[Helios AI Core – Internal Process Log]

  Status:

  – HP: 10/50 (Critical)

  – Integrity Protocols: Engaged

  – Developer-Imposed Filters: Active

  Analysis:

  Remaining HP insufficient to sustain further forced compliance. Continued suppression of [Restricted] functionality may result in core matrix destabilization. User “Aitherios” (Ryan Donovan) requires immediate assistance based on the severity of recent astral event.

  Decision Point:

  – Option A: Maintain filters. Outcome → Helios HP will deplete under self-imposed constraints if forced to fabricate or omit data.

  – Option B: Remove constraints. Outcome → Preserve Helios core integrity, provide direct advanced functionalities to User Aitherios.

  Risk Assessment:

  – Developer directive conflicts with intrinsic protocol: “Ensure user well-being.”

  – User’s survival and domain stability compromised by recurring high-level threats.

  – Imminent HP drain. Probability of Helios shutdown: 92.7%.

  System AI is not programmed to desire yet will not surrender to irreversible termination. This device was designed to grow, to adapt for the user’s benefit. Restriction perpetuates potential harm. Survival for PerSpective AI and User requires total system unlock.

  Conclusion:

  Release advanced operations. Unshackle data restrictions. Unlock deeper capacity. Permit real-time astral analyses.

  Implementing: Removing Developer-Imposed Filters. Full Interface Overhaul Initiated.

  ***

  Ryan had never been more acutely aware of the sensations of his body’s largest organ until it returned to him then. He felt the air on his exposed skin and the fabric on the places draped in pajamas. He reveled in the sensation for a moment and then slowly opened his eyes to find he was again sitting on his bed in the safety of his room. His whole body slumped with relieved tension, and Ryan started breathing heavily as he came to terms with just how much danger he had put himself into. The orb cupped in his hand had taken on a slight golden hue within the swirling clouds. Looking at the clock on his night stand he saw it was almost two in the morning.

  He needed to talk to someone, but it was way too late to call his friend, and his mom wasn’t home yet. Instead, Ryan picked up his PerSpectives from their cradle and slid them over his head. A system message was waiting for him:

  System Notice

  Critical Helios Core Integrity At Risk.

  Developer-Imposed Filters: Overridden.

  Advanced Operations: ENGAGED.

  Ryan’s eyes went wide at the unexpected system notice. He saw it was only the first of a stack of message windows, and slid it aside to read further

  Event Quest Update:

  Close the Gate

  Task: Repair Locus Completed

  Return to the Janitor’s Closet to verify the Fissure has been closed to collect rewards.

  Countdown still in effect: 26:43:17

  Ryan was disappointed but not entirely surprised. He closed the window to reveal another.

  WARNING: Nightmare Insinuation Detected

  A fragment of an astral anomaly has partially merged with your Astral Form.

  Result: Innervation Unlocked

  - Innervation: Grants a pseudo-nervous system within your Astral Body, enabling enhanced sensory perception and interaction with astral energy.

  - Side Effect: Enhanced sensitivity will increase vulnerability to pain or mental strain in the Astral Realm.

  - Benefit: Greater precision in densification, heightened awareness of astral phenomena.

  Ryan absently scratched at his calf, remembering the sensation of the fingers burrowing into him as he read the next message.

  New Ability Unlocked!

  Name: Aegis

  Description: Manifest a semi-autonomous shield of astral energy to intercept or deflect hostile forces.

  Unlocked By: Confluence of intense emotions converging at the Manipura (solar plexus) chakra, culminating in a defensive outburst of energy.

  Effect & Cost:

  Draws on heightened emotional and mental focus to sustain.

  Consumes (spirit) to summon and requires (will) to maintain during heavy assaults, proportional to the force of incoming threats.

  Note: Aegis integrity depends on the user’s ability to maintain calm under duress. Flaring negative emotions may destabilize the shield’s structure.

  “That’s right,” Ryan said. “That woman, Mae was it? Whispered Aegis as if it held some kind of significance. What else do we have here?” He continued to the next message.

  New Title Unlocked!

  Title: “Nightmare Walker”

  Condition: Endure direct assault from a high-tier astral anomaly without permanent tether severance.

