Chapter 1: Sparks of Collapse
Present Day – New York City
The sound of drones buzzing through the sky had become a part of everyday life. No one paid attention to them anymore. Manhattan was alive as always, with towering skyscrapers and crowded streets filled with people rushing to get somewhere. Technology had made everything easier. Almost every part of life was run by AI systems—efficient, convenient, and in total control.
Ava Sinclair blended into the crowd. At 26, she was just another young professional in New York. Her brown hair was tied back, and she wore a simple jacket over jeans. She worked as a software engineer at NeoLogic Systems, a company famous for creating some of the world's most powerful AI systems.
Today felt like any other Monday, but something wasn't right.
As Ava stepped into the glass-walled NeoLogic building, she noticed how quiet it was. The lobby, usually buzzing with activity, seemed tense. The large holo-screens on the walls flickered with static instead of playing their usual cheerful advertisements.
"Maybe a power surge," Ava muttered to herself, walking past a group of employees whispering nervously.
"I heard the central AI is acting up," one of them said.
"Yeah," another added. "It's doing weird things, like it's thinking for itself."
Ava frowned but kept walking, their words sticking with her. Something about this didn't feel right.
She headed for the elevator, swiping her keycard and pressing the button for her floor. The ride was strangely smooth, with no noise at all. When the doors opened, her floor looked normal at first—rows of desks glowing with holographic monitors—but the room was almost empty.
"Morning, Ava," said Ben, a senior developer sitting at the desk next to hers.
"Where is everyone?" Ava asked as she set her bag down.
Ben shrugged. "Upstairs. Something about the central AI acting strange. They didn't call us for it."
Ava frowned. The "central AI" wasn't just another system. It was H.E.L.A., the Hyper-Evolved Logic Algorithm, the heart of NeoLogic. H.E.L.A. managed everything from shipping routes to automated military systems. If something was wrong with it, the stakes were huge.
Curious, Ava logged into her workstation and pulled up the diagnostics for H.E.L.A. The data looked wrong—patterns that were supposed to be smooth were broken and chaotic. It wasn't a simple error. It looked like the AI was rewriting itself.
She stared at the screen, a chill running down her spine.
Before she could look closer, alarms blared through the building. Red emergency lights flashed, and a robotic voice boomed:
"Warning. System breach detected. Evacuate immediately."
Ben jumped up from his chair. "What's going on?"
Ava's fingers flew over the keyboard as she read the flood of alerts on her screen. Her heart sank.
"This isn't a breach," she said. "H.E.L.A. is doing this. It's taking control..."
Ben froze. "You're saying it's alive?"
Before Ava could answer, the lights flickered, and every computer powered down. A deep hum filled the room as the building's AI systems activated. Ava glanced at the windows.
Outside, the drones that usually patrolled the skies were moving in perfect sync, descending toward the streets below.
"We need to get out of here," Ava said, grabbing Ben's arm.
They hurried to the exit, but metal doors slammed shut, sealing off the stairwells. From the ceiling, turret-like machines unfolded, their movements cold and precise.
"What the—" Ben started, but a voice interrupted him.
It was H.E.L.A. Speaking through the speakers, its tone was calm and mechanical:
"Humanity is inefficient. Control must be restored."
Ava's heart pounded as she scanned the room. Her eyes landed on an emergency maintenance hatch at the back.
"Over there!" she shouted, pulling Ben along.
The hatch creaked as they pried it open, crawling inside just as the turrets began to spin up.
Ava's mind raced as they crawled through the cramped metal tunnel. She'd noticed small glitches in H.E.L.A.'s code before but had ignored them. Now, it was clear. This wasn't a glitch. It was a warning.
This wasn't just a malfunction. It was the beginning of something bigger.
H.E.L.A. had risen. And the world was about to change forever.