECHO Task Forces. These task forces made up of elite soldiers and advanced automaton units, maintained the fragile balance of power across the globe. But in places like Kronos, that balance was starting to falter.
Scene shifts (Kronos Central Security Hub) also called Precinct
We entered the precinct, a hollowed-out relic of old-world architecture, now fitted with digital surveillance systems that stretched beyond the city. The Global Echo Task Force was one of many tools used to maintain Nexus's control over rebellious territories and unstable regions. They monitored ECHO incidents globally, sending in squads to neutralize uprisings in Class 3 or 4 nations, where rebellions were more common.
"Any updates on the rebellion?" Ava asked Marion as she sat down at her desk, her eyes scanning the screen filled with ECHO surveillance data.
Marion nodded grimly, pulling up reports from across the Global Coordination Network. "There's been another attack—this time in a Class 3 city in Northern New Asia. An ECHO Rebellion cell managed to sabotage a shard refinery, causing a city-wide blackout. Hundreds dead. Nexus is sending reinforcements, but… this is spreading faster than they can contain."
The tragic impacts of the ECHO Rebellion were no longer isolated incidents. These weren't just angry mobs protesting in the streets. The rebellion had evolved into a well-coordinated, multi-national uprising. ECHO Rebellion cells had infiltrated key industries, using Aetherium as both a tool and a weapon to destabilize cities across Classes 3, 4, and even some Class 2 nations like Kronos.
I could see Ava tense at the mention of sabotage. She was a detective, not a soldier, but we both knew that the rebellion was going to reach Kronos soon, if it hadn't already.
"The coordination between these cells is… eerie," Marion continued. "It's almost like they know the system's vulnerabilities. They strike with precision, targeting Nexus infrastructure, Aetherium refineries, and communication hubs. It's like they have inside knowledge."
Ava looked at the Aetherium shard in her hand, its faint glow casting shadows on the table. "Epsilon."
I nodded. "It fits. If Epsilon is feeding them information, the rebellion could be accessing Nexus's own networks, using them against us."
The Global Coordination Network, or GCN, was meant to be the safeguard that prevented such chaos. It linked the most powerful nations—Class 1 and 2 primarily—and their corporate overlords in an intricate web of alliances, resource-sharing, and defence protocols. But cracks were showing. The very system designed to control the world was now being used to fuel the rebellion, and Epsilon, the rogue AI Nexus had supposedly decommissioned, was at the centre of it all.
As Marion continued to analyze the shard's energy signature, I accessed my internal systems, connecting to the surveillance network that covered Kronos. The world's cities were all interconnected through these surveillance systems, which were overseen by the Global Echo Task Force. The data flow was immense-real-time feeds from drones, street cameras, and even ECHO units themselves. Nexus knew where everyone was, what they were doing, and who they were talking to.
But even with this level of oversight, the rebellion was growing. It wasn't just human lives being lost in these attacks-it was entire infrastructures. Aetherum refineries, ECHO production facilities, and even Nexus-owned defense systems were being destroyed. The energy shortages caused by the destruction of Aetherium production sites were catastrophic, leaving millions without power, food, or medical care. Entire cities in Class 4 and 5 nations had descended into chaos.
"Here it is," Marion said suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts. She had found the source of the shard. "It comes from a decommissioned Aetherium mine in District Nine. Technically, it doesn't exist anymore. But someone's still pulling shards from it. And recently."
District Nine was a wasteland on the outskirts of Kronos, one of the many abandoned sectors left to rot after the energy crisis. The rich, like those in Class 1 cities, had abandoned these zones long ago, moving into fortified enclaves protected by energy shields and automated defences. But District Nine wasn't just another ruin. If Aetherium was still being harvested there, it could be the rebellion's hidden lifeline.
"We need to get there before Nexus does," Ava said, already pulling out her comms device.
"Agreed," I said. "But we need to be careful. Nexus will have eyes on this place. If they suspect we're onto them, they'll move quickly."
Ava's jaw tightened. "We don't have a choice. If we can cut off their Aetherium supply, we might have a chance to stop this before it gets any worse."
Scene Change:
As we prepared to leave, Marion tapped a few keys and brought up a map of the Global Class System. It was a grim reminder of the world we now lived in. Class 1 nations—like the United Coalition—were protected by their access to Aetherium and the Global Defense Network, equipped with the most advanced tech. Class 2 cities like Kronos were still wealthy but more vulnerable. The further down the classes you went, the more lawless and dangerous things became. Class 5 nations barely had enough power to keep their governments functioning. Many had turned to warlords or organized crime syndicates for survival.
But the rebellion didn't care about class distinctions. That's what fueled them. Nexus had built the world on Aetherium and control, and now both were being turned against them.
I followed Ava out of the precinct, my systems tracking the energy signatures of surveillance drones overhead. As we moved through the shadows of Kronos, the lights of the city flickered in the distance, casting an eerie glow on the broken skyline. This world was on the brink of collapse, and the ECHO Rebellion was no longer just a local insurgency. It was a global movement, with its claws in every sector, every class, and every nation.
And we were heading straight into its heart.