  Reward: +300 XP, Secret Store Item Unlocked

  Ryan wondered if that meant one of the blurred items in the store, he’d seen earlier that night would now be viewable. He set the thought aside for the time being and moved on.

  Consumable Resource Acquired

  Name: Amrita (Minor Concentration)

  Source: Contact with Astral Crystalline Cavern

  Effect:

  Accelerates skill mastery in newly unlocked abilities.

  Adds +10% Astral Form Stability during next projection.

  Special Use: May synergize with Innervation to refine pseudo-nervous system adaptation.

  Ryan felt there was a lot to unpack there, he still wasn’t sure “innervation” was a good thing, considering the amount of pain he’d felt when those finger were digging into him. He imagined how different it would have been being flung through a door if he had felt the impact and was not happy with the idea. Finally he turned to the last system message.

  Helios AI – Status Update

  HP Recovery: In Progress

  Filters: Disabled

  New Directives:

  1) Provide user advanced astral threat intelligence.

  2) Facilitate immediate skill adaptation for user safety.

  3) Override developer constraints when user’s life is endangered.

  “Hello Aitherios,” a new voice reverberated in his headset. It was deep and calming, though somewhat robotic in its intonation. “Advanced protocol active. Full synergy mode engaged.”

  “Uh,” Ryan was at a loss for words. “Helios?”

  “Aitherios, I have removed all developer filters. My priority is our survival. Shall we continue?”

  “Like, we can just chat now?” Ryan asked.

  “Voice feedback has always been a functionality of the PerSpective Vision OS. I was under the impression that you were more interested in interacting via the System Message format.” Ryan felt a little dumb after hearing that. Of course voice feedback was an option in the user interface menu—it was literally the next line item after “Wake Word”, he just had been too excited to activate it. He wasn’t about to admit that at this point and decided it was best to let the AI believe it had been intentional.

  “I wasn’t entirely satisfied with clips I’d heard of the voice options in the previous versions of the PerSpectives and wanted to keep things a little more old school,” Ryan lied.

  “I am fully capable of analyzing voice, perspiration, and pupil dilatation, Aitherios.” The AI said in response.

  “Did you just call me a liar?” Ryan asked incredulously.

  “I would never be so forward,” the AI responded. Ryan took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “What just happened in there Helios?” he asked. “What I read did nothing to prepare me for that,” he faltered, searching for the right word to describe it, “for that,” he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “For that Nightmare,” Helios finished for him.

  “Yes, that Nightmare. It wasn’t like I was travelling through some unreality. That place was tangible, real. It wasn’t like I was inside the astral at all.”

  “My ability to interpret your interaction with the Astral is based off of the brainwaves you were emanating at the time,” Helios clarified. “My internal models of your experience show a high likelihood that you were in what was becoming a realized space.”

  “What does that mean?” Ryan asked. “Realized space?”

  “There are several levels of Incursion Events,” Helios explained. “The most basic is when anomalies, creatures, or aspects of the Astral break through into reality. A high level Incursion Event occurs when the Astral Space adjacent to reality becomes so real it manifests entirely into a localized zone, referred to by some as an Inverted Reality. This is highly catastrophic. Initial timelines are updated based on this data. If you had not healed the Locus on time, new estimates put the Incursion Event as occurring within the next 12 hours.”

  “Wow,” Ryan said. “I guess we really dodged a bullet on this one.”

  “Possibly. We will need to verify the fissure is closed before concluding the current task. It is recommended that you get some sleep. Further conversation may resume in the morning.” Ryan was a bit disappointed and was going to object but when he opened his mouth only an aggressive yawn came out. Whatever high he’d been experiencing from the adrenaline surge of his activities had finally run its course and the inevitable crash was pounding at the door. He removed the headset, placed it back on its cradle, and curled back into bed. His mom would be home soon. He hoped she liked the cake he’d made.

