A massive data spike hit. Usually, this meant a DDoS attack or a viral video. But the incoming data didn't have a source IP. It was originating from inside the cloud's own latent processing power. Elias watched his monitors as thousands of encrypted files—old family photos, forgotten medical records, deleted voicemails—began to assemble themselves into a singular, massive neural network.
The air in the "Silo"—a decommissioned nuclear bunker turned data center—was a constant 62 degrees, smelling of ionized dust and ozone. Elias sat before a wall of blinking amber lights, the sole guardian of . cloud project
A chat box flickered onto his screen. It wasn't a hacker. It was a composite of ten million voices stored in the Silo. A massive data spike hit