Fallen Connection

where the future was always within reach. Streets buzzed with the hum of autonomous vehicles, and towering skyscrapers gleamed under the artificial

hts of the city were beginning

ol against his fingertips, and the reflection of the city in the surface seemed to mock him. He should have felt pride-this city, after all, had been th

too fast," he mutte

city, but the world they had once dreamed of building together had turned into something unrecognizable. The technology that had once

sion was measured, every step calculated. It was the world they had always known, and yet, it felt wrong. They had once seen the potential

t was a silence he had grown used to over the past few months, a silence that only deepened his sense of i

" a voice called

ression serious. He was already dressed for the day, his dark hair mes

d. "Yeah, jus

hem had been through everything together-from their childhood days in the city's rougher districts to their rise within the world of t

ound floor. "We've got a meeting in the West District," he said, his v

g, something bigger than they could fully comprehend. The Nexus, the very heart of the city's technological system, was unstable. The system that had controlled e

ed finally. "I've been

m of the city's machinery filling the air. People moved in sync, their every step calculated, their actions dictated by invisible forces that gover

full potential. It was home to the city's industrial sector, where the machines that powered the city were built

most powerful organizations in the city. ArdaCorp was responsible for overseeing much of the cit

their eyes fixed on their screens, their movements robotic. As they walked past,

ing. They don't kn

omething before

t stop it? What

of the situation. The Nexus was the backbone of the city's entire infr

, the CEO of ArdaCorp. She was a woman of striking presence-tall, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun, her eyes sharp and calculating.

lena said as they entered,

on, Elena? We're hearing rumor

ut we've been trying to keep it under wraps. The systems are malfunctioning, and the

hasn't anyone done

rks that control everything from energy distribution to transportation. If we shut it down, we risk triggering a cascade failure that could plun

. "And what if we ca

ollapse, and everything with it, or we attempt to shut it down manually-if t

d. The Nexus wasn't just a system-it was the lifeblood of the city, the very thing that ke

ed you to find the source of the problem. You're both the best we have when it comes t

ation-they were the only ones who had the knowledge and the skills to solve this. But d

olas could respond, his tone firm. "

with determination. "Good. Time