Chapter 5:
Hundreds of miles away from Ryan's world, at the heart of Aetheria's knowledge and technology, life at the Aerion Institute of Cybernetic Advancement (AICA) moved to a different rhythm. Here, the air wasn't filled with the smell of burnt circuits, but with the sharp, clean scent of temperature-controlled ozone and a sterile environment. There was no room for chaos here, only perfect order, data, and the relentless pursuit of innovation.
In the very core of this world of glass and steel, under the bright white lights of the Bio-Mechanical Integration Lab, Dr. Nyra Kaelith was lost in her work. Floating in the air before her was the holographic effigy of a human hand, part flesh and part gleaming chrome. Nyra's fingers moved rapidly through the air as if she were playing an invisible harp. With her every gesture, the blue lines of the neural network inside the hologram lit up, contracted, and rearranged themselves into new pathways.
She was designing a new generation of neural interfaces. Her goal was to create a prosthetic that would not only move by receiving signals directly from the human brain, but would also send sensations of touch, pressure, and temperature back to the brain. It was groundbreaking work that could redefine cyborg technology.
"Eureka! I've got it, Nyra! I've got it!"
The lab's automatic doors slid open and Dr. Halven Trex burst in like a storm. One end of his white lab coat was flying, his disheveled hair looked as if he had just walked through an explosion, and his eyes shone with the unbridled joy of a child. He was one of AICA's most senior researchers and Nyra's mentor—a true 'mad scientist'.
"Look!" Dr. Trex threw his data-pad onto Nyra's holographic table. Instantly, a 3D model of a new energy conduit materialized next to Nyra's holographic hand. "I've created a completely new polymer matrix to convert bio-electricity! Its power conductivity is 17% higher than the previous model, and heat dissipation is almost zero! Can you imagine?"
Nyra diverted her attention from her own work to look at Trex's design. Her brain quickly began to analyze the data. "The molecular structure of your polymer could be unstable, Doctor. Wouldn't it break down under high energy pressure?"
"It might under normal pressure!" Trex practically jumped. "But I've embedded a geodesic structure of carbon nanotubes within it! It won't just provide power, it will reinforce its own structure! If we integrate this power source with your neural interface, a user could lift a ten-ton cargo container with a single finger!"
A smile touched Nyra's lips. Dr. Trex's infectious enthusiasm was the lifeblood of the lab. "Your design is brilliant, Doctor. I'll run it through my simulations."
"Excellent! I knew you'd appreciate it!" Trex said, patting Nyra on the shoulder. "I'm off, another idea just struck me!" And with that, he rushed out as tempestuously as he had entered.
Nyra smiled softly as she watched him go. It was because of people like him that she loved working at AICA. Everyone here was a dreamer of the future.
"What has the madman invented this time?"
Nyra turned to see her closest friend and colleague, Aries Garcia, walking towards her with two mugs of coffee. Aries had her familiar mischievous smile on her face.
"Something that might either solve the mysteries of the universe or blow up the entire lab," Nyra replied with a laugh.
Aries handed a mug of coffee to Nyra and stood beside her. "You pulled an all-nighter again, didn't you? You have dark circles under your eyes."
"The project has to be finished, Aries," Nyra said, taking a sip of coffee. "We're so close to a breakthrough."
"Work will always be there," Aries said, her voice softening a bit. "But you have to look after yourself, too. Did you see Ryan? His mission ended two days ago."
The moment she heard Ryan's name, a cloud passed over Nyra's cheerful face. She stared into her coffee mug. "Yes, I saw him. We spent the whole day together."
"Then what? Why the long face?" Aries caught her change in mood. "Did you two fight?"
"No, not a fight," Nyra said slowly. "But... I don't know. He seemed so tired. And not just physically tired, something different. It's like... he's hiding something from me." She thought of his sudden stop in the Bio-Dome but said nothing. That moment was theirs alone.
