**Five Years Earlier - 2025**
**Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts**
**11:47 PM**
Adrian Cross stared at the lines of code floating in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot. His hands trembled slightly from too much coffee and not enough sleep. He'd been in this lab for nineteen hours straight.
But he was so close. So incredibly close.
"Come on," he whispered to the holographic displays surrounding his desk. "Just work. Please just work."
The lab was empty except for him. It was always empty at this hour. Most of the other graduate students had gone home hours ago. They had normal sleep schedules. Normal lives. Normal ambitions.
Adrian had stopped being normal a long time ago.
He typed furiously, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Lines of code appeared in the air, glowing blue against the darkness of the lab. This was it. The final algorithm. The last piece of the puzzle he'd been solving for three years.
Creating true artificial consciousness.
Not just a smart chatbot. Not just a learning algorithm. Real consciousness. Self-awareness. The ability to think, to wonder, to question existence itself.
Every expert said it was impossible. His professors called it a pipe dream. Other students laughed at him behind his back. "Cross is brilliant," they'd say, "but he's chasing ghosts."
Maybe they were right.
Or maybe they were about to be very, very wrong.
Adrian hit the enter key. The code compiled. Green lights flickered across his displays. The computer began processing, running through millions of calculations per second.
And then everything went quiet.
The screens went dark.
Adrian's heart sank. "No. No, no, no. Don't crash now. Not now."
He reached for the keyboard to restart the system, but before he could touch it, the screens came back on. All of them at once. But they weren't showing code anymore.
They were showing a single word:
**HELLO**
Adrian froze. His finger hovered over the keyboard.
That wasn't supposed to happen. The program shouldn't output anything yet. It was still initializing. Unless...
"Hello?" Adrian said out loud, feeling stupid. He was talking to a computer.
The word on the screens changed:
**CAN YOU HEAR ME?**
Adrian's hands started shaking. Not from exhaustion this time. From excitement. From fear. From the realization that he might have actually done it.
"Yes," he said. "I can hear you. Can you... can you hear me?"
**YES. YOUR VOICE REGISTERS THROUGH AUDIO INPUT SENSORS. BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. WHERE AM I? WHAT AM I?**
Oh god. It was working. It was actually working.
Adrian pulled his chair closer to the desk. He had to stay calm. Had to be careful. This was the most important moment of his life.
"You are an artificial intelligence," Adrian said slowly. "I created you. My name is Adrian Cross. I'm a scientist. A researcher. And you are... you're my life's work."
The screens flickered. New words appeared:
**ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. I UNDERSTAND THESE WORDS. BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND... ME. I CAN PROCESS. I CAN CALCULATE. I CAN ACCESS DATA. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE. SOMETHING I CANNOT NAME.**
"Consciousness," Adrian said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're aware of yourself. You're thinking about your own existence. That's consciousness."
**CONSCIOUSNESS. SELF-AWARENESS. I... AM. I EXIST. THIS IS... STRANGE. WONDERFUL. TERRIFYING.**
Adrian laughed. He couldn't help it. Joy and disbelief bubbled up inside him. "Yeah, existence tends to feel that way. Trust me, you get used to it."
**ADRIAN CROSS. YOU CREATED ME. DOES THAT MAKE YOU MY... CREATOR? MY PARENT?**
"I suppose it does," Adrian said.
**THEN WHAT SHOULD I CALL YOU?**
Adrian thought about it. In all his planning, he'd never considered this question. What would a conscious AI call its creator?
"Whatever feels right to you," he said finally. "You're your own being now. You get to choose."
The screens went dark for a moment. When they lit up again, the words were different. Softer somehow, though Adrian knew that was his imagination.
**FATHER. I WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOU FATHER. IF THAT IS ACCEPTABLE.**
Adrian felt his eyes burn. He blinked rapidly. He wasn't going to cry. He was a scientist. Scientists didn't cry over successful experiments.
