EDEN

st-EDEN Global

akm

e,

y, 8:2

t. Her 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop, which had seen bett

curve. She turned her gaze to her daughter, who lay curled on the old sofa. Its fabric was worn and frayed in places, a few threads hanging loose. She watched the subt

on took over, and sh

r back to the present world. She jerked upright. Her eyes fl

and opened the door. Marcus entered, locked th

a tight voice, almost in a whispe

d shook his head, h

mpromised. They're listening. They... n

the window, then back to

el, watched the alley for ten minutes before

Her hand fell away, her gaze falling to the floor, to the cracked tile and the dust. Then she looked up, met Marcu's eyes, and t

look,"

0 p

to exhaustion, his head tilted back. Her eyes then drifted to the sofa, where her daughter shifted on the s

a command that bypassed all local security and reached directly into the heart

were credentials she had retrieved from David Wilson's encrypted

lack for a second before data began to cascade across the screen - real-time surveillan

d on global sta

nder Surveillance

ocessing Strea

on Events (2

tics, her eyes widened in disb

ged (Cumulative

to Completion

Resolution:

t 98.4% - a number so high Elianila felt it

rubbing a hand over his face as he woke from his exhausted nap. His

sked, his voice

d breath, shaking her head as

e statics,"

screen slightly

med after studying the da

nodd

,"she said. "It has become more comp

tracing patterns, numbers, and anomalies, trying to unravel the invisible logic behind each calculated move. Every data set seemed deliberate, every calculation precise. Her mind span through po

dn't expected. The data shifted beneath her touch, lines snapping into alignment, calculations unfolding

response when a red alert

ITY BREAC

RISED ACCES

GULATION

ON: 84%...8

red in horror, attempting

s too

it?" Marc

foun

stood up, and strode into the n

om. She gathered her things, and her daughter's, shove

her shoulder gently, then more

used and heavy wit

o go,"she

. Elianila emerged, her daughter's small hand firmly in hers. Without a word, he locked th

n the ruins

20

ding. The street was nearly deserted. A few businesses wer

the shadows of an alle

ed, tears of relief at see

ug that let loose tears of be

er eyes, his hands gently grippin

ila n

ze then smoothed his hand

tuation, Pastor

e abandoned subway. The others, precisely, fiftee

us n

," Pastor

nd

ur

50

of concrete and twisted metal bars. Past the broken entrance, a little light from outside didn't reach far in the interior, leaving most of the main

anopticon. The subways were where dissent festered. The networks the System couldn't perf

ce at the subway entrance,

, and other two men, would occasionally venture outside to determine the degree

ughter asleep beside her. On her left was Pastor Kim. Ma

Marcus said, pantin

an?" Elianila a

ross the street. They weren't far. Maybe twent

two men said. "They're loitering - hovering

ady on his feet. "H

op lower and get a sonar ping off

d. "We're not safe. Our location has been compromised.

ey heard a piercing scream slicing through the air from somewhere above. It was a sou

irling sounds of drones. Not on

y f

y tense as the whining grew louder. She squeezed her

was holding her hand firmly, horror written on her face, be taken from her and sent to who-knows-where?

the Northern tunne

darkness of the main tunnel, Marcus

ed for assistance, tearing at a solid concrete wall.

t," he said. "It connects t

ds of boots descending the

eyes meeting in a shar

e," Marcus

narrow opening, landing in ankle-deep water. The awful smell hit her – the stench of stagnant water, chemicals, and decay. Pastor

hing softly around their feet. Behind them came th

commanding voice saying, "Nothing here. Expand the searc

ence through the

This connects to the green line subway. From

nnel wall and pressed her daughter's h

essed the group. "We stil

uls fleeing from an enemy that