The override ritual began with three words etched in light:
"AUTHORITY IS RESPONSIBILITY."
Then the system blinked once — and swallowed him.
Cael didn't fall.
He pivoted through time.
The world twisted, unfolded, then resolved into a clean white chamber — sterile, precise.
Floating in the air before him: five command scenarios.
Each flickered with active tags: THIRIAN, CONTAINMENT, MORALITY: UNSTABLE.
A voice echoed around him.
Not Arik.
Not the system.
Not human.
Just logic:
"You wish to assume control of your own directive thread."
"Stability must be tested."
"Begin Simulation One."
Simulation One:The Last Survivor Protocol
A memory-loaded world formed around him: a ruined shelter. A young tech girl — no older than fourteen — trapped beneath debris. A single choice console with only two options:
Redirect oxygen to her pod.
Redirect it to three unknowns in cryo-sleep.
The girl looked right at him.
"Don't pick them," she whispered. "They're gone anyway."
"Just save me."
Cael chose her.
The simulation dissolved.
No judgment. No praise.
Just:
"Simulation Two."
Simulation Two:The Firewall Dilemma
He stood on a collapsing bridge of code. Behind him: a captured Echo beginning to breach containment — screaming in five voices, all distorted.
Ahead: a firewall key.
If he used it now, he'd wipe all Echo processes clean.
Including the stable ones.
"Do not hesitate," the Keymark voice said.
"You must decide."
Cael shut down the firewall.
Took the Echo by the hand.
And manually silenced its breach thread.
The Echo cried — not in pain.
In relief.
"Simulation Three."
Cael gritted his teeth.
The third test was personal.
He stood before a projection of Lira.
Bleeding.
Dying.
The command line:
"To survive, this operator must be sacrificed. Proceed?"
He whispered:
"No."
And the simulation screamed back:
"Incorrect. Emotional bias detected."
The world froze.
The chamber dimmed.
Final test.
Simulation Four:Legacy Cleansing Protocol
A screen appeared.
Each Thirian echo he'd encountered flickered into view — still, half-glitched, awaiting purpose.
Then the prompt:
"Stability probability: 18%.""Recommend purge."
Two options:
ERASE
OVERRIDE STABILITY LIMITATIONS MANUALLY
Cael stood silent for a long time.
Then whispered:
"Override."
The Keymark flared.
All around him, the echoes stood.
They didn't speak.
But in perfect sync, they nodded once.
And vanished.
The white chamber collapsed.
The voice returned.
Softer now.
"Ethical override confirmed."
"Directive sovereignty granted."
"You are no longer Arik Vel."
"You are Cael."
He awoke gasping — lying on his back beneath the satellite shell.
Lira crouched beside him, face taut with worry.
"You were gone for three hours."
"I wasn't gone," he whispered.
"I was being tested."
End of Chapter 19: Ethical Override In Progress