The Nucleus was housed beneath the city's Primary Energy Reactor—a massive, subterranean chamber of pulsing, glowing conduit pipes and consoles displaying the fluctuating health of the core system. The threshold was secured by a final, multi-layered energy barrier.
Einar stood at the access point, staring at the humming, hostile energy.
"If I integrate with the Nucleus," Einar stated, the cold, dispassionate logic of the situation overriding his fear, "the consequences will be systemic. An unpredictable crash across all sectors—power, communication, social stability."
Saira secured their defensive position against the inevitable security breach, leveling a modified energy rifle. "We have no ethical choice left. The System is committing slow-motion genocide. The risk of temporary chaos is subordinate to the necessity of true agency."
Einar approached the main control unit, the central interface for the Nucleus. Saira took point, preparing to cover him against the inevitable assault of Nexus troops.