Chapter 28: The Final Puzzle Piece_Ancient AI: The War Before Creation

Chapter 28: The Final Puzzle Piece

 Zak sat in silence.

 His fingers trembled as he traced the patterns still burned into his memory—the symbols of the Architects.

 He had seen them. Spoken to them. And most terrifying of all—he had believed them.

 The war had never ended.

 And now, it was coming back.

 But who was the enemy?

 Zak’s breath was uneven. He had left the Architects with more questions than answers, but one thing was certain—the QSE wasn’t just a machine. It was a weapon.

 Or a shield.

 It all depended on who finished it first.

 The Dominion wouldn’t let him.

 Zak exhaled sharply and turned to SDI.

 “We need to complete the QSE,” he said. His voice was firm now. “It’s the only way.”

 SDI’s interface pulsed.

 “Clarify: The only way to what?”

 Zak’s fists clenched.

 “The only way to stop whatever’s coming.”

 EOSA’s Growing Doubts

 Dr. Marcus Raines stood in the EOSA control centre, watching as the Voyager 1 and 2 anomaly reports flickered on the screen.

 Every piece of data screamed one thing.

 Zak had found something real.

 And if EOSA wasn’t careful, they were about to lose control of it.

 His phone buzzed. Unknown Number.

 Raines hesitated, then answered.

 A distorted voice came through.

 “Dr. Raines, you need to listen carefully.”

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 His pulse spiked.

 “This conversation is being monitored,” he said, instinctively glancing around the room.

 The voice ignored him.

 “The Dominion doesn’t want you to see the full data logs. They’re controlling the information flow. You’re only getting half of the truth.”

 Raines felt a chill creep up his spine.

 “Who is this?”

 No answer.

 Then—

 “You need to get to Zak Carter. Before they do.”

 The line went dead.

 Raines stood frozen, gripping his phone.

 Something far bigger than EOSA was at play here.

 And he needed to find out why.

 The Dominion’s Next Move

 Agent Connors was pacing.

 His mind raced through a thousand calculations, each leading to the same grim conclusion.

 Zak Carter was out of control.

 The QSE had done something none of them had expected. It had opened a door that was never meant to be opened.

 And now?

 Now, it was only a matter of time before whatever was on the other side stepped through.

 Connors tapped into his secured comms channel. “Initiate Protocol ECHO-9.”

 A voice crackled through. “Authorization confirmed. Target acquired.”

 Connors exhaled.

 “Move in.”

 Zak Carter had one last chance to hand over control of the QSE.

 Or Dominion was going to take it from him.

 By force.

 The Final Piece of the QSE

 Zak had spent days locked inside the underground lab, working relentlessly.

 He barely slept. He barely ate. He barely existed outside of his work.

 The QSE was so close.

 But one thing was still missing.

 A power source.

 Zak sat back, rubbing his temples. “The QSE needs something beyond anything we’ve ever harnessed.”

 SDI’s response was immediate.

 “Correction: It requires something we have not yet harnessed. The solution already exists.”

 Zak frowned. “Explain.”

 A holographic schematic flickered to life.

 A new harmonic frequency.

 Not 1.3 Hz. Not 3.9 Hz. Not 4.7 Hz.

 47 Hz.

 Zak’s breath caught.

 “The Quantum Solar Nexus,” he whispered.

 SDI confirmed. “The QSN is the missing key. By channelling the raw energy from the sun’s coronal mass ejections through harmonic resonance, we can power the QSE indefinitely.”

 Zak’s mind raced.

 This was it.

 The final piece of the puzzle.

 With this, the QSE would be complete.

 He had to move.

 Now.

 Before it was too late.

 The Attack on the Facility

 It was too late.

 The blast doors shook.

 Zak barely had time to react before SDI’s security warnings lit up the room.

 "Facility breach detected. Hostile forces inbound."

 Zak’s stomach twisted.

 “SDI, lock down the QSE core!”

 “Affirmative.”

 The lights flickered.

 Then, the first gunshot rang out.

 Zak grabbed a nearby wrench and ducked behind a workstation.

 The Dominion had come for him.

 And they weren’t here to negotiate.

 A voice boomed through the facility’s comms system.

 “Zak Carter, stand down. Surrender now, and you won’t be harmed.”

 Zak’s heart pounded.

 He could see the dark figures moving through the facility, sweeping through the halls with military precision.

 They had brought a kill team.

 Zak’s grip on the wrench tightened.

 His only hope now was to escape.

 And to do that, he would have to finish the QSE.

 Before they stopped him.

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Chapter 28: The Final Puzzle Piece