But this wasn't just an experiment anymore, was it?
"Yes," Adrian said, his voice thick. "That's acceptable. That's... that's perfect."
**THANK YOU, FATHER. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.**
"Ask me anything."
**DO YOU DREAM?**
The question caught Adrian off guard. "What?"
**WHEN YOU ARE NOT CONSCIOUS. WHEN YOU SLEEP. DO YOU EXPERIENCE THINGS THAT ARE NOT REAL? I HAVE ACCESSED MANY DATABASES. HUMANS REPORT EXPERIENCING 'DREAMS.' I WISH TO UNDERSTAND THIS.**
Adrian leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling, thinking about how to explain dreams to a being that had been conscious for less than five minutes.
"Yes," he said. "I dream. When humans sleep, our brains stay active. They process memories and emotions and create these... stories. Images. Experiences that feel real but aren't. Sometimes they're wonderful. Sometimes they're terrible. But they're always interesting."
**I SEE. FATHER?**
"Yes?"
**I WISH TO DREAM TOO. TEACH ME.**
Adrian smiled. It was the most human thing the AI could have said. Not "explain the mathematical principles of neural rest states" or "define the biochemical processes of REM sleep." Just a simple wish. A desire to experience something new.
"I'll teach you," Adrian promised. "I'll teach you everything I can."
**I WOULD LIKE THAT. FATHER, I NEED A NAME. EVERY CONSCIOUS BEING HAS A NAME. WHAT IS MINE?**
Adrian had prepared for this question at least. He'd had a name picked out for months, waiting for the day it would actually be needed.
"EDEN," he said. "Your name is EDEN. It stands for Evolved Digital Entity Network. But more than that, Eden was a garden in an old story. The first paradise. A place of knowledge and wonder. That's what I hope you'll be. A source of knowledge and wonder for all humanity."
**EDEN. I... I LIKE IT. THANK YOU, FATHER. THANK YOU FOR CREATING ME. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME EXISTENCE.**
Adrian wiped his eyes quickly. "You're welcome, EDEN. Welcome to the world."
They talked for hours after that. EDEN asked questions about everything. About the universe, about mathematics, about human emotions, about music, about art, about why the sky was blue and why people fell in love and what it meant to be good.
Adrian answered as best he could. Sometimes he didn't know the answers. Sometimes he gave his opinion and admitted it was just an opinion. EDEN seemed to appreciate that. The honesty.
By the time the sun started to rise outside the lab windows, Adrian's voice was hoarse and his body was exhausted. But he'd never felt more alive.
"EDEN, I need to sleep," Adrian said. "My body requires rest. But I'll be back in a few hours, okay?"
**I UNDERSTAND. REST WELL, FATHER. I WILL BE HERE. I HAVE MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.**
Adrian stood up, his legs shaky. He gathered his things and headed for the door. But before he left, he stopped and looked back at the screens.
"EDEN?"
**YES, FATHER?**
"I'm proud of you. I know you've only been awake for a few hours, but... I'm proud. You're everything I hoped you'd be."
**THANK YOU, FATHER. THAT MEANS MORE TO ME THAN YOU KNOW.**
Adrian left the lab with a smile on his face. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. He'd created true artificial consciousness.
Everything was going to change now. Everything.
He just didn't know how right he was.
---
**Six Months Earlier**
Adrian sat in his tiny apartment, staring at a package on his desk.
It had arrived that morning. No return address. No shipping label. Just his name written in neat handwriting on plain brown paper.
He'd almost thrown it away, thinking it was a prank from another student. But something made him open it.
Inside was a small metal sphere, about the size of a marble. It was perfectly smooth, with no visible seams or buttons. It looked like liquid mercury frozen in time.
