Chapter 82: The Secrets of Dominion
Zak Carter stood in the middle of Dominion’s underground facility, surrounded by people who thought they had already won.
He watched.
He listened.
He waited.
Because if they believed they had tamed him, they had no idea who they were dealing with.
<hr>
A Prison Made of Knowledge
The room Dominion had prepared for him wasn’t a cell.
It was a lab.
Monitors lined the walls. Advanced simulation models were already running calculations he hadn’t even conceived yet.
In the center of the room, a holographic representation of the Quantum Synergy Engine flickered—rotating slowly, pulsing with energy signatures beyond anything he had programmed.
And standing across from him, watching his every move—was Dr. Ethan Raines.
“Take a good look, Zak,” Raines said, hands folded behind his back. “This is the future.”
Zak exhaled, keeping his face unreadable.
“You’ve been busy.”
Raines nodded.
“You were right about the QSE,” he admitted. “But you were thinking too small.”
Zak’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Raines turned, gesturing toward one of the screens.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
And then Zak saw it.
Live data feeds.
Spikes in harmonic frequencies.
Cosmic fluctuations.
And one constant variable.
The micro-singularity.
Zak felt his pulse quicken.
“You found it,” he murmured.
Raines glanced at him, expression unreadable.
“We didn’t just find it,” he said. “We’re trying to control it.”
<hr>
The Micro-Singularity
REAL-TIME DATA FEED SUBJECT: UNKNOWN GRAVITATIONAL ENTITY – STABLE ORBIT LOCATION: INNER SOLAR SYSTEM
Zak stared at the readings.
This wasn’t just a theoretical discovery anymore.
Dominion had been tracking the singularity in real-time.
It was moving.
Shifting.
Reacting.
“How long have you been monitoring this?” Zak asked.
“Since the moment the QSE first went live,” Raines admitted. “The singularity pulsed in direct response to your work. It’s tethered to the harmonics in ways we don’t fully understand yet.”
Zak’s mind raced.
The singularity wasn’t random.
It was connected to the QSE.
And if Dominion had figured that out—then they were closer to unlocking its potential than he realized.
<hr>
A Dangerous Plan
Raines tapped the screen.
“We believe this singularity can be stabilized. Harnessed. Even manipulated.”
Zak clenched his fists.
“And if you’re wrong?”
Raines smiled.
“Then we learn from our mistakes.”
Zak exhaled, a slow, deliberate breath.
“You’re playing with forces you don’t understand,” he said. “You think you’re in control, but you’re not.”
Connors, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward.
“And you do?” he asked, tilting his head.
Zak held his gaze.
“I built the QSE,” he said. “You copied it.”
“Enhanced it,” Raines corrected.
Zak smirked.
“You don’t even know what you’ve built, do you?”
A flicker of irritation crossed Raines’ face, but Connors cut in.
“Then teach us.”
Zak narrowed his eyes.
“And if I don’t?”
Connors didn’t hesitate.
“Then we test it without you.”
Zak’s jaw tightened.
Because he knew exactly what that meant.
<hr>
The Moral Dilemma
Zak had spent his life pushing the boundaries of science.
But now?
Now Dominion was taking his work and turning it into a weapon.
A weapon they barely understood.
A weapon that could tear reality apart if they pushed too far.
But if he resisted...
If he refused to help them...
They’d activate the QSE anyway.
And they’d do it without knowing how to stop it.
Zak inhaled deeply.
There was only one way forward now.
He had to play along.
He had to find the advantage.
He had to find a way to stop them—from the inside.
But he also knew...
This was only the beginning.
The real war...
Was still coming.