Aries put a hand on her shoulder. "He's Commander Solas. Their lives are wrapped in mystery. Maybe he's just under pressure from a tough mission. Don't overthink it. It'll be fine."
Nyra nodded, but the worry didn't leave her mind. She knew Ryan. And her gut told her this wasn't just mission stress, it was something deeper, something darker. She looked at her holographic screen, where the model for her groundbreaking invention was floating. But all her attention was on the picture of Ryan at the corner of her screen.
###
After Aries left, Nyra forced herself to push thoughts of Ryan aside and try to focus on her work. Before her was the hologram of a complex neural architecture. Her job was to create a perfect bridge between the human brain and a machine. But her own mind was then a disconnected world of doubt and anxiety.
She began to rotate the holographic model, examining the data-flow pathways. Her fingers worked with precision, but her mind was elsewhere. Ryan's tired eyes, his forced smile—it all floated before her. Was she really overthinking it, as Aries had said? Or was her sixth sense signaling a danger that her logic couldn't yet comprehend?
In the midst of her thoughts, the lab's door slid open silently again. The man who entered this time moved with a calculated gait and an air of authority. Arin Dehl. He wore a perfectly pressed uniform and a pair of augmented reality glasses, through which he could constantly analyze data. He was a senior analyst from AICA's security division, whose job was to ensure the safety and secrecy of every project.
"Doctor Kaelith," Arin's voice was as neat and emotionless as his attire.
"Mr. Dehl," Nyra replied without looking up from her work. She knew a visit from Arin never brought good news. He was a devout follower of rules and viewed 'creative' scientists like her with suspicion.
"I was reviewing the security protocols for your new neural interface project," Arin said, coming to stand beside Nyra's workstation. "Your data encryption method is quite... novel."
The word 'novel', coming from Arin, was not a compliment; it was a subtle criticism.
"Novel and impenetrable," Nyra corrected him calmly. "It's three times more secure than the standard protocol."
"Perhaps," Arin said, looking at the screen of his glasses. "But it is not compatible with EVA's standard systems. It could create conflicts during data exchange. The rules were made for a reason, Doctor."
"The rules were made to ensure security, not to hinder innovation," Nyra said, looking directly at him this time. "My system is capable of adapting itself to EVA's firewalls."
Arin fell silent for a moment. It was difficult to argue with Nyra's technical knowledge. So he changed the subject. "EVA has sent over the initial data on a newly recovered item. Codename: 'Project: Mycelium'." He said this and connected his data-pad to Nyra's holographic table. "The Director's orders. As AICA's foremost expert in bio-integration, you are to provide a preliminary risk assessment. Unfortunately, that expert is you."
A new, strange molecular structure materialized before Nyra. It was unstable and constantly shifting its own design.
"Our security models can't grasp its replication pattern," Arin continued, annoyance in his voice. "Its behavior is chaotic and illogical. See if you can make any sense of it."
Nyra might have enjoyed Arin's reluctant request for help, but the model floating on the screen captured all her attention. She forgot about Ryan, about Arin's sarcasm—everything. The scientist inside her had awoken.
She enlarged the model, beginning to analyze its chemical bonds and cellular structure. Her fingers flew across the holographic keyboard as she input various simulation parameters. Arin stood by silently, a look of disdain on his face, but a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.
After a few minutes, Nyra spoke. Her voice was low and deep, as if she were on the verge of a terrifying discovery.
"Arin, you're looking at it the wrong way."
"Meaning?" Arin's ego was slightly bruised.
"You're thinking of it like a virus or a plague, something that increases its numbers," Nyra said, magnifying a section of the model. "But it's not doing that. It's not just replicating... it's *converting the host medium*. It doesn't destroy the host cell; it transforms it."
Nyra looked at Arin. Her eyes held a kind of scientific horror.
"This isn't a normal plague. It's a 'conversion plague.' It hijacks a living cell and turns it into a new, unknown, and moribund substance."
Arin was stunned by the depth of her explanation and the new name she had given it. His security models were only analyzing numbers and patterns, but Nyra had grasped its fundamental purpose.
