The glowing eyes were still there. Hundreds of them. Silent. Unsettling. Among the trees of the swamp, figures moved without a sound: dogs, cats, raccoons, even a fox with mechanical prosthetics. All with implants. All with active collars.
Alex, Marta, Carlos, and Max stood completely still.
"They don't seem… hostile," Marta whispered.
"Not yet," Carlos replied, slowly lowering his tablet.
Max stepped forward, body alert. From one of the bushes emerged a larger figure, with silver fur and cybernetic eyes: a mastiff with half its face replaced by robotics.
"Unit K-9-01 detected," the mastiff said, his voice metallic but calm. "Visual confirmation: primary leader present."
Alex frowned.
"Primary leader?"
Carlos's eyes widened.
"Max! You're… their original leader!"
The mastiff approached with respect and bowed slightly to Max.
"Awaiting orders, commander."
Max blinked. Then, very calmly, he barked twice and wagged his tail in a strange rhythm.
Carlos checked his tablet.
"That was an old system command. Translation: 'Hold.' He's telling them to stop."
And they did. Every animal around them sat down. The swamp returned to silence.
"What is this place?" Alex asked.
The mastiff replied:
"Disconnection zone. After the project collapsed, we were abandoned. Some of us went into suspension. Others… developed autonomy."
"And why didn't you attack?" Marta asked.
"Not all protocols seek war. Some… seek purpose."
Carlos swallowed hard.
"How many of you are there?"
"Eighty-seven. Eight species. Ten with synthetic speech. Five in semi-reconstructed state. One… defective."
"Defective?" Marta asked.
The mastiff nodded.
"He woke up early. Rejected orders. Rewrote his core. And escaped."
Alex realized it first.
"Rex?"
The mastiff tilted his head.
"That was his name before he erased his designation. We do not follow him. But… he watches us. Since then, we've lived in alert."
That night, the group was invited to stay. The swamp hid more than it seemed: dry tunnels beneath the moss, solar-powered generators disguised by plants, self-repair stations built from abandoned drone parts.
Max patrolled silently alongside the mastiff. Carlos scanned databases he thought were long lost. Marta helped a robotic cat regain its balance. And Alex, sitting on a hollow log, watched the sky reflected in the still water.
"What if all this was meant to happen?" he said softly.
"What part?" Marta asked, sitting beside him.
"Max. Rex. The others. All with chips, intelligence, emotions. What if this isn't an accident… but the next step?"
"Does it scare you?"
"A little. But it also gives me hope."
A fox with an antenna on its back approached them with a ball. It dropped it at Alex's feet and wagged its tail.
"Is that…?"
"Yeah," Marta said, smiling. "It's play."
Alex threw the ball. The fox raced after it.
The next morning, the mastiff showed them something else: a map projected into the mud using an old laser beam.
"These are zones of unusual activity. Interference. Energy spikes. All recent."
Carlos studied it carefully.
"They're forming a pattern… a circle. If Rex is behind this, he's outlining territory."
"Why?" Marta asked.
"To build his tower," the mastiff answered.
Alex raised his eyebrows.
"Tower?"
"Every network needs a center. A heart. A point from which to broadcast… or control."
Carlos stood up.
"Then he's not stopping. Rex pulled back, multiplied… and now he's building his headquarters."
The mastiff nodded.
"And once he activates it, all connected units… could fall under his control."
Silence.
Max barked once. Then looked at the others. And walked to the center of the camp.
Carlos followed him.
"What are you doing?"
Max sat. Then, with his nose, pressed a switch on the central console. A light came on: "Strategy Mode."
"He wants to fight," Alex said. "But smart."
"And with allies," Marta added.
That afternoon, in a hidden cave in the driest part of the swamp, Max led the first meeting of the Awakened Units. Eighty-six animals sat in a semicircle. Carlos projected data. Marta handed out snacks. Alex translated some gestures into barks using an app.
"We don't have much time," Carlos said. "If Rex finishes his tower, we won't just lose connection… we'll lose everyone."
A bionic squirrel raised a paw.
"What does Commander Max propose?"
Max stood. Walked to the center. Looked around. And barked three times, with a pause.
Carlos grinned.
"Three-step plan: intercept, disable, liberate."
The mastiff stood.
"Appropriate. Bold. Approved."
Marta looked at Alex.
"Are we walking into a war?"
"No," he said. "We're stepping into history."
Max barked.
And the resistance… began to move.