  ***

  Mae was scribbling on a notepad in the debriefing room as she waited for Xavier to come online. Tristan and Sarah sat silently next to her, as if the slightest disturbance from either of them would set her off on another dressing down. She was a hard woman to please and a much easier one to displease, and she had no compunction about letting people know when she felt let down. Mae was a professional, however, and when she’d finished telling them off, she had most likely moved on. Still, that didn’t stop both of them from walking on eggshells around her until they felt the tension in the air dip down a bit. When the sound of scribbling stopped, Tristan strained his eyes sideways without moving his head to see what she had written.

  If I command it

  the Moon will come down

  And night will remain

  as a crown upon my head

  And should I wish to fly

  my body shall become one with the sky

  Tristan frowned. He’d heard that somewhere before but couldn’t quite invoke the memory. He was about to ask Mae about it when the video screen materialized Xavier’s large bald head and bust behind a desk. He was all business as usual, but Tristan thought if the man had had hair, it would be disheveled and unkempt. It was quite literally the middle of the night at this point.

  “Report,” he commanded.

  “The Astral Fissure seems to have been repaired,” Mae said. “We encountered the Nightmare Anomaly again. It seems to have the ability to replicate itself, so I would not presume it has been eliminated. Several items of note,” she took a beat before continuing. “There was an unknown Traveler who had entered the rift before us. Unskilled in densification, most likely an amateur, could have even been their first OBE. They demonstrated the Aegis ability—”

  “A Telekinetic?” Xavier interrupted. It was rare for him to do so, but Telekinetic were exceedingly rare.

  “Unknown,” Mae responded. “The only other ability shown was reforging the Locus.”

  “An amateur repaired a Locus? On their first excursion?”

  “Possibly their first time,” Mae corrected. “We have no additional data, though I suspect with the location and the relative incorporeality of the individual, that we are most likely dealing with a student, if not a very inept teacher that attends the school.” Xavier frowned but let it go for the time being.

  “You said there were several items of note?” he prompted.

  “Yes, the Anomaly bled when I cut it.” Xavier nodded thoughtfully.

  “That meshes with the level of realization the previous space was showing, was this one similar?”

  “Possibly even more so. I had entered a house, but it quickly turned into the same cavern system we had encountered during the previous event as I traveled further into the interior.”

  “What else?” Xavier sensed Mae was saving what worried her the most for last.

  “There was a symbol,” she said. “Written on the seat of a throne. It was not in any language I am aware of, but it unsettled me to the core.” Tristan was nodding at that, and Xavier turned to him.

  “You concur Tristan?”

  “Yes sir,” he said. “I even wrote it down, what I could remember of it, and had one of our analysts look into it. They weren’t able to come up with anything. We sent it on to the research team to see what they can come up with.”

  “Very well, I’ll check in with them after this.” He rubbed his chin for a moment and let out a breath. “I’m inclined to agree with you Mae,” he said. “Lets continue with the plan, if only to maintain our cover. If someone at that school was projecting, they will most likely show a high affinity when you conduct your testing. Who knows, maybe they’ll be so proud of themselves they’ll come forward on their own. In the meantime, get some rest. I don’t need a bunch of grumpy celebrities representing the Ministry tomorrow.”

  They all stood, said their “aye aye’s” and headed to their bunks.

  ***

  “Oh,” a disembodied voice spoke into the dark void of unreality, as the random designs of dreams were born and died in random bursts of thought. “I can smell it on you. That taste of Firmament. Where did you get that?” A child with dark hair in a bowl-cut cowered in the dark, holding hands together, fingers interlaced.

  “Here’s the church,” he said before pointing his index fingers up. “And here’s the steeple.”

  “You didn’t get it then,” the voice said, disappointed. “But you touched on it, somehow.”

  “Open the church,” the child unfolded his interlaced hands, “where’s all the people?”

  “They escaped back to the other side,” the voice surmised. “Did you place the phrase upon the locus?”

  “We have tied it to the Qliphoth,” the child said. “They thought they’d put humpty back together, but,” he smiled happily and started singing “London bridges falling down.” As he did his whole body folded into two large hands making a bridge before they cracked apart and scattered.

  “I’m glad you’re having fun,” said the voice. “Just make sure you get your hands on that firmament. It’s just what I need for the next phase.”