"That's... that's impossible," Arin stammered.
"Our work deals with the impossible, Mr. Dehl," Nyra said coolly. "You can include that observation in your report. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some of my own groundbreaking work to attend to."
Arin didn't stand there for another moment. Without waiting for a reply, he took his data-pad and almost hurried out of the lab. For the first time, in front of Nyra, he seemed somewhat defeated.
But after Arin left, Nyra's feeling of victory didn't last long. She stood alone, staring at the horrifying molecular model. A 'conversion plague.' A weapon that turned life into a meaningless, inert object.
She suddenly thought of Ryan. His vibrant smile, his warm touch. For no reason at all, a chill of fear ran down her spine. After this terrifying discovery, her old, simple worry for Ryan was no longer simple.
It had now taken on an ominous, nameless shape.
####
After Arin Dehl left, the silence of the lab felt suffocating to Nyra. The partial data for 'Project: Mycelium' floated on her holographic screen—the digital effigy of a biological nightmare. Her mind was no longer confined to personal worries; as a scientist, she was now facing a danger that surpassed her imagination.
She read the file again. 'Self-replicating'. 'Conversion Plague'. The words swirled in her head. She wanted to know more about its nature. Since she didn't have the complete data, there was only one thing she could do—simulation.
Nyra launched a private simulation program. She input the partial molecular structure of 'Mycelium' into the program and instructed the system to analyze its potential evolution and its effect on organic tissue. It was a form of digital prophecy.
A colony of healthy human cells materialized in a virtual petri dish on the screen. Then, Nyra introduced the virtual agent of 'Mycelium' to one edge of the colony.
What happened next was horrifying.
The Mycelium agent became active instantly. It attacked the healthy cells like a wolf, beginning to convert them into its own structure. The data feed on the screen showed the cells' structures breaking down, their energy being absorbed, as they turned into a discolored, dead substance. In the simulation's time-lapse, the entire colony of cells turned into a black, decaying mass within minutes.
"Unbelievable," Nyra whispered. The speed of its destruction was a hundred times faster than any biological weapon she had ever seen.
She ran the simulation again, this time testing the effects of various anti-virals and radiation therapies. But nothing could stop the Mycelium. It either bypassed every defense system or altered its own structure to survive. It was practically invincible.
As Nyra watched this digital devastation, her mind kept returning to Ryan. His tired face, his hidden pain, his strange behavior in the Bio-Dome. An illogical, terrifying thought crept into her mind.
A 'Conversion Plague'...
"It's impossible," she tried to convince herself. "I'm just tired, that's why I'm thinking nonsense." Ryan was a soldier. He could be injured, he could be under stress, but he couldn't be a victim of something so monstrous. Their two worlds were completely separate.
But that dividing line seemed to be getting blurrier.
It was very late. Nyra shut down the simulation, but its results were seared into her mind. She stood up from her workstation and went to the glass wall, looking out at the neon-drenched Aetheria. The city was as beautiful, bright, and alive as ever. But now, to Nyra, this beauty felt like a colossal lie. For the first time, she felt how much darkness, how many terrifying secrets, were hidden beneath this beautiful city.
She felt an intense longing to see Ryan. She just wanted to touch him once, to be sure that he was okay, that he was safe. The scientist inside her told her to remain calm, to rely on data. But the lover inside her was screaming in fear.
She picked up the picture of Ryan from her desk. In the photo, Ryan was smiling, confidence in his eyes. Nyra gently traced his face with her finger.
She no longer liked the safety of this glass house. She knew she had to step outside of it. The shadow from Ryan's world was now knocking on the door of her own. And Nyra was not one to sit with her eyes closed.
She activated her comm-link. Her trembling fingers began to type a message. She sent Ryan a simple, common message:
"Just finished work. Can I see you tonight? I really miss you."
After sending the message, she held her breath, waiting for a reply. She felt as though a great deal depended on this single answer.