The screens flicker.
The observer node recognizes the connection.
A new message spreads across the central display.
AUTHORITY VERIFIED
Boone reads it over my shoulder.
“That thing really does know you.”
“Yes.”
“That’s unsettling.”
“It is.”
I begin typing.
Command layers open one by one.
Infrastructure routing.
Emergency networks.
Power grid management.
Traffic systems.
Everything Sentinel built.
Everything the second Architect tried to weaponize.
All of it sits beneath my fingertips.
Boone watches the lines of code scroll past.
“You’re in control now.”
“Yes.”
River approaches the console.
“How long?”
“About forty minutes.”
Cyclone whistles softly.
“That’s longer than expected.”
“It’s safer.”
River nods.
“Do it right.”
I begin shutting down the outer layers first.
