n, she was standing in my livin

cured finger over the sp

till have this? God,

neath. I stood by the kitchen entrance, my hands feeling damp. Liam, my boyfrien

d," Liam said, putting an arm around her shoulders. It

g over our apartment. They landed on the sleek, glowing cons

fluid, confident. She was an influencer, after all. Her whole life was

autiful, Av

AI wellness companion I had spent three years, and countless sleepless nights, building fr

am, her red lips c

were just kids, dreaming. I told her, 'You should make something that really u

caught in

tle s

am. Liam just nodded, his eyes full of admiration for

ideas person, Chloe,

tell him that Chloe' s only idea was how to take things from other people. Bu

at you. You' ve done so well for yours

n as the stage. She was claiming a piece of my work, and a piece of my life, all in the same breath.

, she announced she had to go. She gave Liam a long hug, her hand lingering on

osed, the silence in t

, turning to me, his face bright.

redit for Harmony,"

ike that. She was just reminiscing. Yo

idn' t see the manipulation, the subtle undermining of everyt

t to fight. I

for a bit," I mumbled,

ce was my sanctuary. Servers hummed softly in a custom rack against one wall. Monitors displayed lines of

n sense of self. She was turning everyone against me, mak

sty. I hadn' t powered it on in years. It held a secret. A project I had started

way public opinion. An algori

t the "Influe

understand and manipulate the hidden currents of social dynam

l, it didn' t feel wrong anymore. It

onsole. My fingers flew across the keyboard, my movements sure and practiced even after all this time.

th a simple green

e activati

LUENCE_ALGORI

xt scrolled rapidly. The

S: DOR

G PREREQU

CTIVATION THRE

EMOTIONAL TRAUMA.

I had built in to prevent it from being used frivolously. My current despair wasn' t enough. I wasn' t broken enough yet.

ir, defeated. The screen

e office door

doorway, clutching a stuffed dinosaur. H

, are y

it came out as a grimace. "I'

beside my chair, his smal

he said, his voice small

hlo

e simple, brutal honesty of a child. "It'

He saw it. He s

A stick figure with glasses and a ponytail, me, was standing in front of a big computer. In

the scientist. "And that' s me. I'

solution. It wasn' t a weapon. But it was a reminder of what I was fighting for. It wa

my face in his soft hair. He wa

ouldn' t give up. If my current pain wasn' t enough to activate the a

she would push

ould be