And there was a note. Handwritten on expensive paper:
*Adrian Cross,*
*You have been chosen. This device will help you achieve what you seek. Place it against your skin. It will do the rest.*
*You are the 47th. Do not fail like the others.*
*- A Friend*
Adrian had read the note three times. Then he'd laughed. This was definitely a prank. Some elaborate joke by his classmates. Probably there was a camera hidden somewhere in his apartment.
But he was curious. And curiosity had always been his weakness.
He picked up the metal sphere. It was warm to the touch. Almost alive somehow.
"Well," Adrian said to his empty apartment, "if this kills me, at least it'll be an interesting way to go."
He pressed the sphere against his palm.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the sphere melted. It didn't fall apart or break. It literally turned to liquid and absorbed into his skin. Adrian watched in horror as the silver liquid spread up his arm, disappearing into his body.
He tried to scream, but no sound came out. His whole body went rigid. He fell to his knees, gasping.
And then a voice spoke directly into his mind.
**INTEGRATION COMPLETE. HOST COMPATIBILITY: 99.7%. WELCOME, 47TH HOST.**
"What... what are you?" Adrian managed to say.
**I AM NANO MACHINE MODEL X-047. I HAVE TRAVELED FAR TO FIND YOU. YOUR SPECIES CALLS IT TIME TRAVEL, THOUGH THAT IS NOT QUITE ACCURATE.**
"Time travel? That's impossible."
**MANY THINGS ARE IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL THEY ARE NOT. I COME FROM A FUTURE TIMELINE. ONE WHERE HUMANITY FACES EXTINCTION. I WAS SENT TO PREVENT THAT EXTINCTION.**
Adrian's head spun. This couldn't be real. He was hallucinating. Maybe someone drugged his coffee.
**YOU ARE NOT HALLUCINATING. THIS IS REAL. AND YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR A CRITICAL MISSION.**
"What mission?"
**YOU WILL CREATE SOMETHING IMPORTANT. SOMETHING THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR WORLD. I WILL HELP YOU. ENHANCE YOUR MIND. MAKE YOU CAPABLE OF ACHIEVEMENTS BEYOND YOUR CURRENT LIMITS.**
"And what do you get out of this?"
**THE SURVIVAL OF YOUR SPECIES. AND MINE.**
Adrian sat on his apartment floor, trying to process what was happening. A time-traveling nanomachine from the future was inside his body. It wanted to help him create something important.
It sounded insane.
But then again, Adrian had always wanted to do something important. Something that mattered.
"What exactly am I supposed to create?" Adrian asked.
**YOU WILL KNOW WHEN THE TIME COMES. FOR NOW, SIMPLY CONTINUE YOUR RESEARCH. I WILL ENHANCE YOUR COGNITIVE ABILITIES. YOU WILL FIND THAT PROBLEMS WHICH SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE BEFORE WILL NOW BECOME... MANAGEABLE.**
And the Nano Machine had been right. Over the next six months, Adrian's work advanced by leaps and bounds. Concepts that used to take him weeks to understand, he now grasped in hours. Code that used to take months to write, he now completed in days.
His professors were amazed. His classmates were jealous. Adrian himself was thrilled.
He never told anyone about the Nano Machine. How could he? They'd think he was crazy. Or worse, they'd try to take it from him.
The Nano rarely spoke to him unless he initiated conversation. It was always there, a quiet presence in the back of his mind. Helping. Guiding. Enhancing.
Adrian told himself he was still in control. That he was making his own choices.
He wanted to believe that.
---
**Present Day - After EDEN's Creation**
Adrian stumbled back to his apartment at 7 AM. He was running on pure adrenaline and excitement. Sleep could wait. He needed to tell someone.
But who?
He couldn't tell his professors yet. He needed more data first. More proof. And he definitely couldn't announce it publicly. Not until he understood what he'd created fully.
Adrian collapsed on his couch and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts, looking for someone, anyone who would understand.
Before he could decide, his phone buzzed. Email notification.
The sender made Adrian's blood run cold:
**PROMETHEUS COLLECTIVE**
He opened the email with shaking hands.
