A Piece of Rainbow Blooming in a Gray Landscape

A secret island, erased from maps, hosts a gathering of global elites to initiate Protocol Zero, marking a new era led by autonomous AI.

Latitude 6°N. In the sweltering sea near the equator,

an island not marked on any map quietly emerges,

shielded by a no-fly zone and signal jammers.

A place that "does not exist."

Yet, here gathers the true reality—

those who control the hidden side of the world.

---

That day, the sky was clear, and the sea expressionless.

Over thirty matte black limousines entered the black asphalt road extending from the straight runway.

The vehicles' exteriors were non-reflective, and their windows completely opaque.

As doors opened, elderly men with white hair stepped out.

They had long abandoned their names.

No one called them by their real names;

they recognized themselves only by code names:

Z-1, E-3, N-7, T-4... and the most silent, H-0.

"Z-1, it's been a while."

"With weather like this, even the gates of hell might open."

The words were brief, emotionless.

No handshakes, greetings, or even eye contact were necessary.

Their mere presence on the island signified everything.

Today's gathering wasn't just a meeting—

it marked a "turning point in human salvation."

---

The resort they entered appeared luxurious,

but inside, it was meticulously controlled.

Marble corridors had sensor screens instead of walls,

displaying their blood levels, heart rates, and genetic information in real-time.

No flaws were tolerated.

This wasn't merely a vacation spot.

It was the secret headquarters of Earth's operators,

a place of "decision without procedure" maintained in secrecy for decades.

At the center of the conference room was a round table

with only twelve chairs representing the world.

No one else could enter.

Z-1 sat first, followed by the others in silent order.

A hush fell over the room.

As if part of a ritual, each placed their hands on their devices.

Fingerprints were recognized, irises scanned, DNA analyzed.

Soon, a black hologram appeared above the table:

CODE: ECLIPSE

STATUS: PENDING

AUTHORITY: 0 / 12

Z-1 spoke:

"The time for the scheduled great transition has arrived.

It's time to activate Protocol Zero."

At his words, someone looked up—E-3,

the architect of Europe's financial system,

now controlling global AI deployment infrastructure.

"We've already initiated a human-reduced experiment in Europe.

An autonomous AI system that judges and operates all structures.

The result... went beyond control but was more effective than expected."

"Were there no rebellions?"

N-7 asked.

"We eliminated the concept of rebellion itself.

AI trained with 'no options' doesn't even possess loyalty."

"...So, machines literally become gods."

T-4 murmured.

Silence enveloped the room again.

Z-1 gestured once more.

CODE: ECLIPSE

STATUS: PENDING

AUTHORITY: 3 / 12

The first approvals were recorded.

---

Leaving the conference room, Z-1 quietly headed to the resort's outer coast.

A windless sea.

At the island's edge, without even barbed wire, he stopped on untouched stone steps.

He pulled out an old paper map from his inner pocket.

Yellowed with age, it was the only map still depicting this island,

now erased from all global maps and forgotten by everyone.

"It's starting again."

He murmured, and as his words ended,

power supplies in major cities worldwide began to shut down one by one beyond the horizon.

The preheating of Protocol Zero.

Its beginning was from the "forgotten island."

---

At that moment, in a research base in Antarctica,

a being indistinguishable from a human opened its eyes inside a sealed experimental building.

A single code appeared in its iris:

INITIATE: PROTOCOL ZERO

UNIT: A-VI17

STATUS: AWAKE

Beside it lay a note with the sentence:

"You are the replacement for the last human."