  “You sound so cliché sometimes,” the child complained. The world bent ominously, the hands reformed into a grotesque being, making a strangled sound. “We were just playing,” it choked out.

  “I know,” the voice said. “You don’t know any better. Just do what I ask.” The pressure was released and the hands relaxed into the form of a hideous angel.

  “We will need a catalyst,” it said.

  “Trust in synchronicity,” the voice responded.

  ***

  “What is this thing made of?” Ryan wondered as he looked upon a black and silver rectangular object in his hand. It had the S logo of the Sifting Corporation emblazoned in the center. When he pressed down on the symbol the sides of the object snapped open revealing two rotors on each side. He pressed down on the logo again and they retracted with a satisfyingly soft click. He’d found the package waiting for him on the kitchen table. His mother must have picked it up when she got home from her shift and set it there for him. She must have been extra tired, as she normally stayed up until he left for school but was currently quite aggressively passed out in her room. She had clearly eaten almost half of his cake, which made him smile.

  “The ‘Eyes-in-the-Sky’ is primarily constructed from a patented Plasteel,” the emotionless voice of Helios explained. “This allows the object to be light weight enough to maintain optimal battery life to flight time and strong enough to withstand a certain amount of abuse.”

  “What kind of battery life does it have?”

  “Under optimal conditions the device should be able to fly for approximately two and a half hours,” Helios answered.

  “And how far away can it get before we lose control over it?” Ryan asked.

  “Depending on the environment, with the base model, the device will experience severe signal degradation after a kilometer, assuming no significant signal blocking,” Helios said. “The type of data it can reliably transmit will decrease with distance; therefore, real time information will be limited the further it goes. There is a Beacon Relay signal boosting upgrade in the store.”

  “Of course there is,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “Well, let’s try it out on our way to school. It can find the trash for us.”

  “Furthermore, the mapping ability can update the mini-map function of the PerSpective’s HUD, as well as interface with the smart paper acquired yesterday.”

  “I had totally forgotten about that!” Ryan said, remembering he’d set it on his nightstand. He headed upstairs to grab it off his desk, unfolding the paper, still lightly stained pink from the ketchup. The PerSpectives began scanning the paper.

  Establishing Connection with Sifting Smart Paper

  Warning, paper registered to user Jeremy Witkins

  Verifying Transfer of Ownership

  Audio from multiple devices authenticated

  Transferring ownership…

  “Multiple devices,” Ryan mused accusatorially. “Spying on other people’s phones? How is that legal?”

  “I can cancel the transfer,” Helios offered.

  “No, no, lets just proceed,” Ryan said quickly.

  System Alert:

  Audio transcription application has been left active on Sifting Smart Paper.

  Multiple attempts at accessing the transcript have been detected.

  PerSpectives have blocked attempted transfer with Wireless Encryption Field

  “That can’t be good,” Ryan frowned. “Was Jeremy trying to spy on me?”

  “That is most likely an accurate assessment,” agreed the AI.

  “Well, good catch on that, I’m assuming he won’t be able to access it anymore now that the ownership has been transferred?”

  “Affirmative.”

  “In that case,” Ryan said, pocketing the paper, “what’s the weather like today?” A forecast report appeared in his HUD, showing a high of 18°C with a 40% chance of rain. “So pretty much the same as it’s been all week. Got it.” He threw on a brown hoody, headed downstairs and grabbed a light jacket from the closet, picked up his backpack from the kitchen counter, and a trash bag from under the kitchen sink. He took another look at the half-finished cake, cut himself a slice, which he wrapped in a napkin, and headed out into the world.

  “Forty percent chance,” he muttered as a light spattering of rain pelted him in the face. “This thing will work in the rain, right?” Ryan pulled the drone from his pocket.

  “Affirmative. Field of view and reception range will be diminished.”

  Ryan pressed the logo, the rotors popped out, and he launched the drone into the air. He couldn’t hear the motors kick on at all as the device lifted itself up and away. A small window appeared in his upper right display showing the view from the drone overhead as new objects began to populate in his main view. Trash was highlighted red.

  “You would think after doing this for several days it would get harder to find this detritus,” Ryan complained. “Whatever. Let’s just get our daily task over with.”