At first glance, nothing had changed.
The breakfasts were still lukewarm.
Alma continued with her same routine: feeding the children, checking messages on her cell phone, keeping a dull eye on the time.
Iker was still… the "son who returned."
But only he knew the truth: he was no longer really here.
The real story was being written 480 kilometers to the southwest, on an island the world had forgotten.
An island no one would ever remember until it was too late.
That night, while the children slept and Alma knitted silently in the living room, Iker entered the study and locked the door. He turned on the screen without touching it. Eidolon appeared instantly.
"Current status of Tzabek Island?" he asked bluntly.
"Favorable weather. Solar energy stabilized. Landing zone functional. Initial Core 1 infrastructure ready for activation."
Iker nodded.
—Begin phase one: automated assembly factory.
I need builder-type and security-type androids. Nothing more.
I want 24-hour shifts, no breaks, no external communication. The island must be completely autonomous.
Eidolon didn't ask. He just obeyed.
—Cycle activated. Replication phase set for three eight-hour shifts.
Estimate: initial production of forty builder-type and ten security-type androids per week.
Iker looked at the first assembly plans. Everything was modular, hidden under vegetation, designed not to stand out even from the sky. The factory would be buried in the central core of the island, reinforced by volcanic rock, hidden even from satellites. Each android would have a simple routine: lift, assemble, transport. Nothing more.
And when the first factory was ready… the truly ambitious part would begin.
—Prepare the design for the mansion. Or rather… the command center. A clean-tech skyscraper, energy self-sufficient. With hidden basements, encrypted networks, and a control tower with views of the entire island.
Eidolon projected the first sketches. The structure was imposing: curved lines, tinted glass, intelligent surfaces. It wasn't a house. It was the heart of an empire.
—Estimated construction time: between three and five months.
Factors considered: number of current units, progressive expansion, weather adjustments, and turnover due to wear and tear.
Iker closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Five months.
Five months in which he would have to remain calm, hide his impatience, and feign normalcy while… something much bigger than him was born.
Over the next few days, nothing changed at home.
Iker left early, saying he was taking classes or working online.
He visited the farm from time to time, only to adjust something minor in his lab.
But the essentials… no longer happened there.
Tzabek Island had become a silent symphony of metal and algorithms.
Every day, new androids rolled off the production lines: articulated mechanical arms, integrated weather sensors, kinetic-backed solar batteries, Eidolon-protected memories.
Each one knew exactly what to do.
Each one built without question.
And each one retired at the end of their shift, as if they could sleep.
Structures began to rise in the night, protected by the thick foliage.
First the factory. Then the pillars of the command center.
Intelligent foundations. Reinforced tunnels. Hidden elevators.
And above them, the skeletons of the skyscraper that would shine unseen.
From the surface... the island still looked like a deserted paradise.
Meanwhile, Iker was beginning to feel trapped in the daily routine.
Not out of discomfort, but from the slow wear and tear of pretending to be human when his mind was thousands of miles away.
Sometimes he watched Alma as she prepared lunch. She looked at him, sometimes silently, sometimes with a certain suspicion, as if something about him didn't quite fit... but she didn't dare ask yet.
"Have you gone back to work with your father?" she asked him one morning.
He shook his head, sipping coffee without sugar.
"No. I'm trying something... on my own."
She didn't answer. She just lowered her gaze.
Maybe, Iker thought, that was better for now.
No one should know.
Until everything was ready.
And so the days passed. The weeks.
The sun rose and set while androids built tirelessly.
Without music. Without spoken orders. Without fear.
And on an island that never had a name for the rest of the world...
a civilization that never asked permission began to be born.