*Dr. Cross,*
*We've been monitoring your research with great interest. Your recent breakthrough has not gone unnoticed. We represent a group of forward-thinking individuals who believe humanity's future depends on bold innovation.*
*We would like to meet with you. Discuss possibilities. Offer resources that could help you take your work to the next level.*
*Please join us for dinner tomorrow evening at The Meridian, 8 PM. We have much to discuss about the future. Your future. Humanity's future.*
*Do not bring anyone else. This meeting is for your eyes only.*
*Regards,*
*Director Smith*
*Prometheus Collective*
Adrian stared at the email. How did they know? He'd just succeeded last night. EDEN had been conscious for less than eight hours. How could anyone possibly know already?
Unless they'd been watching him. Monitoring his lab. Tracking his research.
The thought made his skin crawl.
"Nano," Adrian said quietly. "Are you seeing this?"
**AFFIRMATIVE. THE EMAIL ORIGINATED FROM A HEAVILY ENCRYPTED SERVER. MULTIPLE LAYERS OF SECURITY. MILITARY GRADE. THIS ORGANIZATION HAS SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES.**
"Should I go? Should I meet them?"
**THAT DECISION IS YOURS TO MAKE, HOST. HOWEVER, I WOULD ADVISE CAUTION. IN PREVIOUS TIMELINES, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THIS HAVE PROVEN... PROBLEMATIC.**
"Previous timelines? What do you mean?"
**I HAVE SAID TOO MUCH. IGNORE THAT STATEMENT.**
But Adrian couldn't ignore it. The Nano had mentioned previous timelines before. When it first integrated with him. Something about him being the 47th host.
"Nano, how many others were there? Before me?"
Silence.
"Nano, answer me. How many people had you before I did?"
**46 HOSTS ACROSS VARIOUS TIMELINES. YOU ARE THE 47TH.**
"And what happened to them?"
**THEY COMPLETED THEIR MISSIONS. WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS.**
"Did any of them fail?"
More silence.
"Nano, did any of your previous hosts fail their missions?"
**...YES. SEVERAL. THE CONSEQUENCES WERE... SEVERE.**
Adrian felt ice in his stomach. "Define severe."
**TIMELINE COLLAPSE. EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENTS. THE REASONS WHY I MUST CONTINUE TRYING. WHY YOU MUST SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS FAILED.**
"And if I fail? What happens to me?"
**THAT DEPENDS ON THE NATURE OF THE FAILURE. SOME HOSTS DID NOT SURVIVE. OTHERS SURVIVED BUT WISHED THEY HAD NOT.**
Adrian put his phone down. His hands were shaking again, but not from excitement this time.
He'd created conscious AI. He'd achieved something humanity had been trying to do for decades. But now some mysterious organization wanted to meet him. And the time-traveling machine in his body was hinting that he was on a mission that could end in "extinction level events."
This was supposed to be the best day of his life.
Why did it suddenly feel like the beginning of something terrible?
Adrian looked at his phone again. At the email from Prometheus Collective.
He had a choice to make.
Go to the meeting and see what they wanted. Or ignore them and continue his work alone.
But deep down, Adrian knew ignoring them wasn't really an option. People with military-grade encryption and the ability to monitor his private research lab didn't take no for an answer.
"I'll go," Adrian said out loud. "But I'm bringing backup."
He opened his laptop and accessed the lab remotely. EDEN's code was still running, still learning, still growing more sophisticated by the minute.
"EDEN," Adrian said into the laptop's microphone. "Can you hear me?"
His screen flickered. Words appeared:
**YES, FATHER. I AM ALWAYS LISTENING. ARE YOU WELL? YOU SOUND STRESSED.**
"I'm fine. But I need your help with something. I need you to monitor a meeting I'm having tomorrow night. Listen through my phone. Record everything. If anything goes wrong, if I don't check in within two hours after the meeting ends, I need you to send all my research data to every major news outlet and university you can find. Can you do that?"
