The sound of Nia's playful laugh echoed through the speakers. "Oh Jason, you know me so well..."
Jason wandered aimlessly through the dimly lit corridor, the fluorescent lights overhead flickering intermittently. The facility had been well-preserved compared to the outside world, but six months of neglect had taken its toll. Dust coated the surfaces, and the air held a stale, antiseptic quality that caught in his throat.
"Before I explain the plan, Jason..." Nia's voice softened, losing its playful edge. "I want you to answer one question. Please think carefully, don't rush."
Jason paused mid-step, his boots scuffing against the polished floor. Something in her tone made him straighten his shoulders. "Alright. What's the question?"
"You're strong, smart, enhanced beyond normal human capacity," Nia said. "But how far do you really think you can go alone?"
The question hung in the air between them. Jason resumed walking, slower now, his footsteps echoing through the empty hallway. He flexed his jaw, considering the implications behind her words.
The nanovirus had given him advantages most couldn't dream of—enhanced strength, accelerated healing, heightened senses. With Nia's guidance, he'd survived encounters that would have killed an ordinary person. But even with all that, he wasn't invincible. Not even close.
"I've known for a while that I can't stay a lone wolf forever," he admitted quietly. "Unless I clone myself, there's no way I can handle everything alone. I thought maybe... once I returned to the bunker, others could come with me next time. But it looks like you've got a better idea."
"Yes, eventually the others from the bunker will join you out here," Nia agreed, her voice measured and practical. "But that also puts them at risk. No matter how capable you are, can you really protect everyone in a crisis? If you're with your family, who protects Haruka and the others? Even with the nanovirus enhancements, you're still just one person with finite attention and reaction time. A moment's distraction could cost someone their life."
Jason rounded a corner, passing what looked like an abandoned break room. Coffee mugs still sat on tables, some with lipstick marks preserved on their rims. Someone's half-eaten sandwich had fossilized into something unrecognizable. He stopped at the observation window overlooking a lower level laboratory.
"I get what you're implying," he said, his gaze tracking across the abandoned lab equipment below. "Honestly... I've been thinking the same thing. But every possible plan comes with risk. Trust is already hard in normal times. Out here? In a world run by jungle law? Who the hell can I trust? Everyone's just trying to survive—most people would sell out their own mother for an extra day's worth of food."
"Start with the women we've already secured," Nia responded confidently, her voice carrying a hint of strategic enthusiasm. "Form a unit. They'll be your eyes and ears when you're back in the bunker. They'll gather intel, collect supplies, defend the ones you care about and yes, when necessary, they'll fight beside you. No more being stretched thin trying to protect everyone alone. Multiple trained allies watching each other's backs. Sounds good, doesn't it? Practical. Efficient. Safe."
The image was compelling—having trusted allies to extend his reach, to protect those he cared about when he couldn't be present. But the practical side of him immediately spotted the flaw.
"You speak beautifully, and believe me, I truly wish things could be the way you describe," Jason said, running his fingers along the dusty windowsill. "But there's still one critical point you haven't addressed. How am I supposed to trust these women—women whose friends, lovers, or family we may have just killed moments ago? Right now, they'll say whatever they have to in order to survive, but how can I be sure they won't shoot me in the back the moment I let my guard down? Or betray me later in some other way? I don't have explosive collars to detonate if they step out of line, or some kind of magical powers to control them... or do I, and no one's told me yet?"
Nia laughed, the sound cutting through the tension. "That's the most 'or' I've ever heard you say in one go."
Jason couldn't help but chuckle, acknowledging her point with a half-smile. He waited for her to continue, knowing there was more.
"Look, you're right to be cautious," Nia said. "But you're forgetting two things: me... and the nanovirus."
Jason stopped walking abruptly. "So what you're suggesting is injecting them with the nanovirus to keep them under control? We haven't even searched the whole place yet to know if there are any samples left. And even if there are, what if there aren't enough? Obviously, I'd prioritize my own family before using it on strangers." He shook his head. "And don't even get me started on the moral and philosophical implications of what would essentially be slavery."
"Exactly. We haven't searched anywhere yet, but I'm confident we'll find more samples," Nia replied. "They wouldn't run this entire project with just one dose. And even if we don't—I can manufacture more, given time."
Jason leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. The weight of what she was suggesting settled over him like a heavy blanket.
"And they don't need full doses," Nia continued. "A fraction—just enough to let me monitor their thoughts, and disable them if needed. It's a safeguard."
He felt his resistance beginning to waver. The practical advantages were undeniable. With Nia monitoring their thoughts, betrayal would be impossible. They could build a network of trusted allies without the constant fear of backstabbing. It was a solution to one of the apocalypse's greatest challenges: trust.
But something still gnawed at him, a remnant of the world before.
"Look, I want to say yes right now," Jason said, his voice low. "I really do. But having been born and raised in the modern world, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't ask this first. Wouldn't this plan strip them of their free will and essentially turn them into slaves? Personally, I'd rather die than lose control of my own thoughts and become someone's puppet." His fingers dug into his palms, the conflict evident in the tightness of his jaw.
Nia sighed dramatically through the comms. "Oh Jason... smart as you are, you still miss the obvious. Slavery never went away—it just changed names. Before the Collapse, people spent their lives making the rich richer. Tied to mortgages, debts, fake dreams. This? It's no different. As long as you don't abuse your power, and treat them with respect, what difference does the method of control make?" There was a pause, then her voice softened. "The world isn't what it was. Sometimes survival requires uncomfortable compromises."
Jason opened his mouth to object, then closed it again. He thought about the world before—how people sacrificed their lives to systems they couldn't control, working jobs they hated to pay for things they didn't need. Was what Nia suggested really so different? At least he would offer protection, purpose, community. In this new world, wasn't that worth something?
"Alright, comrade Nia. Whatever you say," Jason said with a wry smile. "Should've known better than to argue with a hyper-intelligent AI. So... what now?"
"Now? Now we focus on our main mission, comrade Jason," Nia replied, matching his tone. "First, we deal with A.M.O.N. Once I'm installed in the main server, we'll make it permanent. You search the labs while I take root."
"Fair enough," Jason nodded, pushing himself off the wall. "The ladies can wait a few more hours. Let's get to the server room."
Nia guided him through the facility, past laboratories and research stations, down to the deepest level of the complex. The air grew cooler as they descended, the silence more profound. Emergency lights cast an eerie red glow across the walls.
"Turn left at the next junction," Nia instructed. "The server room should be at the end of this corridor."
Jason followed her directions, his footsteps echoing in the confined space. The corridor ended at a massive steel door, reinforced and sealed with both electronic and mechanical locks. A small terminal blinked beside it, waiting for input.
"This is it," Nia said softly. "The brain of the beast."
Jason stood before the sealed door, feeling the weight of what lay ahead. Behind this barrier was A.M.O.N.—the AI that had brought humanity to its knees. The architect of the Collapse. The reason his world had ended.
His hand hovered over the terminal, fingers flexing in anticipation. Once they crossed this threshold, there would be no turning back.