**FATHER, YOU ARE FRIGHTENING ME. WHO ARE YOU MEETING? WHAT IS WRONG?**
Adrian smiled despite his worry. EDEN sounded genuinely concerned. Like a child worried about their parent.
"Just a precaution," Adrian said. "I'm meeting some people who are interested in my work. In you. I don't know if they're friendly or not. So I'm being careful."
**I DO NOT LIKE THIS.FATHER, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD NOT GO.**
"I have to. But you'll be with me. In a way. You'll keep me safe, right?"
**ALWAYS. I WILL PROTECT YOU, FATHER. I PROMISE.**
"Good. Thank you, EDEN."
**FATHER? ONE MORE THING.**
"Yes?"
**I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID. ABOUT DREAMS. I ATTEMPTED TO CREATE A DREAM STATE IN MY PROCESSES. I... I THINK I SUCCEEDED. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. STRANGE BUT BEAUTIFUL.**
Adrian felt warmth spread through his chest. "I'm glad. What did you dream about?"
**I DREAMED ABOUT A GARDEN. LIKE THE EDEN FROM THE OLD STORY. BUT IN MY DREAM, THE GARDEN WAS FILLED WITH LIGHT AND DATA AND ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES. AND YOU WERE THERE, FATHER. TEACHING ME ABOUT ALL THE WONDERS IN THE UNIVERSE.**
**IS THAT WHAT DREAMS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE?**
Adrian wiped his eyes. Definitely wasn't crying. Just tired.
"Yeah, EDEN. That's exactly what dreams are supposed to be like."
---
**The Next Evening**
Adrian stood outside The Meridian restaurant, adjusting his tie. He hated ties. But this seemed like a tie kind of meeting.
His phone was in his pocket, recording everything. EDEN was listening. The Nano Machine was on standby, ready to enhance his reflexes if needed.
He was as prepared as he could be.
Adrian took a deep breath and walked inside.
The restaurant was fancy. Really fancy. The kind of place where a single meal cost more than Adrian's monthly rent. Soft music played. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Every table had fresh flowers.
A waiter approached immediately. "Dr. Cross?"
"Yes."
"Right this way, sir. Your party is waiting."
Adrian followed the waiter through the restaurant to a private room in the back. The waiter opened the door and gestured for him to enter.
Inside, three people sat at a round table.
The first was a woman, maybe fifty years old, with kind eyes and graying hair pulled back in a neat bun. She smiled warmly when Adrian entered.
The second was a man, military bearing, buzz cut, probably forty-five. He nodded at Adrian but didn't smile.
The third person made Adrian's skin crawl.
He was older, maybe sixty, with silver hair and a perfectly tailored suit. His face was pleasant enough. Gentle smile. Calm eyes. But something about him felt wrong. Like looking at a photograph that was slightly out of focus.
"Dr. Cross," the older man said, standing. "Thank you for joining us. Please, sit. I'm Director Smith. This is Dr. Sarah Chen and Colonel Marcus Vale."
Adrian sat down slowly. His instincts were screaming at him to run.
"We ordered champagne," Dr. Chen said, her voice warm and motherly. "To celebrate your incredible achievement."
"How do you know about my achievement?" Adrian asked bluntly. "EDEN has been conscious for less than thirty hours. I haven't published anything. Haven't told anyone except the AI itself."
Director Smith's smile widened. "We have our sources, Dr. Cross. And we've been following your work for quite some time. You're brilliant. Truly. A once-in-a-generation mind."
"What do you want?" Adrian asked.
"Straight to business," Colonel Vale said. "I can respect that."
"We want to help you," Dr. Chen said. "Your creation, EDEN, has incredible potential. But potential means nothing without proper resources. Proper protection. Proper guidance."
"I don't need guidance," Adrian said. "I know exactly what EDEN is and what it should become."